White spirit is used mainly in paints and varnishes, in cleaning products and as a degreasing and extraction solvent. Details of the solvents used in paints are not available, but white spirit is a common component of the solvent in a wide variety of paints. It is also used by both amateur and professional painters as a diluent. The proportion of the total solvent represented by white spirit varies between paints. Estimates of white spirit as a percentage of total paint solvents are approximately 45% for Europe and 25% for the USA. White spirit may be present as a minor constituent of water-based paints. Although exact figures of white spirit consumption in the paint industry are not available, the following figures of the consumption of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons give some impression of the usage of white spirit, as it constitutes a large part of the total