Winsor & Newton Distilled Turpentine

A fast evaporating, highly refined essential oil with the strongest thinning & brush cleaning power of all Artists' grade solvents. Suitable for removing varnish (including Dammar Varnish). 

Turpentine and Artists’ White Spirit can both be used for diluting oil colour and cleaning brushes. There are however distinct differences between these two solvents.

Distilled Turpentine is more viscous than Artists’ White Spirit and is slower to evaporate. Artists’ White Spirit gives more “watery” mixes, making the colour slightly less controllable, and does not stay “open” as long as Distilled Turpentine.

A residue of gum in Distilled Turpentine will prevent an oil film from drying, leaving it tacky indefinitely, and this gum will also cause yellowing. It is therefore important to use artists’ turpentine and not “genuine turpentine” – used in home decorating – as the gum has been removed from the artists’ version by repeated distillation.

In addition, turpentine will oxidise if left exposed to daylight or air, resulting in tackiness and yellowing in the painting. Distilled Turpentine should therefore be stored in well filled and sealed bottles away from daylight. White spirit has no gum residue, nor will it deteriorate on storage.

Keep tightly closed and away from light to prevent oxidation. Do not use if it has thickened.