If you’re an oil painter, you’ve probably asked yourself, “What do I do with all this dirty turps?” Whether you’re cleaning your brushes or your palette, turpentine (turps) can get messy fast — and disposing of it incorrectly can be harmful to the environment.
But here at The Gold Coast Art School, we’ve found a solution that’s simple, safe, and eco-friendly. In fact, we use this method every week for cleaning up after our students. Best of all? You can reuse your turps again — saving you money and reducing waste!
Why You Should Reuse Oil Painting Turps
Oil painting materials can be expensive, and mineral turps are no exception. But most of the time, what we call “dirty” turps is actually just paint pigment suspended in the solvent. If you give it time to settle, you’ll see that the sludge drops to the bottom, leaving clean turps on top — ready to be reused!
Reusing turps also cuts down on chemical waste. And when it’s finally time to dispose of that leftover sludge, there’s a safe and simple way to do that too.
What You’ll Need
You probably already have most of these supplies at home or can easily pick them up at your local hardware store (we get ours from Bunnings):
A painter’s tray
Cut-up gutter mesh
Mineral Turpentine (turps)
Old glass jars with lids
A plastic bucket
Step-by-Step: How to Reuse Your Turps
1. Pour It Out
After painting, pour the dirty turps from your cleaning tray into a glass jar. Let it sit — ideally for a few days to a week. [pictured below]
2. Let It Settle
The paint particles (sludge) will settle at the bottom, and the top layer will become clear again. This is the clean turps you can reuse.
3. Carefully Decant
Slowly pour the clean layer into a new jar or back into your cleaning tray. Be careful not to disturb the sludge at the bottom.
4. Transfer into a bucket
The left over sludge can go into a bucket to dry out.
How to Dispose of Old Turps and Sludge Safely
Once the turps is no longer usable and the sludge has dried, you can dispose of it responsibly:
Allow the remaining turps to fully evaporate (keep it in a well-ventilated, safe area).
Once the sludge has dried completely, it’s mostly made of clay and pigment. It can be returned to the earth in small amounts, if it doesn’t contain harmful pigments like cadmium.
We have hundreds of students who use turps trays every week. Over the course of a year, all that paint builds up. We use this same method to clean and recycle turps on a large scale — pouring, settling, and reusing every last drop. In the end, what’s left is just coloured clay — no more toxic mess!
Don’t throw away your turps too soon! With a little patience and the right method, you can make it last much longer and keep your art studio clean and efficient.