Xylene/xylol And Paint

In the past I used a high plastic urethane call Superthane. Incredible product. It HAD to be thinned with Xylene, regular paint thiner wouldn't even mix into it, just made it milky. It dried so fast you couldn't back brush it, it would leave brush marks. Dip the brush stroke, leave it alone. Did a hardwood floor with it, it lasted 20 years with dog traffic before it showed any wear. With the windows all open I was high as a kite after doing the floor, could hardly sit in a chair, sure I lost those missing brain cells that day.

Greg
 
I keep a spray bottle full of it. Works great to clean and degrease parts.
 
abrace said:
With my mineral spirits I put the old stuff in sealed containers, let it settle out and reuse.
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Xylene is like any other organic solvent that we use. Letting stuff settle, or filtering, will leave you with a usable product.
 
Painted a car a smooth form of Harmerite that they had in England back in the 80s, It was a 2 part that that was then thinned with the stuff. Hard as _ell when the car got in a wreck the paint was in big chunks sticking out with the metal bent out from under it. It would make you high as a kite if used with the wrong mask or proper ventilation. Also highly flammable. Make sure things are dry and aired well before any flame is in the area.
 
I put a do it yourself bed liner in my pickup, the instructions said to use xylol for thinner, I ain't been the same since.
 
Xylene is not too bad in a vented area, more aggressive than mineral spirits, less than lacquer thinner.

Its the base used in many concrete stains and sealers.

On a side note, if your garage or shop floor is a xylene based stain/sealer, you can roll it with straight xylene and it will soften up and blend the stains into the sealer. quick cleanup on the floor without adding more coats of stain.
 
I used to buy xylene by the skid when I painted metal buildings. When I flushed out the paint hoses at the end of the day I would save the "dirty" thinner to thin the paint on the next job. Xylene is not something that you just pour on the ground to dispose of it. I learned after my first year in business that you do not want to generate waste. It's very costly to dispose of. So I always used it up. So to answer your original question.....yes, you can reuse xylene. Oh....and it burns like hell when you get it in your eyes.
 
ELHEAD said:
Methanol - wood alcohol
Ethanol - grain alcohol
Isopropyl - commonly known as rubbing alcohol
Tell me if I am wrong
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Methanol = 1 Carbon + 1 methyl group, it is the simplest alcohol
Ethanol = 2 carbons + 1 methyl group.
Both are extremely toxic to pretty much all living things.
isopropyl = a 3 carbon active group that is connected to a another group at the second carbon - it is not an alcohol. isopropanol is a 3 carbon chain with the methyl group attached to the middle carbon.
Note the names of the alcohols are almost the same as the familiar gases, methane, ethane, propane, etc. Same compounds with an -OH instead of an H at one of the carbons.
Rubbing alcohol is composed mostly of denatured alcohol.
Denatured alcohol is ethanol with additives that make it poisonous. Ethanol kills most micro-organisms on contact - it is extremely poisonous. We use 200 proof around the lab to sterilize dissection tools or to clean stuff that should not be bleached.

Not sure why I said methanol above when I should have said ethanol. No biggie, the point remains.
 
Whilst working outside with some catalyzed urethane a while back, I discovered Xylene makes ants go insane. I accidentally spilled some near an ant colony and noticed ants swarming all over the area, upon closer examination I saw they were savagely attacking each other, ripping their brothers heads and legs off, the battle raged until most were dead. It was quit fascinating to watch, I assume the Xylene erased their chemical signature so they couldn't tell who was who and just went into attack mode.
 
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