Gamblin Gamsol

I'm afraid I have to start with out pulling any punches. Gamblin's main objective is to sell their product. To do this they have to create reasonable doubt that you are better off with out turpentine and damar in your paint. Fear is the tool of choice. With out getting political you know how persuasive this tool is. I'm going to quote from their Solvent Comparison Chart handout. The first topic is "A Low Solvent Level Studio". (They started with the first punch) Remove turpentine, mineral spirits and painting mediums that contain mixtures or damar resin varnish and turpentine to make your studio safer.

So to start with they say turpentine is toxic and mineral spirits are not. That's their claim... No.. drinking mineral spirits will kill you faster then drinking turpentine. Pure turpentine was used as an external medicine in days of old, http://www.healthcentral.com/peoplespharmacy/408/61106.html - http://www.geocities.com/heartland/hills/8929/cures.html - Petroleum products dry oil paint differently then tree turpentine does and should be used only as a cheap brush cleaning solvent. (but not on my fine brushes, thank you)

Doerner explained in his 1934 book, the one Mayer copied, The Materials of the Artist, and explained how "they are unnatural with paints that absorb oxygen while drying, being refined from a nondrying petroleum oil, they only evaporate, without absorbing oxygen. Petroleum thinners are good only for cleaning brushes of the house painting trade, not the expensive brushes we use as artists. They should be cleaned in brush oil. Petroleum thinner will not dissolve the valuable damar varnish either, as turpentine does so well."

At 12:30 PM on Aug 20th, 2008 I put 16 measured drops into two similar small jars to test Gamblin's claim stated in their yellow handout called "Solvent Comparison Chart."

It states that Gamsol is a highly refined odorless mineral spirit (OMS) that evaporates 100% and leaves no sticky residue in the paint film. That Gamsol is 100% aliphatic, which means it contains no harmful aromatic components at all. Excellent solvent for thinning Galkyd and oil paints.

On Aug. 25th, 10PM. I took this photo of the two jars. The turpentine jar on the right is empty, at the bottom of the jar is a dry layer of clear film, I could tell even though it was not wet a film was covering the glass. It had been dry since Aug. 21st, 15 hours after the test started. The Gamsol on the other hand still was not dry 130 hours later. This was very troubling, mold is growing and it looks like wet cotton. I don't know how much longer there will still be liquid in the bottom of the jar but right now my finger smears oil. Aug. 27th, still not evaporated.

Now I can call it a propaganda chart, the truth is Gamsol does not dry in a "Moderate" time as Gamblin Solvent Comparison Chart claims, "siting turpentine dries 5 times faster then Gamsol." The fact is turpentine was dry nine times faster.. so far. All oil paints normally are dry by 3 days if no drier is added to them. I don't like the unmentioned fact that Gamsol dries slower then oil paint. This gamsol has been wet for five days already and mold is growing in the wet. Don't use it. Artists have know this since da Vinci tried painting with "rock oil" as he called it. Just say no.
Aug. 28th evaporated but there is still an oily film on the bottom growing mold and it's getting fuzzier.

Any artist that has made their own oil media knows damar and wax make the paint paint better and yellow less, You as an artist need turpentine. By the way, their handout didn't mention that Gamsol and wax dissolve milky at best while turpentine devolves clear, and it stays milky when dry. Most tubed paint has a little wax in them. Mussini has wax and damar.

I have to say I like the drying speed of alkyds, I like being able to crawl all over my painting in three hours. Another nice thing about alkyd, you don't need much of it. 25-30% added to thinner (turpentine) and you're in there. I had to use a lot higher percent of oil in oil paintings which yellows more than alkyds. Not that alkyds don't yellow. I had a bottle that let in some air, and it dried solid and brown.

If you ever wanted to extend the drying time of Alkyd a drop of linseed oil will do it fine. Me? I use a hair drier with my watercolors and acrylics, I like it fast! Nahiku Path to the Sun with Alkyd

Permissible Exposure Levels are measured in parts per million, this OSHA standard rates solvents by how strong and how much solvent is safe to work around before the air is considered hazardous. (Gamsol says) The higher Permissible Exposure Level indicates a slower evaporation rate. (They say) Gamsol has a 300 rating. Turpentine has a 100 rating, meaning it evaporates faster.

I say Gamblin should go back to these tables and re-read it. Here are substances I pulled from the OSHA Regulations I found on Google.

This OSHA excerpt shows Acetone as one example: You can see the PEL #1000 has nothing to do with evaporation as Gamblin states.

Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR)
TABLE Z-1 Limits for Air Contaminants. - 1910.1000 TABLE Z-1
First the substance............... |Case Number| OSHA PEL: TWA ppm | mg/m3)
Ammonia...................................| 7664-41-7 | 50 | 35 |
Turpentine.................................| 8006-64-2 | 100 | 560 |
Isopropyl alcohol......................| 67-63-0 | 400 | 980 |
Ethyl acetate............................| 141-78-6 | 400 | 1400 |
Petroleum distillates Solvent..| No Case # | 500 | 2000 |
Isopropyl ether.........................| 108-20-3 | 500 | 2100 |
Ethyl alcohol (Ethanol)............ |64-17-5 | 1000 | 1900 |
Acetone.....................................| 67-64-1 | 1000 | 2400 |
Propane.....................................| 74-98-6 | 1000 | 1800 |
Liquified petroleum gas...........| 68476-85-7 | 1000 | 1800 |

By spending a few hours on Google searching turpentine and petroleum distillates I noted the earlier references and encyclopedias don't mention turpentine as being dangerous, while the newer edited pages use the same terms and phrases over and over, either grouping it with mineral spirits as an artist solvent or calming it to be toxic. Never are mineral sprits show as being very poisonous and deadly. Something is foul here. This all happened in the last 10 years. The promoters of mineral sprits are writing Wikipedia, e.i.
# Turpentine, or wood turpentine, the organic solvent derived from tree resin; it is a traditional solvent used by painters.
# Mineral turpentine, the cheaper, mineral oil based replacement for turpentine.

I am going to try and set these records straight.

Gamsol is a STODDARD SOLVENT
1. Product Identification
Synonyms: White spirits; Mineral spirits type I; Petroleum distillate
CAS No.: 8052-41-3
Molecular Weight: Not applicable to mixtures.
Chemical Formula: > 65% C10 or higher hydrocarbons
Product Codes: V110

DANGER! HARMFUL OR FATAL IF SWALLOWED. AFFECTS CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. MAY AFFECT KIDNEYS. FLAMMABLE LIQUID AND VAPOR. HARMFUL IF INHALED. CAUSES IRRITATION TO SKIN, EYES AND RESPIRATORY TRACT.

Inhalation:
Effects are typically those of most hydrocarbons, dizziness and euphoria leading to unconsciousness in severe cases. Vapors also irritate the respiratory tract. Symptoms may include coughing, difficult breathing and chest pain. A central nervous system depressant.

Ingestion:
Fatal dose for humans estimated at 3-4 oz, but ingestion of much smaller amounts may cause lung edema and possible death because of aspiration into lungs.

Skin Contact:
The defatting action of this solvent may lead to soreness, inflammation and, possibly, dermatitis.

Eye Contact:
Vapors may be irritating at concentrations of 450 ppm and above (15 minutes exposure) and contact with the liquid solvent can be painful and possibly damaging to eye tissues.

Chronic Exposure:
Chronic exposure may lead to central nervous system complications, blood changes (aplastic anemia, a rare occurrence that is potentially fatal), and dermatitis. Animal studies have indicated the potential for liver and kidney damage.

Aggravation of Pre-existing Conditions:
Persons with pre-existing skin disorders or eye problems or impaired kidney function may be more susceptible to the effects of the substance.

Some of the TPH compounds can affect your central nervous system. One compound can cause headaches and dizziness at high levels in the air. Another compound can cause a nerve disorder called "peripheral neuropathy," consisting of numbness in the feet and legs. Other TPH compounds can cause effects on the blood, immune system, lungs, skin, and eyes.

Animal studies have shown effects on the lungs, central nervous system, liver, and kidney from exposure to TPH compounds. Some TPH compounds have also been shown to affect reproduction and the developing fetus in animals.

Turpentine (also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, wood turpentine, gum turpentine) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene.

The two primary uses of turpentine in industry are as a solvent and as a source of materials for organic synthesis.

As a solvent, turpentine is used for thinning oil-based paints, for producing varnishes, and as a raw material for the chemical industry.
CANADA BALSAM, also called Canada turpentine or balsam of fir, is a turpentine which is made from the resin of the balsam fir.
VENICE TURPENTINE is produced from the Western Larch Larix occidentalis.

Turpentine is also used as a source of raw materials in the synthesis of fragrant chemical compounds. Commercially used camphor, linalool, alpha-terpineol, and geraniol are all usually produced from alpha-pinene and beta-pinene, which are two of the chief chemical components of turpentine. These pinenes are separated and purified by distillation. The mixture of diterpenes and triterpenes that is left as residue after turpentine distillation is sold as rosin.

Turpentine is also added to many cleaning and sanitary products due to its antiseptic properties and its "clean scent".

In early 19th Century America, turpentine was sometimes burned in lamps as a cheap alternative to whale and nut oils.

Though internal administration is no longer common today, it was once administered by masking the taste by dosing sugar cubes, molasses, or honey, or when unavailable, straight. It was a treatment for intestinal parasites due to its antiseptic and diuretic properties, and a general cure-all.