Guidelines for Oil Paint Solvents and Waste

Canberra Art Workshop Guidelines for the Use and Management of Oil Paint Solvents and Waste

Sept 2025

The August 2025 meeting of the CAW board approved the draft guidelines for ‘The Use and Management of Oil Paint Solvents and Waste’.

A PDF version of the guidelines can be downloaded from HERE:

Canberra Art Workshop Guidelines for the Use and Management of Oil Paint Solvents and Waste

Purpose

These guidelines are designed to manage potential risks to the health and safety of CAW Studio users and visitors, and to minimise harm to the studio and environment when using oil paint solvents and managing solvents in the CAW Studio. Under current work health and safety legislation it is required that CAW, studio users and visitors must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and the safety of others, the studio and environment.

Convenors, tutors and attendees at art groups, courses and workshops are to be made aware of these guidelines.

Guidelines for Oil Paint Solvent Use

It’s CAW’s preference that these solvents aren’t used in the studio due to the risks involved.
However, if using these solvents, they must be odourless.
Oil paint solvents and oil paints are not to be stored in the studio.
When solvents are in use, keep the air purifier on.
Lids should remain on any solvent bottles when not being used.
Keep solvents away from: food and drink, heat / sparks / open flames / hot surfaces, strong oxidisers such as cleaning agents (including dishwashing tablets) and some acids.
For other precautions, see the safety data sheet (SDS) for the solvent being used.
Brush cleaning agents for paint brushes:
- The safest options are water and baby oil to clean water mixable oil paint brushes.
- Safe options for cleaning brushes dirtied with traditional oil paints are baby oil, non-toxic brush cleaners such as Art Spectrum® Brush and Hand Cleaner, Matisse® MM34 Brush and Hand Cleaner.
- Other options include Diggers^TM Paint Cleanup and lower volatile odourless solvents such as Archival Oils^TM Odourless Solvent or Gamblin Gamsol^TM Odourless Solvent. These are preferable to higher volatile solvents (e.g. Archival^TM Odourless Solvent Fast Evaporating).

Painting:
- The safest option is water for dilution of water mixable oils.
- Other preferred options for dilution of traditional oils are a solvent-free oil medium, such as Michael Harding Miracle Medium, or a mixture of lower volatile odourless solvents with linseed oil.
Available information suggests that gloves made from nitrile rubber or PVC should be suitable for intermittent contact with solvents.

Guidelines for Management of Oil Paint Solvent Waste

Do not pour waste solvents and residues of traditional and water mixable oils down the sink.
Waste solvents are not to be stored in the studio.
Place waste solvents in a glass jar with a lid and take home.
Rags used with solvents, linseed oil, medium etc will not be stored nor disposed of in the studio and are to be taken home.
Used disposable palettes that have residual solvents (including oil medium) on them should not be placed in the studio’s bins but be taken home unless it’s a workshop and the convenor or an attendee will be asked to put the bins into the skip at the end of each day.

CAW Board

2025

References

WorkSafe ACT:

https://www.worksafe.act.gov.au/health-and-safety-portal/safety-topics/dangerous-goods-and-hazardous-substances/hazardous-chemicals

Art Spectrum® Brush and Hand Cleaner Safety Data Sheet (SDS):

https://artspectrum.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/SDS-Art-Spectrum┬«-Brush-Hand-Cleaner-GHS-SDS.pdf

Matisse® MM34 Brush and Hand Cleaner SDS:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/a77h8hgcrm3m30eeycece/AEcO5ChdjrYsMaqYXt7XY-Q/MM34-Brush-and-Hand-Cleaner-SDS.pdf?rlkey=axmajlpnn9mrrm6ec0jt9pq55&e=2&dl=0

Diggers^TM Paint Cleanup SDS:

https://diggersaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Paint-Cleanup-v4-1.pdf

Archival Oils^TM Odourless Solvent SDS: