White spirit / mineral turpentine - A mixture of aliphatic, open-chain or alicyclic C7 to C12 hydrocarbons, white spirit is insoluble in water and is used as an extraction solvent, as a cleaning solvent, as a degreasing solvent and as a solvent in aerosols, paints, wood preservatives, lacquers, varnishes, and asphalt products.
- The word “mineral” in “mineral spirits” or “mineral turpentine” is meant to distinguish it from distilled spirits (alcoholic beverages distilled from fermented biological material) or from true turpentine (distilled tree resin).
- used for cleaning and degreasing machine tools and parts, and in conjunction with cutting oil as a thread cutting and reaming lubricant.
Isopropyl alcohol / isopropanol - Isopropyl alcohol, an organic polar molecule, is miscible in water, ethanol, and chloroform, demonstrating its ability to dissolve a wide range of substances including ethyl cellulose, polyvinyl butyral, oils, alkaloids, and natural resins.
- dissolves a wide range of non-polar compounds. It evaporates quickly and the typically available grades tend to not leave behind oil traces when used as a cleaning fluid unlike some other common solvents. It is also relatively non-toxic. Thus, it is used widely as a solvent and as a cleaning fluid, especially where there are oils or oil based residues which are not easily cleaned with water, conveniently evaporating and (depending on water content and other variables) posing less of a risk of corrosion or rusting than plain water. Together with ethanol, n-butanol, and methanol, it belongs to the group of alcohol solvents.