Hi all

I have the Lifecolor acrylic rust set and I'm wondering how best to thin them. (Unfortunately I didn't have the presence of mind to order some Lifecolor thinner).

I could of course use water which is guaranteed to work, but I want a finish that's a little more resilient than that. (I'm going to add a hairspray chipped whitewash later and I don't want the rust to come off).

My options are:-

Tamiya thinner
Vallejo thinner
Tamiya Lacquer thinner
Cellulose thinner

I ask because when I first started out I tried to thin Vallejo paint with Tamiya thinner with disastrous results.

Thanks for your help

Andy

Don't use the Tamiya thinner. Lifecolor/vallejos are waterbased acrylics, Tamiya is alcoholbased.


Vallejo thinner is your best option.

Hello Andy,

Every paint brand has a particular formula and often they will
not tolerate another brand's of thinner.
It is always best to use the same brand thinner as the paint.

Life color will thin well with plain water but I would use distilled (de-mineralized) water if you don't use their thinner.

Some modelers use isopropyl alcholol with Tamiya paints
with very good results and others are now using Tamiya brand
lacquer thinner which is not as harsh as regular lacquer thinner.

Vallejo paints work best with their brand thinner or distilled water.

Hope this helps and maybe other have some suggestions,
Cheers,
Joe

Another thing to keep in mind with Lifecolor paint is that they like to be painted at low PSI levels...which was a first for me when I started using them, since every other brand likes 20-30PSI depending on how much they are thinned down...

Andy as you are in the UK contact the Airbrush Company and get some lifeColor thinner as it will give you the most consistant results.

Thanks guys

I guess it's water for now then. I should've thought it through when I originally ordered the stuff. I'll get some lifecolor thinner next time I order.

Thanks for you help

Your mileage may very well vary, but I used to have trouble getting LifeColor airbrushing when thinned with water - it clogged rather easily and didn't flow that well. Then I tried the brand thinner it works like a charm. Works with Vallejos too.