ThreeSprings Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 I'm about to embark on my first finish job - a Warmoth telecaster body in Alder. Dan Erlewine (and others) suggest I should clean the body with Naptha before sealing it. As I understand it, lighter fluids contain naptha, I'm a little concerned that they might also contain other compoundsthat could effect the subsequent vinyl sealer and or nitro finish. Can anyone confirm that something like Zippo lighter fluid is ok to use. Alternatively, does anyone know if and where it's possible to get pure Naptha in the UK? TIA, MikeB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 I use lighter fluid quite often for cleaning stuff and have never had any compatability problems. For cleaning bodies before painting i use normal panel wipe and again i've not had any issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSprings Posted February 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 I use lighter fluid quite often for cleaning stuff and have never had any compatability problems. For cleaning bodies before painting i use normal panel wipe and again i've not had any issues. Thanks. I'd never heard of panel wipe before. In fact, I've never spayed a damned thing before this! I'm just trying to learn as much as I can before starting. I've found a local automotive factor who does panel wipe. They have it in 1 and 5 Litre containers but they don't know whether or not it's naptha based. I guess that it should be ok anyway because the automotive guys use it for de-greasing and I suspect that they can't tolerate leftover contaminents any more than I can. /MikeB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Usually hardware stores carry naptha or paint stores. It is sometimes sold as VM&P Naptha, but it is the same thing. VM&P stands for Varnish Makers and Painters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSprings Posted February 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 (edited) Usually hardware stores carry naptha or paint stores. It is sometimes sold as VM&P Naptha, but it is the same thing. VM&P stands for Varnish Makers and Painters. Thanks, although I just got back from the motor factor. I bought some of their Panel Wipe. When I called them yesterday and asked the guy if their panel wipe was Naptha, he said that he didn't know. I asked him to read the container to see if it said anything about Naptha. They went away for a minute or so, then came back and said "No, there's nothing written on it". I decided to get some anyway, so drove over there and picked one up. In reasonably large print on the front, were the words: "Low boiling point, hydrogen treated naptha" /MikeB Edited February 21, 2008 by ThreeSprings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 'Naphta' is one of those amorphous, vague terms. In the US, it means lighter fluid. I'm fairly certain it's the same thing as coleman fuel, or white spirit, which any UK/European hardware store will stock, while folks will look at you strangely if you ask for 'naphta'. White spirits are commonly used degreasers for paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSprings Posted February 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 'Naphta' is one of those amorphous, vague terms. In the US, it means lighter fluid. I'm fairly certain it's the same thing as coleman fuel, or white spirit Hmmm. I'm not so sure that naptha is the same as white spirit. In Dan Erlewine's book on finishing, he discusses cleaning the wood before sealing it. IIRC, he suggests using naptha followed by mineral spirit. It's my understanding that in the UK, mineral spirit is known as 'White Spirit' So, if he's saying use naptha then white spirit, I suspect that Naptha and white spirit are different things. Then again, I've been wrong before /MikeB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 naptha (the lighter fluid kind) is definately better for cleaning and flashes off faster than the white spirit we have over here - so they are different things here but not sure how different ... white spirit is another of those names that could mean lots of different things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 white spirit is another name fore mineral spirits. Mineral spirits are a petroleum distilate like naptha, but naptha has a lower boiling point and therefore a lower flash point and evaporation point. Naptha is less oilly than mineral spirits. Mineral spirits is kerosene that has been chemically treated to remove certain chemicals to reduce the unpleasant smell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 another name for naptha is shellite, which is the name that is used for it in australia. wouldnt be surprised if that's the name you should look for in the uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Mineral spirits is kerosene that has been chemically treated to remove certain chemicals to reduce the unpleasant smell. I was cleaning with some kerosene the other day...I don't know about you guys, but I actually like the smell of fuels! CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 That will be the benzene then CMA. Everybody loves the smell of benzene because the body enjoys it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 (edited) *puts down the can of kerosene* Ahhhh....so that's it! Oh wait...that stuffs poisonous isn't it?....*ack!* CMA Edited February 27, 2008 by CrazyManAndy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Ummm...it's not actually bad until your liver metabolises it, in which case it becomes carcinogenic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 It appears my attempt at humor failed...damn your eyes, internet! CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 My factual humour never fails to amuse either, obviously :-D Lighter fluid seems to do the trick but it doesn't go very far because of it's volatility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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