Hey guys. I've got some airbrushing to do and a guy at my hobby store said to use Tamiya lacquer thinner with Tamiya paint for airbrushing. Instead of buying the little bottle of Tamiya Lacquer thinner I figured I'd go to Home Depot and get a quart of their Lacquer thinner for about the same price as a little bottle from Tamiya. Is there any difference from the stuff at Home Depot ( brand is Klean Strip ) versus Tamiyas Lacquer thinner?

Thanks for the help
Pat

Lacquer thinner is lacquer thinner. I've bought mine at Home Depot for years. Never had an issue thinning Tamiya paints with it.

I've sprayed Tamiya paints for years with many different lacquer thinners, but the best results were achieved with Tamiya's and Gunze's lacquer thinners. The generic store brands that I've used made the paint dry too quickly for me and left a grainier texture as a result.

Your mileage may vary, but the same held true for me in both high humidity and very low humidity.

Cheers,
Paul H

Lacquer thinners are definitely not all alike. Lacquer thinner is more of a generic term for a mixture of organics. This has also changed a lot over the years as a result of VOC rules and they vary depending on your local. In years past at least, the best grades of lacquer thinner were sold through auto paint suppliers and were graded for the temperature of the environment. So a lacquer thinner for a hotter temp would flash slower than one for a colder temp. Not sure what is still available as I am working off my old stock, but I would start with your local auto paint supplier for a shot at the best grade of thinner.

I too use store bought lacquer thinner with Tamiya or Gunze lacquers, but I agree the best thinner to use is either Tamiya or Gunze (Mr. Hobby) thinners. They are not quite as "hot" as thinners from Home Depot or Lowes, and do a much better job of leveling and thinning the paint-- they have the added benefit of being able to thin the paint in the jar-- don't try that with store bought lacquers, it'll dry the paint out too quickly. I only use the store bought lacquers to clean my airbrush or brushes-- this saves the proprietary lacquers for thinning paints only.
VR Russ

Use Tamiya lacquer thinner. Hardware store thinner is good for cleaning tools, but will melt plastic. Tamiya LT will give you the best results and will mot damage plastic. It will also last a lot longer than you think.

www.kleanstrip.com/product/green-lacquer-thinner]
Klean-Strip Green Lacquer Thinner
Low VOC and less smelly.

I've soak tested sprue from Tamiya, Revell and a couple of others with no damage to the plastic.

I have experienced the best results using Gunze leveling thinner. After that, Tamiya thinner. I use generic lacquer thinner for cleaning my tools(it works especially well on air brushes). Generic thinner has ruined a couple of paint jobs, because it broke down the paint.

Gunze thinners, especially Leveling thinner IMHO

Cheers!

Hiya Patrick,

Ive been using Klean-Strip brand Lacquer Thinner in my Tamiya paint and Primer for years now without any issues....EVER. If someone has problems with it, im thinkin its user error rather than the Lacquer thinner/Tamiya itself. Works magnificently for me every time fella!