Is white spirit the same as thinners no 1

[andy1]

I need to let down International Traditional Yacht Varnish. International recommend thinners No 1. Can I use white spirit or general cellulose thinner. Thanks

 

[MoodySabre]

When I look for No 1 thinners for varnish the chandlers said that it was white spirit. No doubt you can buy branded stuff for 4 times the price. Anyway it worked fine.

 

[Pasarell]

You can use white spirit instead of Thinners 1 but not cellulose thinner

 

[xtiffer]

Just be careful with white spirit, nasty bits in the bottom of the container can mess up varnish. If you must use it then filter it.
For me ( in Turkey) I would only use white spirit as a brush cleaner
but thin my varnish with Epifanes Brush Thinner.
Yes, use Epifanes varnish not that International ****.
Cheers,
Chris

 

[VicS]

Yes use white spirit.
If you see nasty bits in the bottom go buy somewhere else!

Don't use cellulose thinner or brush cleaner!

 

[Leighb]

I have found that using white spirit to clean brushes used for varnish can result in a poor finish compared to using No 1 thinners. Similarly if I use white spirit to thin a primimg coat.

However it may have been down to a poor batch of white spirit?

I believe that chemically they are not the same exactly. I expect some one more knowledgeable may well correct me on this.

 

[VicS]

I believe that chemically they are not the same exactly

Difficult to discover exactly what they are. International say Thinners No. 1 contains 50 -100% Naphtha (petroleum), hydrodesulfurized heavy.
Several brands of white spirit I looked at contained 100% naphtha
Several gave a % age range similar to International one saying Naphtha (petroleum), hydro-desulphurised heavy, < 0.1% Benzene, < 3% Trimethyl benzene, < 18% Aromatics.
It all implies that quite a variation may be possible within the material, even with International Thinners No 1 !

IIRC at one time International Thinners no 1 were actually labelled as white spirit.

 

[raggy]

There are to my knowledge 3 different types of white spirit as there are 3 different ways of creating it i dont know there names but there very long. there are also 3 different grades called low flash, regular and high flash.
This is where the different costs and uses come from

 

[VicS]

There are to my knowledge 3 different types of white spirit as there are 3 different ways of creating it i dont know there names but there very long. there are also 3 different grades called low flash, regular and high flash.
This is where the different costs and uses come from

You reminded me I looked all this up once before.

Even more complex that you suggest. Three different types and three different grades within each type

A bit of an explanation on Wikipedia:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_spirit.

At the end of the day the label on the bottle you buy just says "white spirit".

 

[DanD]

Let's also not forget that with White Spirit there is Type 0, 1 and 3 with additional grades therein separated by Flash Point. But there is no Type 2, which is odd.
International Thinners No 1 has a different CAS number to any listed as White Spirit, so that would leave me to believe that the varnish that the Thinners No 1 is recommended for would be based on it.