Storing thinners

[Maurice Cox 1Participant @mauricecox1]

About nine months ago, I purchased a can of thinners; the cheaper stuff for washing out spray guns and general degreasing. I used about half a pint, and the rest was stored under the bench. I went to use some more two days ago, and found the can to be nearly empty/ The can had rusted away from the inside and the contents leaked away, probably during the summer when the workshop got and the air in the top of the tin expanded. I have since been told that the thinners that is less refined contains water!

Lesson; next time, decant thinners into another container that wont rust.

[Maurice Cox 1Participant @mauricecox1]

[AJWParticipant @ajw]

Don’t know why it’s sold in tins, I always pour it into a plastic container – once bitten!

Alan

[RJWParticipant @rjw]

Saw a 'sealed' 100 litre barrel of Freon11 flushing fluid do that, (long before it was outlawed), 100 quid up the spout and lord knows what it did to the ozone layer, the owner's rant added no end to it

John.

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

Not sure about containing water, but I have some thinners in a metal can purchased about 5 years ago when I did some spray painting and still in good condition.

Paul.

[Maurice Cox 1Participant @mauricecox1]

I'm told that thinners of the quality for diluting paint to spray is fine; it is the "gun wash" grade that is less refined and contains some water.

Maurice

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

I always decant thinners ,of whatever type, into glass bottles. Get the litre bottles and larger from the pub. rake about the bin for the screwtop.

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Got to be careful about plastic containers, (A) does the thinner attack the plastic. (B) does the plastic withstand UV/ sun light, I find that some containers made today don't last much more than a year or three, where as I have similar looking containers that are over 30 years old and still look like new.

Ian S C

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Maurice is correct, gun wash has quite a lot of water in it, whereas non bloom thinners has next to none, hence the tin lasting years. I have some 10 years old, the tin is fine.

BTW never, ever use gun wash to save money or avoid a trip to buy more proper thinners. the water content gets trapped in the paint and even left several warm days and don't think primer being porous means it can't get trapped, it does.

Finish looks good till the first frost when the micro blisters appear.

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