Best home brew thinner for tamiya and gunze acrylics

[CFster]

Thanks, by the way i've heard that hardware LT flattens the tone so much and puts uneven surafce because of fast drying time, is it true?

Haven't heard about it altering color but it does dry fast. Some people use it exclusively but it's "hot" compared to hobby lacquer thinners.

 

[CFster]

I have made a homebrew thinner for Vallejo acrylics, but I have not tried for Tamiya or Aqueous yet. I am planning to paint a model using both of these in the future, so this conversation has been very helpful. I have the X-20A Thinner and I was going to use that.

PS my home brew for Vallejo is 70% Thinner, 25% flow improver, and 5% retarder medium (all Vallejo products). Though I have been experimenting with just using model air at higher PSI and just using a little flow improver.

Yeah that's pretty much Vallejo's recommendation - use high air pressure. But 25-30 is simply too high for me. I'd rather not have my paint dry in the air before it hits the model. Properly thinned I've been able to spray at 12psi no problem.

If you have a bottle of Future or Pledge lying around you can thin Vallejo with that too, which has the benefit of producing a smoother (and much harder) finish.

 

[ohbejuan]

Yeah that's pretty much Vallejo's recommendation - use high air pressure. But 25-30 is simply too high for me. I'd rather not have my paint dry in the air before it hits the model. Properly thinned I've been able to spray at 12psi no problem.

If you have a bottle of Future or Pledge lying around you can thin Vallejo with that too, which has the benefit of producing a smoother (and much harder) finish.

I do have some pledge. I will give it a shot.

 

[CY343491]

I have made a homebrew thinner for Vallejo acrylics, but I have not tried for Tamiya or Aqueous yet. I am planning to paint a model using both of these in the future, so this conversation has been very helpful. I have the X-20A Thinner and I was going to use that.

PS my home brew for Vallejo is 70% Thinner, 25% flow improver, and 5% retarder medium (all Vallejo products). Though I have been experimenting with just using model air at higher PSI and just using a little flow improver.

Not surebut i've heard that unlike tamiya or aqueous thinner, vallejo thinner does not contain any alcohol substances. I don't think it will work for tamiya & gunze.

 

[ohbejuan]

Not surebut i've heard that unlike tamiya or aqueous thinner, vallejo thinner does not contain any alcohol substances. I don't think it will work for tamiya & gunze.

I think you are right! thanks. I will probably just use Tamiya thinner with the Tamiya and Gunze

 

[CY343491]

I think you are right! thanks. I will probably just use Tamiya thinner with the Tamiya and Gunze

I'm just researching that thinner stuff for a short time and not qualified on paints or chemistry. So most of my words may be hearsay, i think that if you have an idea, you should try and see results, maybe it will work.

 

[unclepine]

This whole "thinner" debate makes my head hurt...LOL...! At my store, much like many others, either here in Canada or in the USA, there are guys that are so tight they squeak...! When I teach airbrush(35 years now), I ALWAYS tell the newbies to stick with the paints own thinner, to heck with all this Frankenstein/lab/concoction mixing and fartin around. The paint makers KNOW how to make the proper thinner to work with THEIR paints, so if you have some troubles with the gun, at least for the most part, you can rule out the thinner. Or am I just old fashioned, and a grumpy 'ol fart...hahahaha...!!! Guys will come in to our HS, spend copious amounts of cash on the latest RFM, Takom, Border, Kinetic(ouch) model kit, and then bellyache about the price of a jar of X-20 or Gunze Lev Thinner...go figure...! Windshield washer fluid is for WINDSHIELDS...!!!! I don't care HOW cheap it is, it DOES NOT have the proper ingredients to help the paint flow, level, stick, and dry...PERIOD...end of discussion. Should your results vary, well, luck is on yer side, and the gods are shining on you...LOL...have a great day.

unclepine

 

[ohbejuan]

This whole "thinner" debate makes my head hurt...LOL...! At my store, much like many others, either here in Canada or in the USA, there are guys that are so tight they squeak...! When I teach airbrush(35 years now), I ALWAYS tell the newbies to stick with the paints own thinner, to heck with all this Frankenstein/lab/concoction mixing and fartin around. The paint makers KNOW how to make the proper thinner to work with THEIR paints, so if you have some troubles with the gun, at least for the most part, you can rule out the thinner. Or am I just old fashioned, and a grumpy 'ol fart...hahahaha...!!! Guys will come in to our HS, spend copious amounts of cash on the latest RFM, Takom, Border, Kinetic(ouch) model kit, and then bellyache about the price of a jar of X-20 or Gunze Lev Thinner...go figure...! Windshield washer fluid is for WINDSHIELDS...!!!! I don't care HOW cheap it is, it DOES NOT have the proper ingredients to help the paint flow, level, stick, and dry...PERIOD...end of discussion. Should your results vary, well, luck is on yer side, and the gods are shining on you...LOL...have a great day.

unclepine

I will admit to using washer fluid to cleaning my airbrush when switching colors

 

[CFster]

This whole "thinner" debate makes my head hurt...LOL...! At my store, much like many others, either here in Canada or in the USA, there are guys that are so tight they squeak...! When I teach airbrush(35 years now), I ALWAYS tell the newbies to stick with the paints own thinner, to heck with all this Frankenstein/lab/concoction mixing and fartin around. The paint makers KNOW how to make the proper thinner to work with THEIR paints, so if you have some troubles with the gun, at least for the most part, you can rule out the thinner. Or am I just old fashioned, and a grumpy 'ol fart...hahahaha...!!! Guys will come in to our HS, spend copious amounts of cash on the latest RFM, Takom, Border, Kinetic(ouch) model kit, and then bellyache about the price of a jar of X-20 or Gunze Lev Thinner...go figure...! Windshield washer fluid is for WINDSHIELDS...!!!! I don't care HOW cheap it is, it DOES NOT have the proper ingredients to help the paint flow, level, stick, and dry...PERIOD...end of discussion. Should your results vary, well, luck is on yer side, and the gods are shining on you...LOL...have a great day.

unclepine

Unfortunately…Vallejo really doesn't know how, or doesn't want to produce a thinner that actually works correctly...

 

[CY343491]

This whole "thinner" debate makes my head hurt...LOL...! At my store, much like many others, either here in Canada or in the USA, there are guys that are so tight they squeak...! When I teach airbrush(35 years now), I ALWAYS tell the newbies to stick with the paints own thinner, to heck with all this Frankenstein/lab/concoction mixing and fartin around. The paint makers KNOW how to make the proper thinner to work with THEIR paints, so if you have some troubles with the gun, at least for the most part, you can rule out the thinner. Or am I just old fashioned, and a grumpy 'ol fart...hahahaha...!!! Guys will come in to our HS, spend copious amounts of cash on the latest RFM, Takom, Border, Kinetic(ouch) model kit, and then bellyache about the price of a jar of X-20 or Gunze Lev Thinner...go figure...! Windshield washer fluid is for WINDSHIELDS...!!!! I don't care HOW cheap it is,

Unfortunately…Vallejo really doesn't know how, or doesn't want to produce a thinner that actually works correctly...

it DOES NOT have the proper ingredients to help the paint flow, level, stick, and dry...PERIOD...end of discussion. Should your results vary, well, luck is on yer side, and the gods are shining on you...LOL...have a great day.

unclepine,.

Thanks, it's not really about fun, but to save cash and overcome shortage problems. It's also risky as we don't work in chemistry lab