??? on Odorless Mineral Spirits and DIY Sil

I recently bought a quart? bottle at WW. The bottle was clear and the OMS were clear. I went back for more, too coat my big tarp with, so I bought a gallon. The bottle was white, not clear. Didn't think anything about it. Today, I put the silicone into a container to mix it, opened the MS and poured it out. It was WHITE, almost like milk. I thought maybe it would dry clear, and since the silicone was already in the air, I proceeded to to mix. The final mix was thick, I added more of the MS, it didn't thin it at all. I put a little on some fabric to "test", it was almost like the grade school white glue. I was able to wipe it off. Went back to the container and it was even worst. Any ideas as to what happened? The wrong stuff in the bottle from manufacture? Or wrong label? I don't know. But, tomarrow, back to buy a CLEAR bottle, so I can see whats inside.

Just thought I would put this out, so no one else has this problem, and waste their money on having to buy more MS and sil.

The white color is probably caused by some stabilizing agent mixed with the mineral spirits to reduce the amount of fuming it tends to do. It could also be something intended to allow better coating/penetration/whatever for the more common uses for mineral spirits. I'd wager it's 'a feature, not a bug'.

-Smalls

I was a commercial paint contractor for 12 years, and during that time I never once saw a container of mineral spirits that was anything but clear (odorless or non odorless). Nor have I ever seen mineral spirits sold in a clear bottle. In my experience the bottle has always been white. However, on more than one occasion I have grabbed the wrong product from the shelf by accident.

Here's a question for Roadrunner72: when you removed the cap from the bottle, did it have a foil or cardboard seal over the opening? If not, I would suspect foul play, and return it immediately to WW (is that WalMart?)

Long story short: In my opinion, what you bought and attempted to use was not mineral spirits.

I have had great success using the odorless mineral spirits (from Home Depot) with the GE brand clear silicone for producing DIY silnylon tarps and stuff sacs. I generally mix 2 liters (close to 2 quarts) of MS with one full tube of caulk. This makes for a big batch of solution, but I can do two full size tarps first, then dip the smaller stuff. No need for seam sealer of any kind, and totally water proof, with one caveat: I only started making this stuff a year ago, and therefore can not speak to its longevity.

jspate61, thanks for the response. WW=Wally world=Walmart. Yes it did have a foil seal, and it was broken, after I punched a hole in it.

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Long story short: In my opinion, what you bought and attempted to use was not mineral spirits

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A pic is worth a 1000 words: The one on the left I bought today, from a different WW. The one on the right is the problem 1. [IMG]http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery..._001_thumb.jpg[/IMG]

Here you can see what came out of said bottle: [IMG]http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery..._002_thumb.jpg[/IMG]

And here is the results after sitting all night in a closed container : [IMG]http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery..._003_thumb.jpg[/IMG]

Looks like white jello. I am :scared: to poke it.

Thanks for the tips. I have 2 tubes of silicone and another gal of OMS. So now the waiting game for good weather.

i have bought mineral spirits , and had the same surprise, the clerk at the paint store told me it was new to the oderless spirits ,and that lots of folks were bringing it back.

I have a quart bottle of the same low odor mineral spirits and mine has a white cloudy tint to it as well. I have only used it for cleaning brushes etc... which it does fine. Based on your results I will use regular mineral spirits for my diy sil...

The new clear bottle of odorless looks fine, and I have used the quart size of the same for a smaller project. I just wanted to know if anyone else had this happen. If not, then to warn them NOT TO BUY THE WHITE BOTTLE from WW. The first time I tried DIY sil, it looked great. This stuff in the white bottle, didn't cut the silicone at all, it acted more like it wanted to cause it to set up, instead of dissolving it. What a mess:cursing: