I’m pretty new to finishing but, have already started to accumulate jars of dirty thinners, spirits, etc from cleaning brushes. I was wondering what everybody does with their dirty thinners when they become too dirty to be used for cleaning brushes? I know about (and use) the three jar system; dirty thinner, cleaner, cleanest for cleaning brushes. But, after a while I’ve found that the thinner in the dirty jar gets so nasty that the brush comes out dirtier than it went in! I’m sure that professional shops have a service that picks up their dirty thinners but, what about Joe-homeowner-hobbyist? I do not have a sink in my garage (I don’t think I’d want to put some of this stuff down the sink anyway). I have a fair amount of wildlife around my home and definitely don’t want to hurt those little critters. I can see the stuff really stockpiling unless I figure out a way to get rid of it.
Thanks,
Rick
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Replies
Big Rick,
Local government agencies usually know what the law requires and local disposal sites--if they are required. You might also ask a knowledgeable person in the store where you bought the stuff.
Where I used to live, air quality was not an issue. I was told to put things like paint thinner into a large pan and leave it outside, somewhere no animals or children could get at it. Evaporation took it from there. N.B., I don't know if this is still allowed anywhere in the States.
Alan
Recycling centers won't take it around here. Even disposing of motor oil is getting to be a problem because folks put other substances in the barrel and the recyclers charge an arm and leg to refine it. Spread a small piece of poly out side, throw some saw dust on it and pour your thinner on it. Allow to evaporate and dispose of the mess in your household trash.
First, let the gunk sit for a week to let all the solids settle out. Pour off the top liquid which becomes your first rinse.
In my area, you can just add kitty litter to the remaining sludge, let is absorb the residual liquid and then seal the can and dispose of it in the regular garbage.
The cat litter is a good way to help get rid of old or left over paint in a can...haven't used it for left over thinner but i can see that working....just don't use used litter.....
Thats not a blemish....we call that character
What's wrong with used litter?
It's gonna be disposed of anyway.
Jeff
I s'pose used litter wouldn't be able to absorb as much, since by virtue of being "used" it already has alot of liquid absorbed in it. There should be no concern about the organism that causes toxoplasmosis (found in cat feces), as long as the stuff is disposed of in a landfill and not just dumped over a cliff somewhere.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Edited 7/21/2004 5:20 pm ET by forestgirl
Well, depending on the litter brand I guess. The kind we use (for the cats) is the clumping kind...lots of land minds in the basket to worry about, not much litter left over to clump up. Besides the sausages are easier to work with than the patties.Thats not a blemish....we call that character
"the sausages are easier to work with than the patties." Too funny!
The clumping-type litter would be a PITA for disposing paint. Great for the cat-box though.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
The household waste people directed me to use Quickcrete to "solidify" old paint before capping the can and tossing it. I tried it, but wow, what a pain in the posterior.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
We are fortunate enough to have a "household 'toxics'" waste place, but it's quite a drive, so for the miscellaneous small batches, I keep a bucket of cheap kitty litter around, and dump the stuff in there. It evaporates over a period of time, and I seal up the bucket and take it to the transfer station.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I've faced the same problem in a number of localities. The first thing is to get the sludge out, thereby extending the life and utility of jar # 1. I have a polyethylene funnel 8" in dia and 7" high which I use as follows: Take 1/3 sheet of paper towel, crumple it up tight, and shove it into the barrel of the funnel. After jar # 1 has settled, pour the top liguid thru the funnel, let it filter, and follow with the glop from the bottom of Jar # 1. It may take overnight for the liquid to separate from the glop. When it does, you have clear but discolored solvent in jar 1. The paper+glop can go in the trash, but I throw in in the BBQ.
Once you are glop free, follow this program: rinse the brush in Jar #1. Then rinse in Jar #2. Then rinse the brush in a container with some clean solvent, and add that to Jar #2. You don't need much clean solvent.
Use two or three ounces of Jar#1 to start the BBQ instead of charcoal lighter. As Jar#1 goes up in smoke, add more of Jar #2 to it; Jar#2 is continually being augmented by the fresh solvent referred to above.
I use plastic containers to avoid breakage. Containers which are not affected by mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, gasoline, kerosene, acetone, MEK, alcohol or any combination of those solvents are ones made of PETE, with the recycle # "1" in the triangle. I like the 2 liter fruit juice bottles or the 1.75 liter Old Crow bottles. Clorox bottles don't work because the neck is offset and it tips over when the funnel is filled.
I've been doing this for over 40 years with no problems, and with the satisfaction of knowing that the noxious solvents are being converted to CO2 and water vapor.
WARNING: Sometimes the mixture is sort of "hot" depending on what's in it. If I'm not sure, I stand back a few feet and throw matches at it. Always close the solvent container and take it out of the vicinity before attempting ignition.
