Hi. I use, on occasion, some small 1/4 oz. bottles of Testors enamel paints to basically do detail work with, if I can't find a suitable color in the Polly S line. They do okay when first opened up but after a while tend to get thick. I'm pretty sure that this is due to the chemical evaporation when the bottle is open.

Now my question is, what can I put in the bottle to thin down the paint as time goes along? I would imagine that just a drop or two of something or other would pretty much do the trick, but I'm not quite sure what that 'something' would be that would work effectively with the enamel paints this company puts out. Just wondering of anybody else has worked with this paint and what they may have used that thins it down, as time goes along.

Thanks in advance, and take care, sgirty

I use testors thinner as I use the paint. I have never used anything else with it. I have heard that MM thinner works as well. But, as I have been successful with testors thinner I have never been tempted to use anything else. Hope it helps!
capnjock

Plain old Paint thinner works too

Testors thinner is the same as MM thinner....its all testors in the end. But as matt said....normal paint thinner works.

Larry, I've used just regular paint thinner once or twice, it seemed to do the trick for a while, but you basically had to add thinner each time you needed it.

Paint thinner would work fine. If they are enamels! Other than that, I some times use a piece of old sheet plastic as a palatte. And put a drop of the paint fromt those bottles on it, and then mix it with a little thinner, to get a less concentrated color.

~Chip :-)

On my palette I would add a drop of lineseed oils.... it doesn't eveporate that fast and provides very smooth layers of paint without brushstrokes.

Hi. Thanks guys. I went to the hobby shop and there it was--Testors' thinner. I wonder why I never saw it before. Ha! Tunnel vision I guess. If it would have been a snake it would have bit me. Anyway, picked up a brush full and rubbed it on the lip of the jar and stirred it up good and it worked fine. Like halfyank said, I imaigne I will have to add some every now and again to the jar, but that will be okay. Thanks Eagle for the linseed oil suggestion too, I'll have to try that as well for the Testors and some other paints I've had around here that have gotten thick. The Polly S is no problem, I just add a drop or two of distilled water to it every now and again.

Thanks again for all your suggestions.

Take care, sgirty