UK PEOPLE - Where can we buy rubbing/isopropyl alcohol from?

elleread

Well-known member
White Spirit is DEFINITELY not the same as surgical spirit!!
Don't use it on your skin, especially around the eyes- omg, that would be awful.

I'm an artist and I use white spirit to clean off my oil paint from brushes. It stinks to high heaven and makes my hands sore if I come into contact with it too often. It is quite good for cleaning sticky marks from things too (like where you've removed a sticky label or whatever).

Surgical spirit is safe for skin use and is what you want for pressing pigments, I believe!

On another note, does anyone know where you can buy the little metal pans to press pigments in so they fit in your palettes?
 

k.a.t

Well-known member
OOh no, white spirit is very harmful...i think it's corrossive toy uor skin so it's a definite no no.. and it is different to surgical spirit, which is the kind that is used by hospitals and the like to sanitize hands, wounds etc. I'm not 100% sure if it's the same as Isopropyl alcohol though. I really need to get some as well to make my own brush cleanser but i don't know where to get it from :S

Is Surgical spirit the same as Isospopyl alcohol?
 

elleread

Well-known member
OK, this whole topic has got my curiosity up!

Here's what Wikipedia have to say about Rubbing (Isopropyl) Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And down the bottom, yes, it seems as though Surgical Spirit is near enough the same thing, along with one or two additives:

"In the UK the equivalent skin preparation is surgical spirit which is always based on an ethyl alcohol-methyl alcohol mixture, and which often has the addition of small quantities of iodoform as a topical bacteriocide.
A typical modern composition for Surgical Spirit BP is: ethanol, methanol, water, castor oil, methyl salicylate, diethyl phthalate. It has a strong smell of wintergreen due to the presence of the methyl salicylate."

I would have thought since Surgical Spirit is far easier to get hold of in the UK, we'd be best to look out for this for pressing pigments.
 

k.a.t

Well-known member
Well i just got some of this surgical spirit thingy from my local Sainsbury's. i had to ask for it at the pharmacy bit and it came in a brown medicine bottle :S It was cheap too 82p for 200 ml.
 

angi

Well-known member
When I was looking to press my pigments a few months ago I went and looked for isopropyl alcohol pretty much everywhere I could think of.

The general consensus in the major supermarkets/ stores was that they used to have it (in the pharmacy section), but because it is cheap, and alcohol, people were unfortunately buying it and drinking it
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, so, most of them no longer stocked it (boots had it, but only on presoaked pads), and if they did have it, in most stores it would be behind the counter.

I got mine from ebay in the end. I think it was about £3 for 200ml (90% purity).
 

Millgrove

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by nunu
Yep surgical spirit is the same as isopropyl alcohol and it is used to clean paint brushes.

Mine is called white spirit and i bought a 750ml bottle for 73p. I used it to depot my eyeshadows.

I hope i am talking about the same alcohol you are looking for
smiles.gif



Um, just a note of caution everyone.

White Spirit is a hydrocarbon blend - (it is the same group as petrol, diesel etc) and not an alchohol blend. I would not use this as a substitute for iso propyl alcohol for anything that will be used on the skin as it can cause irritation. It is good for general cleaning of oil-based products such as gloss paints. You could use it for cleaning palettes etc if you clean off any residue/film (it will not fully evaporate like an alcohol does).

Rubbing alcohol or iso-propyl alcohol is in a different chemical group. Technically this should always be iso-propanol, but the term rubbing alcohol is often also used to refer to ethanol as well. Either will do the same job. (but should not be drunk!).

Surgical spirit is a mixture of ethanol and methanol (like methylated spirit but without the purple dye). It is similar to iso-propyl alcohol and will work almost as well, it just evaporates a bit slower and sometimes has an added odour to discourage drinking (not safe due to the included methanol which is toxic).

Hope this helps a little?

xx
 

vocaltest

Well-known member
I bought me some surgical spirit today
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It was only £1.05 in Tesco pharmacy! It STINKS though... I wanna re-press my sable eyeshadow but I'm scared its gonna make it stink/isn't gonna be eye safe. Blah. Why don't we have a chemist on hand?

Also... when I depotted my Sushi Flower e/s today using the no heat method, I dropped a bit of the surgical spirit into the eyeshadow and it made it go darker? I haven't checked what its like now (too lazy to get off my bed haha) but yeah... Just a word of warning.
 

nunu

Well-known member
i only use it to remove the glue from the pots when i depot my eyeshadows. I never use it anywhere by my eyes...I just use it for depotting.

Isn't it the same thing alcohol? i am getting really confused!
 

k.a.t

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by vocaltest
I bought me some surgical spirit today
greengrin.gif
It was only £1.05 in Tesco pharmacy! It STINKS though... I wanna re-press my sable eyeshadow but I'm scared its gonna make it stink/isn't gonna be eye safe. Blah. Why don't we have a chemist on hand?

Also... when I depotted my Sushi Flower e/s today using the no heat method, I dropped a bit of the surgical spirit into the eyeshadow and it made it go darker? I haven't checked what its like now (too lazy to get off my bed haha) but yeah... Just a word of warning.


I actually think it smells rather nice
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can't stop smelling it lol
 

Luceuk

Well-known member
I pressed some of my pigments today with Surgical spirit and they turned out great. I need to buy some more palettes so I can do the rest.
 

vocaltest

Well-known member
Ewww haha. It reminds of being a kid and grazing myself or something, its that 'medical'/'clean' smell, reminds me of hospitals and piercing/tattoo studios too, haha.

Quote:
Originally Posted by k.a.t
I actually think it smells rather nice
tong.gif
can't stop smelling it lol

 

k.a.t

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by vocaltest
Ewww haha. It reminds of being a kid and grazing myself or something, its that 'medical'/'clean' smell, reminds me of hospitals and piercing/tattoo studios too, haha.

Lol...mine smells....kind of grassy/mentholly (sp?) And then again i'm weird like that, i like weird smells
th_dunno.gif
tong.gif
 

Mac_Wendy

Well-known member
ive got surgical spirit, does it work just aswell as Isopropyl Alcohol? do you need to leave the pigment to dry longer, how long for about 4 hours in a warm room?

do you know where to buy isopropyl alcohol apart from online? can it be purchased in any shops?

many thanks for taking the time to reply

xx
 

eskiepeskie

Member
I had real bother finding any in the UK. I must have tried just about every chemist in my town and the amount of strange looks I got.. I would try to explain what I was using it for and the looks would just get stranger!

I ended up getting mine (surgical spirit) from Sally's - was the only place I could find that sold it that didn't have an overly pungent smell or was purple! And I've used it for pressing my pigments and it works great
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Mac_Wendy

Well-known member
thanks eskie, i got some surgical spirits the other day, but it stinks, lol, will have a go with it and see how i get on.

thanks again
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eskiepeskie

Member
No problem! I think if its just alcoholy smelling it will go away once its dried... but if its that menthol smell some of them have it will probably stay around - I've got a pressed vanilla pigment and it smells like some kind of cold remedy!
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I think I've tried just about everything in my search for something to press my pigments with - even tried Vodka at one point! I wouldn't recommend it... I ended up with watery gloop and had to drink the rest of the Vodka to console myself!
winks.gif
 

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