KIDS: Don't try this at home!
I question the safetyof using the glop as BBQ starter as paints ,stains and danish oils have trace amounts of metals in them.Consequently you may well be vapourizing these onto your food.IMHO it is not a good practice even though you have survived 40 years of this.Nowdays paints are cleaner but a few years ago they contained cadmium.mercury.cobalt,and lead.Cobalt is still in Japan dryers used in BLO and some danish oil
There's been no appreciable metals in paint for the last 10 yrs or more, except titanium dioxide which is harmless (house paint) and some iron pigments (barn paint) , equally harmless. Even if there were, by the time you have coals, the inorganics have been converted to the oxides, which are non volatile at bbq temperatures. The main idea is to keep the organics out of the environment, and to get the inorganics (if any) into a safe form to go into the trash. There are in fact some metallic oxides which are volatile, but the only ones whick come to mind are mercury(not in paint anyhow), indium, gallium, germanium, silver and technicium, which are not used in paint.
Besides, the glop is not used to start the bbq. The solvent is used. The glop goes in only to keep it out of the trash.
Edited 7/19/2004 12:59 am ET by rob
Edited 7/19/2004 1:03 am ET by rob
rob,
"but the only ones whick come to mind are mercury(not in paint anyhow), indium, gallium, germanium, silver and technicium, which are not used in paint."
I think that they also used unobtainium, but it finally got too hard to find.
Cheers, 8?))
Ray
Unobtanium is available in large amounts. It is extracted from bbq ashes.
rob,
bbq ashes? from gas grills, right??
Cheers,
Ray
Actually, Unobtainium is an alloy of Cantfindium wich is refined from dontexistite ore.The Professional Termite
I thought unobtanium was only available from recycled drivinium.
And everyone knows that the formula for drivinium was lost and the only way to get today is from the alloy used to make the "hang on the window speakers" from old drive-in movie lots.
Whew, it was gettin a little hot in here for a minute there.
Hey forrest, ask the expert what he recommends for the sludge at the bottom of the paint thinner bucket when I'm cleaning my brushes. I figure I can stretch the life of the thinner by using it in one or two more cleanings but am curious as to the sludge. I'm sure that cant be much use for anything.Thats not a blemish....we call that character
Hey shoemaker we've been here before in this thread, rob adds flavour to his bbq with it .Sure beats mesquite!! :-)
yeah i guess the bbq idea works....i guess with the white paints we could have some cottage cheese, yellows some cream corn, orange can be a substitue for yams or sweet potatoes, but dont forget the brown for the baked beans. Man, I'm getting hungry. Anyone for a picnic.
I'll bring the beer.Thats not a blemish....we call that character
It was good stuff before you added all that darn thinner to it... LOL....Expose it to nature just like you did before you added all that thinner and it will dry into an perfectly harmless hunk of gunk that you can safely dispose of in your normal garbage. Or, you could spread it onto a piece of wood with some sort of brush type thing and maybe after that you could call it a finish. Just joking around here folks... not meant to be serious... but it could be true......Sincerely;
The Tool Guy
Greetings Big Rick,
You might want to see if there are any municipal disposal programs in your area, as someone else suggested in their post. I've got a similar program where I live. The county runs an ad in the paper as to when the facility will be accepting dropoffs. And on behalf of myself and my fellow Marines, your welcome!
Those daring young men in their flying machines!
Edited 7/18/2004 9:36 pm ET by f4phanatic
Of all the solvents used in finishing wood, paint thinner is the easiest to deal with.
If left to sit undisturbed for a week or so, the sludge settles on the bottom of the container -- leaving clear paint thinner on the top. Pour it off to another container.
As for the sludge, mix it with kitty litter as Forest Girl suggested, or for a cheaper alternative, use oil absorbing clay from an auto parts store. Napa sells a 20# bag for $5.
Once the clay has absorbed all the liquid, the dry mess is safe to dispose of in household trash.
Isn't it a kick, with all the legalities surounding disposal of hazardous waste, isn't the company that manufactures the product charging us to dispose of their hazardous waste when we buy it from them ?
Scenario... Retailer: Here ya go Sam... Joes paint company says you gotta pay them to cover your house in hazardous waste at least once every 5 years. If you pay twice as much you only have to do it once every ten years. No guarantees though... You still might have to do it once every five years cuz this label says' the guarantee doesn't count if its a act of nature that causes the hazardous waste to dissapear.
Wait a minute... whats wrong with this picture..... LOL...
Sincerely;
The Tool Guy
I don't care how its "treated", its still a hazardous material (liquid, semisolid or paste) and should not be mixed in with normal trash/garbage. Most public trash is landfilled (discusting places) and not incinerated. The more hazardous materials in the landfill the more chance of contaiminating ground water.
