Ed Huntress wrote:

(...)

g You're really getting caught up in an overlapping lexicon. Varsol is a
brand name, but it also became a sort of generic name for unbranded Stoddard
solvent and similar types of hydrocarbon solvent. It was standard-issue
paint solvent and cleaner, moderately slow-drying. It also is 50% of WD-40.
An old-time hardware store in my town, now deceased, sold it from a tap. You
brought your own can.

I remember the local _Star and Bar_ gas station had a separate pump
for 'White Gas'!

Mineral spirits, white spirit, Stoddard solvent, etc., are pretty much the
same, unless you're a professional painter and are tuned into slight
differences in drying speed. All of these closely-related hydrocarbons have
similar characteristics. They're aliphatic hydrocarbons (relatively safe),
sometimes with some aromatic hydrocarbons (very unsafe) in low percentages
(making them safe enough for home use, more or less).

VM&P was the only stuff I found that would remove the rubber 'spots'
left on my hardwood floor by 'throw rug' non-skid 'backing'.
Left the floor shiny, and nice looking, it did.
I used *lots* of ventilation.

Naptha sold for painting use, known as Naptha VM&P ("varnish makers and
painters), is not a precise product. Like the generic "mineral spirits," it
covers a pretty broad range of volatility, and it may have small percentages
of phenol and other dangerous crap in it. I think it's a bit more volatile
than the usual run of "mineral spirits," but that's based on limited
experience and long ago.

There is more, but my knowledge of chemistry taps out right here. I don't
want to lead you astray. For your cleaning use, it seems unlikely that
you'll notice any difference among these products, but maybe you will.

Doubtless the VM&P I've used over the years has been a Dukes Mixture
of leftovers from higher quality product. I never noticed, though.
It always worked a treat.

If you want a handy thing to try, give WD-40 a shot. As I said, it's 50%
solvent that's in the Stoddard-solvent class, plus 15% mineral oil of some
type, and the balance is propellant. If naptha works, WD-40 should work.
Maybe.g

In my misspent yout, I soaked the table of my sheet metal shear with
WD-40 as a rust preventative. Oops. After the volatiles totally
disappeared, I was left with a mottled waxy surface that *still* allowed
rust spots to develop. I cleaned it off with some naptha and then,
following an old trick gleaned from an ancient _Mechanix Illustrated_,
I 'whooshed' on some dry graphite and rubbed it in with a cloth towel.
The surface remains pristine and rather nice looking.

--Winston