Originally Posted by cyccommute

From what you have posted, neither of the substances are “turpentine”. They are petroleum distillates that can be used like turpentine but they are substitutes. You can think of turpentine as a “natural product” while the petroleum based solvent is the “artificial” solvent. Turpentine is made either by collecting tree sap and distilling it (like maple syrup) or by destructive distillation of pine wood, usually from stumps and slash (unusable limbs). I don’t have any experience with true turpentine so I can’t speak to how fast it evaporates. Petroleum distillates evaporate relatively fast with the odorless variety evaporating a bit slower than the “odored” type. The evaporation rate is related to the flash point with naphtha (white gas, Coleman fuel, etc.) evaporating slightly faster since it has a lower flash point…<-18°C vs 20°C to 50°C. Odorless mineral spirits tends to be less flammable and thus a bit safer to use. Compare that to the flashpoint of petrol which is -40°C which means it will ignite in most any condition we humans can experience.

The other difference between odored and odorless mineral spirits is the presence of aromatic hydrocarbons. Benzene, and to a lesser extent xylene and toluene, is a chronic, or long term, toxin . In sufficient quantities it can be an acute, or short term toxin, although that requires vast quantities. The combined aromatics are called BTX and petrol contains up to 25% BTX with benzene in concentrations up to 2% but it is the more concerning chemical when it comes to health effects. Even odored mineral spirits and white gas contain 0.1 to 1% benzene which is still a concern. Use gloves when handling it.



Testbenzin translates to “solvent naphtha” which is odored mineral spirits. Technically it is called “low flash” mineral spirits with the flash point closer to 20°C. It will work but is a little more toxic. Like a broken record, use nitrile gloves. They should stand up to about 15 minutes of exposure in a 0.127mm (5 mil) thickness.