Okay.. I figure I might just fire this one out for confirmation.
I understand using water as a thinner. But for me that no-no. So what about other thinners? Example: I have Tayima thinner and I use Vallejo Panzer Aces. Can they honestly be used together? Or are the companies pushing their brand, for the coin?

To me acrylics are acrylics. Water-based paint. Some are richer than others. But the thinner should be the same level.

Your thoughts?

MM

Tamiya thinner can not be used with Vallejo paints. Only use tamiya thinner on tamiya paint, as they are not "conventional" acrylics. Other acrylics, like lifecolor and Vallejo model color, are best thinned with distiller water.

Unfortunately, it just doesn't work this way.

For most acrylic paint lines, using the proprietary thinner is the best place to start.

Some brands can be mixed and some can't be. Tamiya doesn't seem to work well with anything but Tamiya paints. I get good results airbrushing Tamiya acrylics with a mixture of 50:50 Tamiya X-20A thinner and ordinary lacquer thinner and reducing the paint at about 60:40 (paint:thinner).

On the other hand, I've had success mixing Vallejo, Citadel/Games Workshop, and Reaper paints together. These three will all thin with ordinary water, but I get better results using a "home brew" of 50:50 Vallejo thinner and water and then adding about 5% each (by volume) acrylic retarder, flow enhancer, and Vallejo Matt Medium. This is for brush painting.

For airbrushing Vallejo Model Colors, I use their proprietary airbrush thinner. Model Air colors airbrush straight from the bottle, but if needed, I also use Vallejo's AB thinner for those, too.

I have a couple of friends in our AMPS club that are experimenting with Life Colors right now, and both are finding that (once again) their proprietary thinner is giving them the best results.

So, those are my thoughts and experiences...

Vallejo Model Color line is perfect thinned with alcohol from gas station! Cheap and works great.

For the most acrylics i use alcohol. The clue is : Alcohol dries at the moment the color is on the model. No danger to get drops.

But some acrylics react with alcohol and get clumsy, like model air line from Vallejo.
Tamiya works well with alcohol. I am not a fan of using water

Are you using iso-propyl alcohol? If not which one? Is that a 1:1 mix?

"Tamiya works well with alcohol"

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just getting back into this.

Dave

I use just standard Isopropyl Alchohol (70%) with my Tamiya paints, and have had great results with them just like that. I thin the paint according to the Tamiya website, I just eyeball it and don't have an exact proportion to quote you.

Look here, I hope it could help you

http://www.modelairplaneinternational.com/a%20PDF%20downloads/WorkBench%2049.pdf

Anyway, you can use Tamiya thinner also ti dilute Gunze aqueus colors

And for a beeter finish, you can also use the Tamiya yellow cap lacquer thinner to dilute your Tamiya acrylic paints

How exactly does this produce a better finish? (Not skeptical, just curious)

Does it create a more level finish than using isopropal alchohol?

Yes, it does

To be honest, if I were you I wouldn't use the IPA as a thinner.

"Rubber alcohol" tends to dry incredibly fast, so, when you use your AB, your paint could dry before reaching the model surfaces. That's the reason why, in spite of any cautions, you can have as a final result, some unaesthetic uneven surfaces covered by a sort of fine powder. Actually that powder are nothing more than the dry paint particles.
You can achieve a better result only if your paint reaches your model when is still wet. That slower drying time allows a self levelling process, so your surfaces will be smooth and flawless. If your aim is to use the Tamiya x20a thinner or the IPA, you can avoid some problems adding a drop of retarder in your AB cup, or a bit of Tamiya clear paint in your mixture.

Regarding the Tamiya lacquer thinner. The term "acrylic paints" doesn't mean that you can dilute it with water, it does mean that the pigment of your paints are made by acrylic resins. That pigments can be diluted with many different kinds of thinner,it depends on the specific type (or brand) of your paint. In some cases the water or the alcohol are suitable, in some other ones they don't. Tamiya acrylic paints can be cracked either with Alcohol, water or Tamiya lacquer thinner. But between them the lacquer thinner has the slowest drying process so, as I told you before, it allows you to reach the best results.
The only thing that you have to bear in mind is that lacquer thinner can damage your AB seals. It's true, Tamiya lacquer thinner isn't as harsh as other lacquer based diluents, but you could have some problems. To avoid them, your AB has to have seals made on Teflon. If they are made on rubber you can only use alcohol or water


I hope this is clear enough

Have a good Job!

