Robert,

My lucky day you were reading rec.woodworking! Is there another newsgroup where you more
frequently post? Your detailed guidance / instructions have been invaluable to me in
several instances and greatly appreciated.

Was curious as to what VM&P meant - now I know. I too recall Energine - nasty smelling
stuff my mom used for the same purpose as did your dad.

The VM&P MSDS identifies the main ingredient (95-100%) as petroleum ether. Only
recollection I have of ether is that in gaseous form it burns exceedingly rapidly.

Will check the local Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore stores to get the 'good stuff' and
start cleaning.

Thanks again and best wishes to you and your family for a safe, healthy, and very Merry
Christmas!

Doug


" wrote:

Doug - a one in a million chance I am here! I don't get to this group much so good for both of us.

The naptha you have found is Varnish Maker's and Painter's Naptha. It is not known for its purity, but rather for the fact that it will thin varnish and paint successfully. It allows a very wide spectrum of ingredients and mixtures of the same to hit the lowest common denominator of simply being able to thin an oil based product.

Naptha has the "not to be used as a cleaner" warning posted in it as there were several different solutions of naptha used for decades as dry cleaning fluids. So when you took your dress suit to the cleaners, they used naptha or a solution with naptha in it to clean it, along with other non washable clothes. Find that out, it was a short cut for many to clean their non washables themselves with a small can of naptha (my Dad kept "Energine" around when I was a kid) to hit spots and possible stains. Naptha was widely used as a utility cleaner in the manufacturing and industrial community as well. There are too many other cleaners that do the job better and safer these days for those applications.

But naptha still has its place. Go to a real paint store (not Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.) like Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore and get some real, first brew naptha. Most naptha is recycled cleaning agents from heavy industry and is a mix of all kinds of stuff (as most thinners are). This isn't illegal as "naptha" is simply a trade name, not an exact product. However, the stuff you get at the paint store will be minimally blended, so there will be much less chance of that product reacting with anything that might be left behind on your furniture.