Turpentine seems to be nasty stuff, is this the right kind?

[Tjurved]

Hello I've read that mixing linseed oil, turpentine and beeswax makes a great preservative for most stuff. The only problem is that the turpentine I got looks like some really nasty stuff that I dont wanna use. :tongue-ti Is it the right kind of turpentine for these kind of things?

 

[Ichneumon]

Real turpentine is an extract from a tree sap (a bit like rubber), can't remember which tree, but turpentine is harmless and edible. There used to be a drink called gin and turps.
What we use these days to dilute paint is turps substitute. You certainly wouldn't want to drink turp substitute! :yikes:

Not being able to speak/read Swedish I'm not sure what that label says but it's probably similar to what our labels say.

Bottom line is: When your recipe calls for turpentine it probably means the real thing - not turps substitute.

Hope this helps.

ATB Paul

 

[Toddy]

Don't know what you've got there, but real turpentine smells wonderful.
It's effectively the organic solvents distilled from resin from pine trees. Nowadays it's a byproduct of tree pulp production too.

Unfortunately the same name is given to a modern petroleum distillate

Real turpentine used to be used as teatree oil is nowadays for skin issues, but now we're told that this is contraindicated and not advisable. I still use it in my furniture polish

cheers,
M

 

[hedgerowpete]

what you have there is turpintine subsitue, which is perfectly ok to use , i am a bee keeper and use litres of the stuff as propper turpintine is not cost effective to use.

the mix of beeswax one part and turpintine subsitue one part is a basic for furniture/wax polish the adding of linseed oil makes it more of a leather balsam whith the linseed oil we reduce some of the turpintine so try this as a basic recipe all volumes are by size not weights so find an old cup or can to measure with and to mix it up in the can you want to keep it in unless you are going to poor it into multiple cans

bees wax one cup full
turpintine subsitute half to three quarters cup
linseed oil half to three quarters of a cup

heat and melt the bees wax in a large container combine the two oils in a seperate container when the wax is melted just poor the lot together and mix like crazy when it stiffens as the wax sets just stop and the jobs done

i have a massive posting /sticky of hundreds of recipes on bees waxs from polishs to lip balms and leather balsams ect if anyone wants a copy just pm me a propper email address and i will send it over to you, i did have it on rapidshare but for some reason it only allows me to upload for one month at a time rather than permantly

any other questions on bees wax just ask i have hundreds of recipes for differant things

when the wax is moulten if you want to add some essentcial oils to make it smell better or the like thats when to do so

for me personal pertunia oil is the smell for leather soaps
and camila/ leamon oil ( we are talking two or three drops by the way ) for out door furniture

 

[hedgerowpete]

forgot to say the sticky i have writen for the bee keeping site on waxs is very very big the polishes section is 19 pages lon and the other recipes for wax other than polishes like lip balms ect is 31 pages long so they are a bit of a monster when i email them to you

 

[Toddy]

5ltrs of real turps is under £20, and I find the difference between it and the fake, is like night and day

The real stuff makes brilliant furniture polish; the fake stuff works, but it doesn't smell as good, doesn't feel right.
I'd rather have the tree derivative than that from the petrochemical distillation, especially if using real beeswax and especially in my home.

Not sure about 'cost effective', but from my own point of view, I'm not using the substitute.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Tjurved]

It does not smell great but it could be my nose . Here in Sweden we have something called "lacknafta" that seems to be mineral turpentine so I think it's the right sort in the picture. I have never seen turpentine without those nasty markings on the label! Lacknafta is less then half the price of balsamterpentin.

 

[Toddy]

Look up the Material Safety Data Sheet for both of the names you give.
The Swedish ones should give you all the information on both types.

Like these
http://ltp-online.co.uk/images/coshh-4101-Genuine_Turps.pdf

http://www.birdbrand.co.uk/msds/Turpentine%20Substitute.pdf

cheers,
M

 

[rancid badger]

try this, it doesn't seem to translate to english very well but, failing this you could try wikipedia etc?
http://www.linoljefarg.se/Linoljefarg/Terpentin%20och%20andra%20l%F6sningsmedel.pdf

 

[blacktimberwolf]

What you want is essence of turpentine which can be found in art shops.............................................& despite what was said on an earlier post, it is not 'edible'

 

[Tjurved]

Thanks Toddy now I know I have the real stuff but the genuine stuff is still kinda nasty. So I made 3 batches today. From left to right:
1. about 1 part raw linseed oil, 2 parts beeswax and less than 1 part turpentine. The most yellow batch. Intended for woodwork mainly.
2. about 1 part beeswax, 2 parts lard (perhaps I should store this cold and watch out for it getting rancid?) and half a part of turpentine. Intended for leather or lubrication of moving parts.
3. about 1 part beeswax and 3 parts liquid paraffin oil (food safe). For metal care, before I used only liquid paraffin oil but I imagine that this will stick better plus its easier and less messy to use.

 

[Toddy]

You've been productive

Hedgerow Pete might know a better range of beeswax leathercare recipes than I do, but I have a leather care cream that uses castille soap in the mixture.
I can find it......

cheers,
Toddy

 

[hedgerowpete]

the email with the wax recipes has a lot to start with.

basicly start with a simple basic recipe and then change and add to it, beeswax and linseed oil is the starter half and half you can add other oils and if wanted essencal oils if you want to enhance the smells

 

[John Fenna]

Real turpentine used to be used as teatree oil is nowadays for skin issues,

"Queen, Queen Caroline washed her face in Turpentine,
Turpentine made it shine,
Queen, Queen Caroline!"
and I could never figure that one out before....

 

[John Fenna]

My favourite wood treatment is Beeswax and Teak oil melted together in a Bain-Marie to a soft paste.

 

[Toddy]

Turpentine cleared out acne and blackheads, stopped bacterial infections and thus cleared the skin......like Teatree is used nowadays
Doesn't stop the acne, that's usually a hormonal thing, but it does help clear and heal the infection/inflammation.

*Not recommended nowadays*

For wood I use beeswax, turpentine, olive oil, and bergamot essential oil.

cheers,
M

 

[Gotte]

You have to be careful, with turps, though, as it can self combust, if on a rag (though not as bad as linseed oil).

 

[Tjurved]

You have to be careful, with turps, though, as it can self combust, if on a rag (though not as bad as linseed oil).

Yes I store the rag inside the jar. I do the same with brushes I use with linseed oil in bigger jars.

 

[jojo]

Real turpentine and linseed oil cure though an exothermic reaction, which mean it produces heat during the curing process. They don't dry by evaporation. That's why a pile rags can heat up and catch fire.

Both can be "nasty" stuff. But so can substitute turp (or white spirit). And so can be all sorts of natural oils for that matter. And so can water be: the most potent solvents of all!

A few sensible precautions: plastic gloves and doing in it plenty of ventilation and you'll be fine... and don't drink any of that stuff...

 

[Hugo]

My favourite wood treatment is Beeswax and Teak oil melted together in a Bain-Marie to a soft paste.

John I find Teak oil really penetrates the wood fast, I usually put a first coat of that on my project then linseed after, that way there seems to more take up of oil.