Solvent in California

[Lee Schierer]

Around here we use mineral spirits to clean up solvent based poly brushes and such. I know that California has some really tight VOC emission rules. Is mineral spirits used/sold in California? If not what is used in its place?

[David DeCristoforo]

Yes, they let us have mineral spirits as well as lacquer thinner, paint thinner, acetone and tons of other nasty solvents, poisons, carcinogens and otherwise noxious substances.

[Don Bullock]

Like David said, we still have a lot of the solvents. Some, however, are becoming harder to buy. It's becoming almost impossible to find lacquer that isn't "water base."

I must admit that in California we do have some very strange laws though. I found some stained glass light fixtures that I wanted for our new home, but discovered that the company that sells them won't ship them to California. It seems that the stain used in the glass may contain lead. Somehow I don't know how one could ingest the lead from the glass in a light fixture.:rolleyes: A guy I met at a woodworking seminar was telling me that they are increasing the weight of children before they can stop using infant car seats. He said that the way things are going his kids may be in college before they can sit in a "regular" seat.:eek:

[Frank Hagan]

I was surprised I could still find naptha at Home Depot. I think there's a limit to how large a container you can buy it in; or at least, no one is buying a gallon of the stuff any more.

The problem with the California laws is that they enable civil litigation as a remedy, and we have no shortage of lawyers. There was a legal firm called "As You Sow" that was filing class action lawsuits against plumbing supply stores, manufacturers, etc. for brass and bronze fittings and faucets. There's lead in brass and bronze, and it leeches out into the drinking water. As I understand it, its not that the amount of lead is dangerous, even accumulated over a lifetime, but that the manufacturer, distributor, retailer and plumber didn't warn the consumer that the lead was there. So that "failure to warn" was worth millions in legal settlements.

Oil based paints are very hard to find; you can still get Rustoleum in an oil base, but not any common house paints, etc. At least in the big box stores.

[Shawn Walker]

I shop a lot in Washington, and it's surprising how many times I see printed on the side of shipping boxes at different stores... Not for resale in California...

[glenn bradley]

It is also getting harder to find poly that is not waterborne :mad:. Lowes and HD around here are no longer carrying. Got a deal on the last couple quarts as I am considering a BLO, Poly, MS blend for the finish of a current project ;). Laquer and varnishes are still around. Mineral spirits, BLO and all that doesn't seem to be a problem.

Oh, and we can still use tabacco . . . outside . . . if we have a permit . . . for every third day or something like that :D:D:D.

[Mike Henderson]

What I understand - and I'm not an expert - is that the professional finishing people have a lot of restrictions on what they can use, and on the equipment required to capture the vapors.

Also, the formulations of finishes sold in the stores have to meet fairly strict VOC (volatile organic compound) limits, which means that more of the finishing products are water borne.

I've used a number of water borne products and have been surprised at how well they work. There are differences in the final finish so you have to be aware of the differences and work with them. For example, many of the water borne clear finishes are just that - really clear. They don't have the amber tint that the solvent based finishes had. So if you want that amber look, you need to use a primer of perhaps amber dewaxed shellac prior to your water borne finish. This also prevents the raised grain you get from water borne products. [Side note: If you're accustom to using steel wool to rub the finish between coats, don't do it with water borne finishes. The steel wool particles stuck in the finish rust when you apply the next coat. Use those 3M pads instead.]

The Air Quality Resources Board is just trying to give us better air to breathe and the finishing products that meet their requirements work well. But they are different and have a learning curve.

Mike

[Frank Hagan]

The restrictions haven't impaired my ability to ruin a project with my substandard finishing skills! I still can get BLO and mineral spirits, and the waterborne finishes have worked well for me when I've used them.

I did pick up a couple of quarts of oil based poly just a few months ago; I used it on a bathroom vanity project in a wipe on finish with BLO and naptha. I wonder if I got the last of the stock, or if they can still sell some oil based products.

Some specialty paints, such as marine bottom paint, can still be sold here in gallon containers. Of course, a gallon of bottom paint will cost you a bundle, but you can still get it.

[Ben Rafael]

Oil based paints are very hard to find; you can still get Rustoleum in an oil base, but not any common house paints, etc. At least in the big box stores.

My understanding is that they are illegal in CA in anything larger than a pint. Some of the major paint sellers here no longer sell oil based paints or stains at all.
You need to go to Arizona if you need oil based paint or stain.

[Frank Hagan]

My understanding is that they are illegal in CA in anything larger than a pint. Some of the major paint sellers here no longer sell oil based paints or stains at all.
You need to go to Arizona if you need oil based paint or stain.

That could be right. I'll have to check to see if West Marine still sells oil based varnishes in larger sizes (Epifanes is still oil based, but I don't think it is sold in anything larger than a pint).

[David DeCristoforo]

"You need to go to Arizona..."

Or Nevada. We used to have to go to Reno to buy "real" Watco after they had to reformulate it for sale here in the granola state. The "Californicated" version was way thicker and did not penetrate nearly as well. There's lots of things you can get (or do) in Nevada that are illegal in Calif.