Letting it evaporate is air pollution!
I won't claim to have the perfect solution. I pretend its waste motor oil and dump it in my city's or any number of gas station waste collection tanks. There all over the place around here.
I do take advantage of my counties once or twice a year hazardous waste dropoff weekend. They pick an area high school parking lot and turn it into a major very professional collection site. They must have collected 6 or 8 tractor trailer size truckloads in one day last summer. It then goes out for high temperture incineration. The county landfill collects hazardous waste any day of the week during normal buisness hours. But thats a bit of a drive.
Enjoy, Roy
"I pretend its waste motor oil and dump it in my city's or any number of gas station waste collection tanks. " Oh, that's just great Roy.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Actually it is great because used motor oil gets put thru the refining process again. This is one of the most reasonable methods of disposing of used solvents.
see this site: http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/UsedOil/Rerefined/MythsGuide/Myths.pdf
As I'm not a speed-reader, perhaps you could tell me which of the 55 pages in that document specifies that contamination of the waste oil with other fluids is not a problem. I've always taken statements like the following at their word:
My hubby's is an engineer whose expertise is in this area (recycling, solid waste, toxic waste, that sort of fun stuff), but he's not home so maybe you can educate me on this oil thing.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
It always made sense to me to mix hazardous waste with hazardous waste and dispose of at a hazardous waste disposal site. :o)
Roy, when you pour solvents into the oil recycling container at the gas station or wherever, you are probably ruining that batch as far as it being able to be re-refined (I just got off the phone, consulted with the expert). What you are doing is irresponsible, whether it's through ignorance or purposeful. Consider yourself educated now, so-as to no longer have an excuse.
As a woodworker, I consider it my sworn duty to take care with the solvents and any toxins I work with or use in the process, from various solvents to the mercury in the overhead light tubes. Disposing of them properly is part of that responsibility. Yeah, it's a pain in the rear end -- I've been procastinating for weeks now on a trip to the waste depot (a 60-mile RT) -- but it's a price I'm willing to pay.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I used to change the oil on my vehicles, and my local gas station would take the used oil. They had to stop, because people like you were dumping other stuff in the used oil they delivered.
Around here (MN), the pollution people are fine with taking paint thinner and other solvents in the household trash stream -- as long as the liquids have been completely absorbed by kitty litter or oil absorbent clay (from an auto parts store).
You may be acting like an idiot, but according to your profile, you work with computer hardware, so I assume you are not stupid. Make the effort to find out how your local agencies want you to dispose of the hazardous materials associated with woodworking, and then follow their advice ----- for the sake of all of us.
OH, I'm sorry, I thought we could express our thoughts and opinions here. My mistake.
And I will not insult you.
Enjoy, Roy
There is a difference between an action and the expression of an opinion.
Your action -- dumping paint thinner in with used motor oil -- would be an irresponsible act in MN. If this is a practice that is acceptable to the pollution people in MD, then I will owe you an apology.
However, I think we all have an obligation to speak up when someone takes an action or expresses a thought that is antithetical to our own beliefs. I think it is worthwhile for you to know there is at least one person who thinks you are wrong, and is willing to say so.
I was not trying to insult you as much as I was trying to pull on the better side of your own common sense.
>>"I thought we could express our thoughts and opinions here." Problem is, Roy, you were presenting your "solution" as a reasonable, even preferable, one and obviously it isn't reasonable, and it certainly isn't preferred by the folks who run the recycling facilities.
As far as your knowledge and understanding of modern landfills and how they work, well.......we probably shouldn't go there, LOL. My husband has been a senior-level engineer designing modern landfills, recycling facilities and incineration facilities for years on the west coast. He's currently a member of the team that's overseeing the disposal (incineration) of nerve agent and other nasty military things at the Army Depot at Umatilla. I run all my disposal questions by him if I have concerns about future pollution (e.g., the kitty-litter technique of disposing of stuff).
Your concern about air pollution caused by letting solvents just evaporate is a reasonable concern. What we can all do to lessen the problem in the aggregate is to recycle and re-use as much as we can when cleaning brushes etc.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Roy, just to repeat what others have said. Please recycle your used oil, but don't put anything but oil in the oil recycling barrel. Landfills are a thing of the past around here. We either recycle or convert the trash to energy. There is only one oil recycle barrel left, it is under lock and key and requires an attendant to inspect the material. The oil recyclers used to take the waste for free. Due to other contaminants in the barrels it costs the recyclers so they charge the barrel owners steeply to deal with the mixed substances. Voila!, no more oil barrels. Clearly a case of a few misinformed spoiling it for everyone else.
Clearly a case of a few misinformed spoiling it for everyone else.
Misinformed, hahaha , they just ignored or forgot to look at the big sign on the 55 gal. drum. Thats not a blemish....we call that character
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