Any chemists in the room?

[Time to grow]

Anyone know the Thai equivalent of Mineral Spirits in Thailand? The available choices at the hardware store are in Thai making it difficult to determine what chemicals are used. I specifically need hydrocarbon based Mineral Spirits to clean wet polyurethane from polycarbonate. I know the mineral spirits sold in the USA wont harm the polycarbonate whereas pine based turpentine will destroy the polycarbonate. To make maters worse, it is beginning to sound like some version of mineral spirits is actually sold as turpentine. I suppose another solvent could work in this application but I am familiar with mineral spirits and I am reluctant to risk damaging the polycarbonate with an unknown product.

[sometimewoodworker]

26 minutes ago, Time to grow said:

Anyone know the Thai equivalent of Mineral Spirits in Thailand?

They use the English rather than American term.

[sometimewoodworker]

33 minutes ago, Time to grow said:

To make maters worse, it is beginning to sound like some version of mineral spirits is actually sold as turpentine.

Since White spirit is a cheaper alternative to turpentine used in painting and originally also called turpentine substitute, that isn’t surprising 

Edited February 27, 2020 by sometimewoodworker

[Time to grow]

5 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

They use the English rather than American term.

Thank you so much. This is a great help to me. Much appreciated.

[sometimewoodworker]

6 minutes ago, Time to grow said:

Thank you so much. This is a great help to me. Much appreciated.

The only difficulty is in knowing which of the 4 different versions of white sprit and of those 4 which of the three flash point versions is in use, also if any of that makes any difference in your particular use.

Edited February 27, 2020 by sometimewoodworker

[Time to grow]

2 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The only difficulty is in knowing which of the 4 different versions of white sprit and of those 4 which of the three flash point versions is in use, also if any of that makes any difference in your particular use.

Just when I thought it was all coming together....

[sometimewoodworker]

It is quite fun using the google translate photo app and seeing the different translations of the Thai, you gain a better understanding of why Thai people can’t understand what we are talking about.

[sometimewoodworker]

3 minutes ago, Time to grow said:

Just when I thought it was all coming together....

More than you ever wanted to know ???? 

Edited February 27, 2020 by sometimewoodworker

[ExpatOilWorker]

What is the stuff they sell in 5 gal metal cans labeled "Thinner"?

 

There seem to be a wide range of thinners on the market: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint_thinner

[sometimewoodworker]

It is quite fun using the google translate photo app and seeing the different translations of the Thai, you gain a better understanding of why Thai people can’t understand what we are talking about.

[sometimewoodworker]

5 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

What is the stuff they sell in 5 gal metal cans labeled "Thinner"?

 

There seem to be a wide range of thinners on the market: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint_thinner

There is usually something more than just thinner on the label though it may be AAA.

 

however paint thinner varies from H²O through CH³OH, White spirit,  C³H⁶O, C⁷H⁸, and others just called esters and ketones, many of these can be mixed together.
 

So the first point is what paint do you want to thin, then do you have a mask with Organic Vapor Cartridges and how aggressive a thinner do you want.

[sometimewoodworker]

More google translation fun

 

Edited February 27, 2020 by sometimewoodworker

[Time to grow]

On 2/27/2020 at 8:41 PM, sometimewoodworker said:

More google translation fun

Those are awesome!

[sometimewoodworker]

18 minutes ago, Time to grow said:

Those are awesome!

I rather like the “Reminder to keep the hands around the children”

[Lacessit]

Mineral spirits covers such a wide range of possibilities. The OP would be better off going with known chemical names. For the cleaning he wants to do, does he want:

A aliphatic hydrocarbon? Straight chain or isomeric?

An aromatic hydrocarbon?

An alcohol?

A ketone?

A halogenated compound?

I suspect he needs an aliphatic, in which case he should buy AR or GR grade hexane to be sure of what he is getting. Highly flammable.

[bankruatsteve]

On 2/27/2020 at 8:34 PM, sometimewoodworker said:

H²O through CH³OH, White spirit,  C³H⁶O, C⁷H⁸,

Just nit picky, but number of atoms are subscripts.  Superscripts show charge.

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, bankruatsteve said:

Just nit picky, but number of atoms are subscripts.  Superscripts show charge.

That shows how much I remember about chemistry ???? the thing that really sticks in my memory though is the phenomenal fun we had the day they demonstrated the effects of cryogenic gasses the best, apart from the mercury hammer, was the amazing explosion caused by dipping a small cotton wool ball into liquid oxygen then bringing it close to a flame.

[Time to grow]

On 2/29/2020 at 4:02 PM, Lacessit said:

Mineral spirits covers such a wide range of possibilities

Okay, that's why I specifically asked for a chemist or someone knowledgeable of the thinners available. It sounds like you may have a more in-depth knowledge of what may be a suitable product? I cited the specific use case and concern that I damage the polycarbonate. I am not a chemist and I do not know the ingredients of the product sold in America under the name of Mineral Spirits but I do know it wont harm the polycarbonate. If you have specific knowledge of other products that are suitable in this case, please do share...

 

In the mean time, White Spirits doesn't seem to be available in my rural area. I have ordered some on Lazada but it hasn't arrived yet.