Ethyl lactate as varnish thinner

[Giovanni Corazzol]

Hi all, I would like to share some findings about a chemical compound, that is, ethyl lactate, (C5H10O3). It is sold as a solvent for both natural and synthetic resins, and as a replacement for xylene, because it is  less toxic and it's also "environmentally friendly". I don't know anyone who uses it in violin restoration, it probably has more application in restoration of paintings.

I decided to try it as a thinner for my (spirit) retouching varnish, that's what I found:

• brushability is improved
• it seems to help when mixing some dry pigment in (Orasol);
• when colored varnish dries in the palette, I can redissolve it with the ethyl lactate more easily
• works with Deft too!

Using ehtyl lactate like it is usually done with xylene is not possible but, it would be ok for stripping varnish of course.

Looking forward to reading your comments, there's always a lot to learn here on Maestronet.

Giovanni

 

[David Burgess]

Uh oh. Is ethyl lactate  an exudate from the breasts of people who drink too much?

This is not entirely an un-serious question, since one of my sisters has fostered or adopted many fetal alcohol syndrome and "cocaine babies".

[Michael_Molnar]

I ordered some BioSolve and will get back with my results. Thanks.

I am lactose intolerant and this could be a big mistake.

[Mampara]

Should be easy to clean brushes etc with water after using an ethyl lactate based varnish.

I miss the old days when you could easily buy xylene or benzene at the hardware store....

[Mampara]

20 hours ago, David Burgess said:

Uh oh. Is ethyl lactate  an exudate from the breasts of people who drink too much?

This is not entirely an un-serious question, since one of my sisters has fostered or adopted many fetal alcohol syndrome and "cocaine babies".

No. Ethanol is mainly metabolised via a complex hepatic pathway into water, CO2, acetic acid and acetyl-coA. Thats why we pee a lot and smell funny after a big night out.

19 hours ago, Michael_Molnar said:

I ordered some BioSolve and will get back with my results. Thanks.

I am lactose intolerant and this could be a big mistake.

No. Lactate is not to be confused with the simple carbohydrate lactose that occurs in fresh milk. Lactose is metabolised to lactate in the small intestine by the enzyme lactase, this process is deficient in lactose intolerant individuals. Excess lactose really gets the gut microbiome going, that explains why some people can honk out a room after having dairy products.

[Michael_Molnar]

Honk!

[David Burgess]

4 hours ago, Mampara said:

No. Ethanol is mainly metabolised via a complex hepatic pathway into water, CO2, acetic acid and acetyl-coA. Thats why we pee a lot and smell funny after a big night out.

Oh. I was hoping that my pee smelled funny from eating asparagus.

But I also hope that in spite of our joking around, you realize we also really do appreciate your technical input.

[Jacobus Drainer]

Sounds like it probably isn't from drinking during pregnancy.

[Mampara]

19 hours ago, David Burgess said:

Oh. I was hoping that my pee smelled funny from eating asparagus.

But I also hope that in spite of our joking around, you realize we also really do appreciate your technical input.

No worries mate, if you think asparagus smells funky then you should give this stuff a go https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian. It will knock your socks off.