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Gunz Thinner vs Tamiya Lacquer Thinner
Totalize
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Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Friday, June 08, 2012 - 11:52 PM UTC
Hi Guys,

I have been told by a few hobby shops that the Tamiya Lacquer thinner has been hard to get. Is the Gunze/Mr.Hobby levelling thinner or simply their thinner a lacquer based thinner?

Thanks,
Dave.
tanknick22
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 12:24 AM UTC
if you are thinning tamiya paints for air brushing you can use isopropyl alcohol that what i use ansd have always gotten great results
Totalize
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 12:59 AM UTC
Hi Nick,


Thanks for the reply.

I found this on Finescale modeller


"Assuming that you are talking about Gunze's Aqueous acrylics (ie. NOT Mr Color), though they are not quite exactly the same formulation as Tamiya's acrylics, they are similar enough that they are miscible.

Tamiya's X-20A acrylic thinner and Gunze's aqueous Hobby Color thinner are interchangeable, as are Tamiya's lacquer thinner and Gunze's Mr Color thinner.

All four may be used with either Tamiya acrylic or Gunze Aqueous Hobby Color.
Tamiya's Lacquer thinner and Gunze's Mr Color Thinner can be used with Gunze's Mr Color range of paints. Tamiya X-20A and Gunze's Aqueous Hobby Color Thinner cannot be used with Mr Color"

Although I don't use Lacquer thinner as my primary thinner for painting ( I prefer Tamiya's X20A for their paints) it has other uses. For instance I use it for thinning Mr.Surfacer 500 for priming and texturing as well as for cleaning my brushes and airbrush. Tamiya acrylics are hard on these things (much harder than enamels) and the lacquer thinner gets the residual and dried on paint off my AB and brushes better than iospropyl alcohol or the X20A thinner. I also use it for dissolving glue where I have mistakenly glued a part that I need to remove.

At any rate I think I found my the answer to my question but if there anyone cares to comment please do.

Phil_H
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New South Wales, Australia
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 12:48 PM UTC
Dave,

The "Mr Levelling Thinner" is the same as the "Mr Color" lacquer thinner, except that it has a retarder added to it to slow the drying time.

Big-John
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 01:37 PM UTC
Dave,

I havn't tried it yet, But a freind of mine uses Gunze/Mr.Hobby levelling thinner with great results. I belive he likes it better than tamiyas Lacquer thinner.

Also, plain ordinary Lacquer thinner from the hardware store works great also.
Totalize
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 02:56 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Dave,

The "Mr Levelling Thinner" is the same as the "Mr Color" lacquer thinner, except that it has a retarder added to it to slow the drying time.





Thanks Phil, I didn't know that bout Mr. Leveling thinner. This is good to know.

Cheers,
Dave.
Totalize
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 02:57 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Dave,

I havn't tried it yet, But a freind of mine uses Gunze/Mr.Hobby levelling thinner with great results. I belive he likes it better than tamiyas Lacquer thinner.

Also, plain ordinary Lacquer thinner from the hardware store works great also.



Thanks for the comments John. Is thre a particular brand that you would recommend I can get from say Home Depot?
Big-John
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 03:08 PM UTC
Hi Dave, The Lowes around here sells the Klen Strip brand. I would sugsest picking up a can and do a "Test" run. If it dosn't work out. you could always use it to clean your air brush.

I use Automotive grade Klen Strip that I bought at autozone. Don't know if you have any autozones up north, but I would think any auto parts store chain should have it.

Hope this helps, John
Big-John
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 03:41 PM UTC
Hi Dave,

This got me to thinking which one I did try using with tamiya paints. The can on the left is virgin lacquer thinner that came from Autozone. It’s used to thin automotive primer. This is the one that I tested with Tamiya paints and I loved the results. I am running low on it and bought a can at Lowes and it’s a bit deferent. It also has a slightly different odor to it. So that’s what I will use to clean my air brush with and save the good stuff for painting.



I’m just getting started in the use of Tamiya paints, and didn’t like the results I got with water or isopropyl alcohol. So far, I really love the results with lacquer thinner.
SSGToms
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 04:26 PM UTC
That's funny that the VIRGIN thinner has the prettier can...
junglejim
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 04:59 PM UTC
One thing to remember is Tamiya lacquer thinner (yellow cap) is a synthetic lacquer thinner. The automotive types will harm plastic; you can actually use Tamiya to smooth out/wipe off Tamiya putty (or others) when it's dry and it won't harm the plastic (as long as you don't pour it on ) Once you try airbrushing Tamiya paint with their lacquer thinner you'll never go back to alcohol...

