Best methylated spirits
Updated: 23 October 2026
You want one bottle from this comparison, and a reason to leave the others. Best methylated spirits here means a title that says methylated spirits, a colour the listing and the reviews agree on, and a review file that belongs to that ASIN. It does not mean the cheapest litre in Britain, or a lab winner. Prices are the amazon.co.uk figures stored on 21 October 2026. Peter F. did not burn or polish with these liquids. Our [denatured alcohol comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/denatured-alcohol) holds the full table. If you buy through a link, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You want one bottle from this comparison, and a reason to leave the others.
You want one bottle from this comparison, and a reason to leave the others. Best methylated spirits here means a title that says methylated spirits, a colour the listing and the reviews agree on, and a review file that belongs to that ASIN. It does not mean the cheapest litre in Britain, or a lab winner. Prices are the amazon.co.uk figures stored on 21 October 2026. Peter F. did not burn or polish with these liquids. Our denatured alcohol comparison holds the full table. If you buy through a link, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Class | Colour | Review sample | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  B2C B2C denatured ethanol 96%, 6 litres | Denatured ethyl alcohol | n/a | 4.6 from 512, shared with the 2 L and 3 L ASINs | 7.6 | about £34.98 | View offer |
 Barrettine Barrettine mineralised methylated spirit, 500 ml | Mineralised methylated spirit | Violet | 4.6 from 167, own file | 9.0 | about £6.13 | View offer | |
| Alternative |  Bird Brand Bird Brand methylated spirits, 500 ml | Methylated spirits | n/a | 4.2 from 30, five texts in the file | 6.6 | about £8.99 | View offer |
On this page
Top pick for a UK meths bottle
Barrettine's 500 ml mineralised methylated spirit, at £6.13, is the top pick in this set. The title says methylated spirit, the colour is violet, and reviewers call it purple. The star line is 4.6 from 167 on that ASIN alone. Bullets name French polish, glass and meths burners. Reviews mention a Trangia.
About £12.26 a litre is dear, and reviewers say so. Strength and denaturants are not printed. Skip it for several litres, or for pale timber that would show violet dye. Class before stars is on the denatured alcohol buying guide.
Best value, with the condition
Best value is the B2C 6 litre denatured ethanol at £34.98, about £5.83 a litre, only if you accept the condition. The title says 96%. A bullet names about 1% isopropyl alcohol, 1% butanone and Bitrex. That is not UK completely denatured alcohol, which Notice 473 sets at 3 parts isopropyl and 3 parts methyl ethyl ketone per 100 parts alcohol.
The 4.6 from 512 is shared with the £21.95 and £21.99 packs. Count it once. The fuel question is unanswered. Alcopro at £12.65 and the 2BM cans at £15.44 have no usable review text, so they do not take the mark.
Skip these if you wanted proof
Bird Brand names Trangia and French polish, but five texts cannot carry a top pick. One reports a leaking cap, and one calls the burn the nastiest that reviewer had found. At about £17.98 a litre it is the dearest 500 ml here.
The 2BM cans name shellac, say the liquid is pink, and have almost no review text. The 99 degree can is 1.0 from one review with no body. LaFerr's 5 litre title at £16.03 sits beside 17 kg. There is no clear meths in this set, and nothing here is the best in Britain.
Which bottle, and who leaves it
If you want methylated spirits on the title and a review file for that bottle, Barrettine's 500 ml is the top pick, and violet dye is the limit on pale shellac. If you want the lowest reviewed price per litre and will treat the 1% bullet as a non-UK formula, the 6 litre B2C pack is best value. If there is no review text, leave it.
Common questions
Which bottle is the top pick in this set, and for whom?
Barrettine’s 500 ml mineralised methylated spirit at £6.13 is the top pick if you want a title that says meths, a violet colour the reviews confirm, and 4.6 from 167 reviews that belong to that ASIN. It suits a shed job: French polish, glass, or a meths burner the bullets already name. It is a small bottle. Reviewers who wanted a cheaper litre said so.
Who should skip Barrettine?
Skip it if you need several litres and the £12.26 a litre price is the problem the reviews already flag. Skip it if the timber is pale and violet dye could tint shellac. Skip it if you need the denaturant recipe printed on the page, because strength and denaturants are not on this listing. A larger B2C can is a different product, not a bigger Barrettine.
Why is the 6 litre B2C can the best value and not Alcopro?
The 6 litre B2C pack is £34.98, about £5.83 a litre, with 96% printed, denaturants named, and a shared review pool you can actually read. Alcopro’s title is about £1.05 a litre only as a sum, with no reviews, a Generico brand field and a 90 degrees mark. Best value here means a low litre price that still has a strength and a review file. It does not mean the smallest number on the page.
Why not Bird Brand if the bullets also name Trangia?
The bullets do name Trangia, camping stoves and French polish, and the seller claims a milder smell. The file then undermines that. Only five review texts are stored, one calls the burn the nastiest that person had found, and another reports a broken cap leaking in the package. At £8.99 for 500 ml it is also dearer per litre than Barrettine, which has 38 texts of its own.
Do 512 reviews mean three good sizes?
No. The 2 litre, 3 litre and 6 litre B2C listings share one 4.6 from 512 and the same texts. Brush cleaning shows up. So do leaks, a half-empty container and rejected perfume use. Choose the 6 litre size for the litre price and the denaturant bullet, not because 512 was counted three times. The 3 litre origin line says United Kingdom while the 6 litre file says Poland.
Is there a clear or undyed meths in this set?
No. Barrettine is violet. The 2BM bullets say pink. The other listings do not state a colour you can rely on. If dye would mark a pale shellac job, none of these nine is the clear CDA sold for that finish. The top pick assumes you can live with violet, or that the job is glass or a burner rather than pale timber.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Shelf prices in the product files were stored on 21.10.2026.
- HMRC, Excise Notice 473 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Denatured Alcohol Regulations 2005, schedule (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- HMRC, DNALC1150 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Bartoline methylated spirits safety data sheet (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Priory Polishes methylated spirit (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Smith & Rodger clear methylated spirit (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Trangia fuel list (retrieved 21.10.2026)
- Scouts, FS120348 meths burning stove (retrieved 21.10.2026)