I use Gamsol and I like it. I haven’t tried the kind Lachri uses and likes, but I can’t imagine there is much difference..

I’m a commercial painter by trade so I have almost daily interaction with mineral sprits. I can tell you that you want to stay away from any odorless thinners from a paint/building supply store. They do have an odor and I think are a lot stronger than the odorless thinners in a store.

I was really surprised the first time I used Gamsol and it having NO odor like I’m used to. Make sure you avoid exposure to the skin as much as possible. It will penetrate the skin and go straight to the organs.

Using thinner for CP less is more. You don’t want to use a brush that is soak with thinner. It will cause a wet spot and more thinner will take color away even. This is time consuming to do, but this isn’t suppose to b race. I will dab the tip of the brush in the Gamsol and the brush will soak up the thinner. Then I dab it a few times on a paper towel to remove the access. I use a circler motion, but I haven’t perfected this. If I try to just do certain directions I end up leaving start and finishing marks of the stroke. I am actually thinking about using the powder blender from BrushAndPencil.com or perfecting blending without the use of OMS because once you put the thinner down on paper you have to wait it to dry and that could cause some down time.. Try it you might like it. Get a small bottle first it will last a long time..

I personally do not suggest using paint thinners generally. . . especially when oil blends colored pencil just as well (or better in the case of oil based pencils), and they are non toxic.

You can use mineral oil, which is nontoxic but never really dries, commonly used in oil pastels which is often used on paper so no worries about longevity of the surface. Or you can use a vegetable oil like Linseed, Walnut, Poppy, or safflower oil, all of which will dry at some point, though MUCH slower than a solvent. I have actually colored into a very thin layer of oil for some very interesting effects as well.

I personally do not suggest using paint thinners generally. . . especially when oil blends colored pencil just as well (or better in the case of oil based pencils), and they are non toxic.

You can use mineral oil, which is nontoxic but never really dries, commonly used in oil pastels which is often used on paper so no worries about longevity of the surface. Or you can use a vegetable oil like Linseed, Walnut, Poppy, or safflower oil, all of which will dry at some point, though MUCH slower than a solvent. I have actually colored into a very thin layer of oil for some very interesting effects as well.

believe it or not, I found out I like Olive oil A pity that it brings up a touch of green until the oil goes away (and makes hard to judge the exact color).

RobinZ, I use Walnut oil typically, any oil that actually dries is a good one in my opinion however. Solvents are likely to affect the size used in paper, after all paper is just cotton fibers (and sometimes wood fibers) mixed with glues and pressed out thinly. Oils will affect these too though, but oils dry to become a polymer of their own, in essence they are a glue. Mineral oil never (almost never) dries, but do not dissolve the size used in most paper either, being a very gentle oil in general (sometimes used as a lubricant or a laxative).

HiddenConstellation, it may be that you should use a lot more color before blending then, oil dissolves the binder, but if there isn’t a lot of it there it won’t have as much impact. I have some photos of the effect is has on my Polychromos in the CP Library here, in one of the Tips and Tricks threads, should be near the most recent there. As I use walnut oil, and it’s more active than mineral oil for blending I have found, a far better solvent and very light in color (with a good smell as well).

Thanks Delo!