Jim
Phil_H
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 05:49 PM UTC

Quoted Text

One thing to remember is Tamiya lacquer thinner (yellow cap) is a synthetic lacquer thinner. The automotive types will harm plastic; you can actually use Tamiya to smooth out/wipe off Tamiya putty (or others) when it's dry and it won't harm the plastic (as long as you don't pour it on ) Once you try airbrushing Tamiya paint with their lacquer thinner you'll never go back to alcohol...

Jim


Indeed, I seem to recall seeing somewhere online, a test where chunks of sprue were immersed in both Tamiya and Gunze's lacquer thinners for an extended period with no ill effects. Do the same with generic lacquer thinner and you will quickly have a puddle of goo.

One area where Tamiya/Gunze lacquer thinners will make a significant difference is in the airbrushing of gloss Tamiya acrylics.

I find that when airbrushing Tamiya gloss acrylics thinned with alcohol or Taimya X-20A acrylic thinner, it can sometimes be difficult to achieve a smooth, consistent gloss finish.

It becomes easier using Tamiya's lacquer thinner as it extends the drying time of the paint, so that the paint has more time to level and form a uniform film.
Removed by original poster on 06/10/12 - 06:11:42 (GMT).
Spiderfrommars
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 06:19 PM UTC

Quoted Text


It becomes easier using Tamiya's lacquer thinner as it extends the drying time of the paint, so that the paint has more time to level and form a uniform film.


....so, that's the reason why Gunze calls "levelling" its new lacquer thinner isn't it?
I'd like to try it

It sounds strange, but I've heard that some modellers use acetone to dilute Tamiya and Gunze paints
Phil_H
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Posted: Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 07:12 PM UTC

Quoted Text

....so, that's the reason why Gunze calls "levelling" its new lacquer thinner isn't it?
I'd like to try it

It sounds strange, but I've heard that some modellers use acetone to dilute Tamiya and Gunze paints


Remember that the "Levelling" thinner is really intended to be used with their "Mr Color" lacquer range, which flash-dries very quickly (indeed, if insufficiently thinned and then airbrushed in hot, dry conditions, it can actually form strings). It's not really a new thing, it's been around for years, it's just a supplement to the regular "Mr Color" thinner. They also market a retarder separately under the moniker "Mr Retarder".

It's probably helpful when brush-painting too. I wonder how it would affect brush-painting with Tamiya acrylics... Hmmm, that may be something to investigate too..
Big-John
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Posted: Sunday, June 10, 2012 - 01:57 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

One thing to remember is Tamiya lacquer thinner (yellow cap) is a synthetic lacquer thinner. The automotive types will harm plastic; you can actually use Tamiya to smooth out/wipe off Tamiya putty (or others) when it's dry and it won't harm the plastic (as long as you don't pour it on ) Once you try airbrushing Tamiya paint with their lacquer thinner you'll never go back to alcohol...

Jim


Indeed, I seem to recall seeing somewhere online, a test where chunks of sprue were immersed in both Tamiya and Gunze's lacquer thinners for an extended period with no ill effects. Do the same with generic lacquer thinner and you will quickly have a puddle of goo.

One area where Tamiya/Gunze lacquer thinners will make a significant difference is in the airbrushing of gloss Tamiya acrylics.

I find that when airbrushing Tamiya gloss acrylics thinned with alcohol or Taimya X-20A acrylic thinner, it can sometimes be difficult to achieve a smooth, consistent gloss finish.

It becomes easier using Tamiya's lacquer thinner as it extends the drying time of the paint, so that the paint has more time to level and form a uniform film.


I just finished performing this test this morning. I poured some Virgin lacquer thinner in a clear jar and then submerged a piece of sprue in it. I checked it about a half hour later and found a pile of goo. But remember, that was submerged,

If spraying in thin even coats, the thinner will evaporate off pretty fast. I have been using it to thin Testors Dull Kote with no ill effects to the plastic or paint finish.

I also used it to thin Tamiya paints when I painted a set of vinyl tracks lately and didn’t see any problems.
Spiderfrommars
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Posted: Sunday, June 10, 2012 - 02:08 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

....so, that's the reason why Gunze calls "levelling" its new lacquer thinner isn't it?
I'd like to try it

It sounds strange, but I've heard that some modellers use acetone to dilute Tamiya and Gunze paints


Remember that the "Levelling" thinner is really intended to be used with their "Mr Color" lacquer range...


I've seen some guys who use it with Tamiya acrylic paints and it looks as if it works perfectly.
I read something about it only few time ago...Since now it seemes quite hard to find in Italy

Anyway, thanks a lot for the information

cheers
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