Citric oil and turpentine oil, natural solvents for oil and waxes also used for degreasing surfaces or cleaning utensils

The use of natural wood finishing products is gaining ground. Natural oils and waxes have always been very well suited to wood, nourishing and protecting it and enhancing its beauty. Oil, wax and shellac-ul were the first materials used to finish furniture and other objects, and now many who work with wood or use the resulting products turn to them. But it's not just the way the finished wood looks that makes them choose it. Natural products are healthier and much better at protecting people and the environment.

In order to get into the wood as well as possible and protect it, the oil and wax must be more fluid. Their viscosity can be decreased by adding solvents. But not all solvents are natural and using the wrong ones makes natural products less natural and harmless. This is why special natural solvents must be used for such uses. What they are and what their characteristics are, we see below.

Citric oil or orange peel oil

It is an oil obtained, as the name suggests, from the peel of oranges. Even though it contains a small amount of oil (0.2-0.3%), the amount of peel resulting from the juicing process is very large, so there is plenty of raw material. It is obtained as a by-product in the juicing process. In fact, two types of oil are obtained in this process. One is food-grade oil and the other is the solvent itself. The food-grade oil is squeezed out with the juice, then separated from the juice and distilled to make a flavoured oil used in the food industry. The remaining skins after the juice is squeezed are transported to a steam extractor where the rest of the oil is extracted. The steam is then condensed, the oil separating to the surface where it is recovered.

Lately, the use of citrus oil has become very widespread. It is used in the manufacture of paints, cleaning materials or for flavouring various products. In the cleaning materials industry the development has been the greatest, being used for both industrial and household cleaning products. The solvating properties of orange oil are comparable to those of ordinary solvents, and its non-toxicity makes it preferable to organic solvents.

You can also make your own orange peel oil, which mixed with beeswax can be used to protect furniture or to flavour natural hand or face creams. To do this scrape off the coloured part of the orange peel and leave it to dry for 2-3 days. Then put it in a jar with a lid and add natural alcohol from natural fermentation or vodka from grains. The alcohol should cover the peel. Leave for 4-5 days stirring vigorously from time to time. Filter the liquid through a coffee filter and put it back into the jar which you leave without a lid, just covered with a gauze. In a few days the alcohol will evaporate and you will be left with natural oil.

If you want to avoid all this work that results in far too little oil, you can take orange peel oil from Naturalpaint. Kreidezeit oil is 100% natural and can be used to dilute linseed oilsof tung and lazures and natural oil-based paints.

Turpentine balsam - oil obtained from the resin of pine, fir or other resinous trees

Another natural solvent used to dilute oils and waxes is turpentine balsam, i.e. turpentine made from resin (balsam). Turpentine balsam is different from turpentine obtained by distillation of petroleum, also called white spirit, as its composition is totally different. However, petroleum turpentine is much cheaper and is therefore often preferred in paint manufacturing processes.

Turpentine oil or balsam is extracted by steam distillation from the resin of various species of resinous trees, especially pine. However, oils are also obtained from other softwoods. Canada balsam is obtained from the resin produced by fir trees and Venice turpentine is obtained from larch resin. The latter has a honey-like colour and is used in oil paintings and to treat horses' hooves. To collect the resin, the trees were cut horizontally into the bark in a V-shape. To heal the wound and protect itself, the tree secreted more resin which was collected at the end of the V.

The resin consists of approximately 70% rosin resin and 30% turpentine oil. The product is totally natural and environmentally friendly, with pine forests around the world releasing millions of tonnes of turpentine oil into the atmosphere every year. Resin turpentine is a clear, low-viscosity essential oil with a distinct and penetrating fresh aromatic smell and a pungent bitter taste.

Turpentine balsam oil is used in the manufacture of varnishes, as a solvent for oil and wax and as a raw material in the chemical industry. Like orange peel oil, it can be used for degreasing and cleaning surfaces and utensils used for applying oil and wax. You can also find it at Naturalpaintunder the brand Kreidezeit, recognized for its 100% natural products.

Ethyl alcohol/denatured alcohol

A natural solvent that can be used without problems when it is derived from the fermentation of fruit, grains or other vegetables with a high sugar content is ethyl alcohol. It is completely miscible with water, so there are several concentrations of alcohol that can be used.

Ethyl alcohol from fermentation used as a solvent or reaction medium in industry is also called denatured alcohol. Ethyl alcohol from fermentation is usually used to make alcoholic beverages, which requires special taxes to be applied. In order to avoid these taxes, which would greatly increase the price, very small quantities of substances are added to the alcohol, making it impossible to drink as a beverage (it causes vomiting).

Ethyl alcohol can be used to dissolve shellac flakes, extract volatile oils (orange peel oil), degrease surfaces, remove stains and old layers of paint or clean tools. It is also a very good cleaning agent for fungus and mould on surfaces.

I hope you find the information interesting. If you have any questions or queries, please leave them in the space below. I will certainly answer them.