No. I recently discovered when I tried to dissolve Soluvar Varnish with Odorless Mineral Spirits, that I had applied to an oil painting [and it didn’t work], that Odorless Mineral Spirits and White Spirits are two different things.

Odorless Mineral Spirits has had something (apparently powerful) taken out, in order to make it “Odorless”, thus weakening its dissolving capabilities.

White Spirits is a petroleum distillate that still contains all the powerful dissolving capabilities. It smells, but it has more dissolving power, apparently.

I always believed that “White Spirits” was just a British name for that which we in the USA call Odorless Mineral Spirits, but I recently learned otherwise. Apparently White Spirits would have dissolved the Soluvar Varnish, whereas the Odorless Mineral Spirits would not. (I can attest to the fact that OMS did NOT effectively dissolve Soluvar Varnish.) Not sure that White Spirits would have either, since I don’t have any of that.:)

OMS contains ~2% Toluene or less, while MS (White spirit) contains ~15% of Toluene or even more. Solvent power of regular MS (White spirit, Stoddard solvent) is much stronger than of OMS. OMS is not useful to prepare Alkyds or mineral spirit varnishes.

OMS contains ~2% Toluene or less, while MS (White spirit) contains ~15% of Toluene or even more. Solvent power of regular MS (White spirit, Stoddard solvent) is much stronger than of OMS. OMS is not useful to prepare Alkyds or mineral spirit varnishes.

So…..THAT explains the distinct odor of alkyd mediums! The alkyd manufacturers HAVE to use a Mineral Spirit that has a smell, or it wouldn’t be compatible with alkyd. Got it!

Seems I’ve been wrong all these years; Liquin and Galkyd do not smell like Kerosene, or Gasoline,…….they smell like Toluene. . That makes perfect sense to me, and I’m trying to recall the actual odor of Toluene, since it’s been a long time since I’ve smelled it. I do think that’s the smell of alkyd oil paint mediums!:thumbsup:

White spirits is the British term for mineral spirits. Just Google “white spirits meaning” to avoid all the alkyd misinformation that you get here.

Just interesting, what substance has better longevity, – Alkyd with white spirit odor or refined and sun bleached fast drying linseed oil? What is really more flexible and less yellow after 60 years of time exposed? :confused: Or they both are wrong at all?