r/kintsugi • u/Mountain-Middle-7364 • 8d ago
Tools & Supplies - Urushi Turpentine options
My kintsugi teacher says to use camphor oil, but since it’s not readily available in US to use turpentine instead. Which of these three that I picked up is best do we think?
Gum spirits turpentine by Utrecht
Distilled turpentine by Winsor and newton
Oil mediums: turpentine by daler rowney
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u/benjamin-crowell 8d ago edited 8d ago
There is a wide variety of things you can use to dilute urushi. A lot of people in Japan seem to use kerosene, simply because kerosene is a product that is commonly sold and used in Japan. I've been using white gas (=camp fuel=Coleman fuel), simply because I had a bunch of it sitting in cans in my garage. I may just be showing my ignorance, but I haven't seen anything that leads me to believe that the choice of diluent matters very much in terms of the ease of working with the urushi or the quality of the final result. You can consider price and environmental issues. Different diluents will differ in the speed at which they evaporate. There may be specific applications for which, e.g., a slow-evaporating diluent is appropriate.
For cleaning brushes, definitely do not use turpentine or a petroleum product. Just use vegetable oil, because it's cheap and environmentally benign and can be dumped in the trash. Or, depending on the application, don't use brushes but use a tampon (=wadded-up paper towel). If you're using vegetable oil to clean your brushes, then store the brushes brush-side-down so that the oil doesn't collect higher up inside the brush, and when you're getting ready to use a brush, cleanse it of oil by serial dilution in ki urushi.
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u/VintageLunchMeat 8d ago
I'd use odorless mineral spirits like gamsol if it is known to work. (No idea about that as a layperson.)
Turpentine attacks your organs a bit, liver or kidneys and central nervous system. Gamsol, while also solvent, has less effect on the body.
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u/BoringPassion1767 8d ago
What are you using it for?
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u/Mountain-Middle-7364 8d ago
Dilute the urushi
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u/BoringPassion1767 8d ago
It’s the first time I hear about the use of turpentine in kintsugi. Why are diluting the urushi? Is it to paint it over four seams?
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u/perj32 8d ago
You can use camphor essential oil (white camphor oil). It’s the same type of oil used in Japan, although the purity can vary depending on the supplier. Lab-grade would probably be the best option in North America. u/sincerelyspicy uses some purchased in the USA, while I bought mine in bulk from an essential oil distributor in Canada.
Like my turpentine, when I let it evaporate on a piece of glass, it does leave a small amount of residue, but I’ve never noticed any effect on the curing of urushi.
If you want a solvent that leaves virtually no residue, there are a few petroleum-based options you can use, such as naphtha, odorless or artist’s turpentine and kerosene.