Mineral Spirits Vs Acetone

in order of strength strongest to weakest
Acetone
Lacquer Thinner
Mineral Spirits

My father was a painting contractor, I grew up painting pretty much everything (except cars) and for any oil based paint Lacquer Thinner was what we used to both thin the paint and to clean the equipment. Acetone is usually too harsh for many materials and as noted will melt many plastics. In my adult life lacquer thinner is my "go to" for probably 90% of cleaning and thinning jobs. I use acetone if I do not want anything left (oils and such) but acetone does leave a residue that in certain circumstances is not helpful (such as chemical etching). I use it for cleaning parts in preparation for TIG welding and it works well. For many plastics, I will use MEK but you have to be both patient and careful with it (as you do with any of the solvents).

Put it this way, a parts washer usually contains mineral spirits or some formulation thereof; it is much lighter and contains more oil than lacquer thinner or acetone, IMO MS is about 2 steps away from diesel fuel but it has its uses.