"Dan_Musicant" wrote in message
...
Posted and emailed

On Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:50:02 -0800, in alt.home.repair you wrote:

:The last time I bought a gallon of mineral spirits (about 18 months ago,
:I believe) it cost $2.50. That was very high I thought at the time.
:Yesterday in Lowe's, I noticed the cheapest brand was selling for $8.00!
: Is there any reason for this other than plain greed and price gouging?
:Paul in San Francisco

I haven't bought any paint thinner for a number of years. I remember it
being pretty cheap, maybe $2/gallon, and I have two gallon cans (one
metal the other plastic), in varying degrees of fullness. I generally
pour a little off into glass jars from which I get whatever paint
thinner I need for a variety of purposes.

I usually recycle my paint thinner. Thus, if I clean a brush with paint
thinner, I pour the liquid into another jar which is kept for the
purpose. After a time, clear liquid rises to the top and the impurities
settle to the bottom and form a firm substance. Thus, I can decanter off
what is essentially simply clear paint thinner from that jar when I next
need a bit of thinner. Using this practice is a big part of the reason I
don't need to buy thinner very often. I even reuse thinner I use to
clean the chain on my bike, after the sediment has settled out. Reusing
it is also better for the environment, certainly better than pouring it
down the drain or allowing it to evaporate (unburned hydrocarbons).

Dan in Berkeley



Another trick for using less is to NOT clean the brush if you're painting
today, and then doing another coat tomorrow. Instead, wrap the brush in
aluminum foil, being careful to keep the bristles nice & flat. Put that into
a plastic bag, and place in the freezer. Take it out about 30 minutes ahead
of painting, and it'll be as if you'd never stopped the day before.