Other thinning mediums for acrylic

blue, okay that

I use automobile windshield washer fluid to thin acrylics. The blue tint doesn't affect colors, not even white.

I doubt you'd want to use nail polish remover. Many contain acetone, which will attack CA at the very least. I don't know what it might do to acrylic paint. Most acrlic thinners use varying combinations and ratios of alcohol, distilled water and/or glycol. Windez ha alcohol and ammonia,so perhaps ammonia is another compoenent of some thinners, though ammonia-based stuff will also attack some acrylic paints, and Future.

If you're thinning Tamiya acrylic, you might consier a combination of isopropanol and distilled water. I use straight isopropanol and get good results, but additional water will probably lengthen the drying time, which lessens the chance the airbrush spray will dry in mid-air and clump on your paint job.

Mark Schynert

I agree with Mark. This past summer I spent considerable time experimenting with different thinners and combos of thinners for different brands of acrylics. I found the following to be best for me:

Tamiya paints - 50% paint, 25% Tamiya thinner, 25% distilled water; or substitute the iso alcohol for the Tamiya thinner

Gunze paints -50% paint, 25 iso alcohol, 25% distilled water. Interestingly, the Tamiya thinner did not work very well with Gunze.

I tried windshield washer fluid, windex, etc. but got no better ( and often not as good) results as with the above. Rubbing alcohol used by itself as a thinner caused the paint to dry before hitting the surface thus causing the rough finish characteristic of that problem.

I found also that different colors even in the same paint line usually require different thinning ratios. Darker paints required heavier thinning (up to 65%) than lighter paints (50-50). Red and yellow required the least amount of thinner (30-40%).

Of course, all bets are off with any of the Floquil acrylics (Aeromaster, Polly Scale, Floquil). I finally quit using them as they constantly clog my air brush with a residue the consistency of chewing gum. They do provide a wonderful finish on a model, though. However, one must resist the urge to commit suicide when viewing how the paint initially appears on the model when wet. The horrible, uneven appearance when wet usually gives way to a very nice, consistent finish.

Lacquer thinner and acetone (used separately) are my air brush cleaners of choice.

Art

Window washer fluid is the thing to use. IPA ( Iso Propyl Alcohol as I know it) is also a very good but harder to get. At least here in Holland and where I've tried.

I never had any problem with the bleuish colour in w/w fluid.

Dennis

Have you actually tried them? I use windshield washer fluid, and sometimes Windex. The blue tint has absolutely no detectable effect on the color of paint, even white or yellow paint. Yes, it's a good strong blue in the bottle, but it's transparent; put it down in a layer 1mm thick and the color disappears, even without any paint added to it. Paint, on the other hand, is still opaque at 1/10 the thickness, so it's totally unaffected by the blue dye in Windex.

(They tint rubbing alcohol in Australia? They don't in Canada.)

distilled water.

No.

Model Master Acryl thinner works best for the Aeromaster, Polly Scale and MM Acryl paints. With Aeromaster and Polly Scale a pin head sized drop of Liquitex or Createx retarder helps keep the tip dry problem to a minimum.

My main cleaner between colors is Createx airbrush cleaner, just hose through, back flush a few times and swab out the cup.....then repeat util it back flushes clear. I do not strip my airbrush down until it doesn't spray quite right and that's about every 5 models, then I use acetone to clean the parts.

for Tamiya: Windex or 90% isopropyl alchohol. The blue in the Windex seems to have no effect on any of the Tamiya colors I've used it with.

Windex: the blue tint, in the case of the X2-White has put a blue tinge through the paint, but it does make it look brighter. It is said, if you want a white shirt to look brighter, add a hint of blue to the wash.

I use automotive Acrilic Thinner and work verywell

Edgar