Hello,

I agree with Mauro on the Tamiya and IPA thinner.
I did it in the past and the result was always a grainy finish on my model.
I now use only the Tamiya yellow cap laquer thinner to thin their acrylic paint, with great result.

Tony

Mauro and Tony -

Thanks for the insight. Now that I look at one of the kits on my workbench I see what you are saying about the grainy finish. I'll have to pick up some of the yellow top thinner next time I head to the LHS.

Thanks again
Gil

Well, you should thank Mr. Michael Rinaldi.
I've learnt from him this tip, and i thanks him a lot indeed

Thanks everyone for the prompt and informative responses. All have been a great help to me.

Dave

If you can't find the Tamiya "Yellow Top" lacquer thinner, then ordinary hardware store lacquer thinner will work just as well and is much, much cheaper. I've been using that for years - several different brands - because none of the LHS in my area carry Tamiya lacquers or their lacquer thinner.

You can vary the drying time by mixing Tamiya X-20A with the lacquer thinner in different proportions - more X-20A the faster the drying time. I use about 50:50 for my painting conditions (usual ambient temperature and humidity).

Hardware store lacquer thinner is also cheap enough that you can use it for clean-up and it works well as a thinner / reducer for Floquil Model RR Colors (if you happen use those too, which I do for some purposes).

OK, so now that I have been made aware of the probable downside to using IPA to thin my acrylics I went out to the store here on base, and they have "Mineral Spirits" available.

Now you both have said "Lacquer Thinner". Is this the same thing as mineral spirits? I know there are people from all over the world here on this forum, and I know that people from different regions often call the same thing by a different name. I'm just trying to get some confirmation before I have a large quantity of Mineral Spirits on hand and nothing to use it with!

No, mineral spirit isn't the same as the lacquer thinner.
You can use mineral spirit to dilute oli colors. It could be useful for filters and washes, but it doesn't work with tamiya acrylic paints

yepp . the mixture depends on your pressure, but you can't work wrong with alcohol. I thinn the color untill a milky consisistence



Like mentioned above: Sometimes Tamiyas flat colors get grainy on the surface .To solve it : Spray the surface well covored. It must be a bit color-wet. It dries too fast under big pressure but only a little of color sprayed... so keep the surface wet

OK, thanks. I'll swing by the LHS today and see if they have the Tamiya Lacquer thinner, which I'm sure they do, they have just about every Tamiya product under the sun....one of the benefits of living in Japan I guess.....

As Mauro said, no, lacquer thinner is not the same as mineral spirits.

In many places lacquer thinners are also called "cellulose thinners." I believer the French word for "lacquer" is "laque," and "thinner" is "diluant."

Beyond that, I can't help you with a translation for where you are. In the US, it's universally called lacquer thinner and is very common and available everywhere from Walmart to Home Depot, Lowes, and Ace Hardware.

It's not surprising that no one in your local PX/BX knows what it is. Maybe the maintenance technical Warrant Officer at your motor pool or aviation unit can tell you what the local economy equivalent is.

HTH,

Thanks, I'll have to ask around. Possibly they were just out of stock, but I'll have to double check. The PX here is pretty bad about getting new stuff in stock, much to the dismay of just about everyone here....

In Italy it's called "diluente alla nitro" (Nitrocellulose diluent)

In France "Diluant nitrocellulosique"

It used to be emploied in automotive paint dilution

I'm sure you already know but, when you spray, be careful to wear mask and glowes. You have to work in a well ventilated room because lacquer thinner is toxic

Just read through the entire thread, and there is a lot of excellent information. As Mario mentioned, the term acrylic is the process that the paint pigment is made from, not the fact that it's water based.

I paint with Tamiya acrylics and some Model Master acrylics. For thinning I use Tamiya's X20A thinner which is basically Iso alcohol, distilled water, and a retarding agent Thinning Tamiya acrylics with lacquer thinner yields a much smoother paint surface, but you have to deal with the smell, which kind of negates using acrylics, at least in my house.

For those who use Iso Alcohol, it comes in three strengths: 91%,70% % 50%. 91% dries way too fast, 70% is what most use, but it also dries to fast for a really smooth finish. I cut it 2:1 with distilled water, and 50% straight from the bottle. Adding a little retarder that you can buy in a art supply store is the final touch, and is the equal of X20A.

Joel

Another tip which I've learnt here on Armorama : you can also dilute Tamiya arylic paints, using the automotive screen wash.
It works quite well, it's cheap and it's incredibly easy to find

Here a thread about with lots of information

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/172540&page=1