The key difference between acetone and lacquer thinner is that acetone is a colorless, flammable liquid that is highly volatile, whereas lacquer thinner is a substance that is useful in thin lacquer-based paints.
Acetone is an organic compound having the chemical formula (CH3)2CO. Lacquer thinner is a type of cellulose thinner and is usually a mixture of solvents that is able to dissolve in a number of different resins or plastics that are useful in modern lacquer. Both these are very important chemical substances in different applications.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Acetone
3. What is Lacquer Thinner
4. Acetone vs Lacquer Thinner in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Acetone vs Lacquer Thinner
What is Acetone?
Acetone is an organic compound having the chemical formula (CH3)2CO. This substance appears as a colorless and flammable liquid that is highly volatile. Acetone is the simplest and smallest compound among ketones. Its molar mass is 58 g/mol. This compound has a pungent, irritating odor and is miscible with water. Acetone is common as a polar solvent. The polarity comes due to the high electronegativity difference between carbon and oxygen atoms of the carbonyl group. However, it is not that highly polar; therefore, acetone can dissolve both lipophilic and hydrophilic substances.
Figure 01: Acetone Solvent
Our body can produce acetone in normal metabolic processes, and it is eliminated from the body through different mechanisms. On the industrial scale, the production method includes direct or indirect production from propylene. The common process is the cumene process.
What is Lacquer Thinner?
Lacquer thinner is a type of cellulose thinner that is usually a mixture of solvents and is able to dissolve in a number of different resins or plastics that are useful in modern lacquer. In the past, lacquer thinners frequently contained alkyl esters such as butyl or amyl acetate, ketones such as acetone or methyl ethyl ketone, aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., toluene), ethers (e.g., glycol cellosolves), and alcohols.
Figure 02: A Common Brand of Lacquer Thinner
However, modern lacquer thinners have to comply with low-VOC regulations. Often, these formulations contain acetone along with small amounts of aromatic solvents.
What is the Difference Between Acetone and Lacquer Thinner?
Acetone is an organic compound. It is included in many other products, and it is mainly important as a solvent. Lacquer thinner also contains a large percentage of acetone along with some aromatic components. The key difference between acetone and lacquer thinner is that acetone is an organic compound and appears as a colorless, flammable liquid that is highly volatile, whereas lacquer thinner is a substance that is useful to thin lacquer-based paints. In addition, acetone forms as a byproduct of fermentation, as a byproduct of distillery industry, form oxidation of ingested isopropanol, etc., whereas lacquer thinner mainly forms by mixing of acetone with butyl acetate.
The below infographic presents the differences between acetone and lacquer thinner in tabular form for side by side comparison.
Summary – Acetone vs Lacquer Thinner
Acetone is an organic compound having the chemical formula (CH3)2CO. Lacquer thinner is a type of cellulose thinner, which is usually a mixture of solvents that is able to dissolve in a number of different resins or plastics that are useful in modern lacquer. The key difference between acetone and lacquer thinner is that acetone is an organic compound that appears as a colorless, flammable liquid that is highly volatile, whereas lacquer thinner is a substance that is useful to thin lacquer-based paints.
Reference:
1. “What Is A Lacquer Thinner – What It Is Used For?” Repaintnow.Com
Image Courtesy:
1. “Sample of Acetone” By LHcheM – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Phase 2 house renovation day 15 – lacquer thinner” By John Karwoski (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) via Flickr