Hello a couple of weeks back I tried airbrushing Gunze Mr. Color H303 on a model. I had terrible tip drying as I tried to airbrush it. I thinned it with Mr. Color thinner.

Doe anyone have any ideas on why I had this issue with Mr. Color?

Thanks,

Brian

Are you using Mr. Color leveling thinner or just Mr. Color thinner? I use and prefer Mr. Color (when I can get it, as it's difficult to find in the US). I suspect you either haven't thinned it enough, or your air pressure is too high, or you are using just plain thinner. I have never had the problem you describe, as I thin Mr. Color at least 60% with thier leveling thinner to 40% paint, sometimes even going as high as 70% thinner. I also turn my air pressure down to about 12-18 PSI. I usually try and cover in multiple light coats, rather than trying to cover everything in one shot. Mr. Color is actually a concentrated pigment, and I've learned a bottle is concentrated at a ratio of about 3:1, that is, you should get enough paint out of a single bottle to equal three bottles when mixed with thier proprietary "leveling thinner". Mr. Color is also designed to be a rapid drying lacquer, and lacquers have a tendency to dry quickly as the carrier and thinner evaporate faster than enamels. That's why i think might be an air pressure issue you describe. Do you mix it in the airbrush or in a separate cup? I always mix all my paint in a separate cup. I've known modelers who mix it in the airbrush cup, but sometimes pure paint enters the feed system that way, which can dry and clog the tip, and this leads to paint build up which dries at the tip even faster. I'd try experimenting with the thinner ratio and air pressure.
VR, Russ

Hi Russ,

Thanks for responding. I was actually using Mr. Color thinner (not the leveling thinner) when I was airbrushing. I might be having issues based on what you said, i.e. air pressure too high, not thinning enough, or mixing in the airbrush cup. I will try your out suggestions to see if that takes care of the problem.

Also, is it better to use the leveling thinner as opposed the regular Mr. Color thinner?

Brian

Brian,
The answer to your question is yes-- the leveling thinner is specifically formulated and designed for thinning Mr. Color pigments for airbrushing, whereas the plain thinner is more for cleaning. Mr. Color is concentrated specifically to be "leveled". I don't even buy the MC pure thinner, as I use straight Home Depot lacquer thinner for all my cleaning. But I reserve the "leveling thinner" just for use thinning Mr. Color for the airbrush.
VR, Russ

Hi,

H- is not Mr.Color, it's the Aqueos Mr Hobby line of Gunze. Mr Color starts with "C-" . Maybe that's the problem. Gunze are my favorite paints and I have both series. I thin H- with Tamiya X-20A or IPA and have no problems with drying, for the lacquer C- I'm using the Leveling thinner, not the regular one.
Maybe pressure is high or not thinned enough, Mr Color dries fast so it needs more thinning with the Leveling thinner.

Regards

Yes-- I was thinking this was for the lacquers-- if you are using the aqueous colors, they are different and won't react well with the regular thinner. I don't know how well they work with the leveling thinner, but it looks like Venelin has the answer.
VR, Russ

The aqueous works fine with the levelling thinner - that’s what I use.