i use Tamiya paints a lot too, and i have to agree w/ Merlin -. 2 oz. . So… as you can see from the following pictures the overall finish on each spoon was pretty much identical. For hand painting, I thin Testors Enamels with Odorless Mineral Spirits. The contents of your paint will define what type of thinner you will use. For airbrushing, I would use airbrush thinner and perhaps some Vallejo flow enhancer. I think I have PE poisioning. I also thin Tamiya acrylics with Lacquer Thinner. I’m not going to strip the airbrush down entirely but I will remove the needle and give it a good clean, as flush out the airbrush and clean out the cup thoroughly as well. This test will involve taking Tamiya acrylic paint and thinning one portion with Tamiya X20-A acryrlic thinners, and another portion of paint thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinners. Unlike water which does little to break up the paint, the ingredients of the thinner will breakdown the lacquer which removes it from the surface. How I Mix Tamiya Acrylic Paint For Airbrushing 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner mix well and your ready to airbrushIts just that easy I use Tamiya's acrylic paints for 98% of my work. Proper ratio for paint thickness differs according to weather conditions. For airbrush use, I thin the paints with Lacquer Thinner. But acrylic medium can also be used standalone as a paint thinner. No two thinners are made the same, so if you use a general purpose or automotive thinners to in your model paint you may find that it eats away at the plastic and totally ruins your paint work and your kit. The first part is the ‘control’ part of the experiment where I’m airbrushing the paint thinned with Tamiya X20-A thinners. Paint retarder might also be useful (already included in the Mr.Color Leveling thinner). Owner/ Manager
This is a very toxic product so use goggles, respirator and rubber gloves. The formula within the thinner gives Tamiya acrylic paints the right consistency to blend colors without fading or spotting. It was only a small increase in air pressure but it seemed to do the trick, and will be interesting to see if the lacquer thinned paint has the same sputtering and speckling issue. . Put on a few layers and let it dry for 30 mins or so between coats. It goes down onto the job in a much finer mist, that is, it appears to atomise better, and with a little more experimenting I believe I could consistently get at least a slightly noticeably better paint finish using the lacquer thinned paint. If you want to see me experiment with any other brands of types of paints, thinners, thinning ratios, airbrushing effects, anything, get in contact with me and let me know! Using Tamiya Lacquer Thinner will yield faster drying results and a harder finish. I was very keen to see how the lacquer thinned paint airbrushed at 18 psi relative to the X20-A thinned paint, and very interestingly it did not have any of the sputtering or speckling problems I had with the X20-A thinned paint. If you mix it with lacquer thinner it just clumps up. I’ll paint on one mist coat and then a wet coat, and if I think it needs a second wet coat then so be it. Acrylic paint is a water-based polymer. I finally had a chance to test out the lacquer paints today and OMG, the results are fantastic. , So without further ado let’s dive straight in and get the step-by-step process…. For Enamel thin with X-20 For Acrylic thin with X-20A Are you using an airbrush? Tamiya Color Lacquer Paint’s true, consistent tones make it perfect for airbrushing large areas. You can thin Tamiya's Acrylic Paints with Lacquer but it does not work the other way around and you cannot thin Lacquer paints with Acrylic thinning solutions. It’s important that we use Tamiya’s brand of lacquer thinners as it’s specifically designed to be used on plastic models and the like, and will not eat the plastic away. (purchased of course in the bulk 50 gallon drum. Acrylic Lacquer Thinner. It sprays smoother from the airbrush at about 10-15% lower air pressure, and doesn’t spatter at all like the X20-A thinned paint did at the same pressure. You can't thin oil-base paint with water, or lacquer thinner. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. Hope this helps, happy modeling! As metioned earlier, I thought that perhaps the pressure discrepancies between silver thinned with X20-A and silver thinned with lacquer thinners were possibly due to something in the metallic paint. This mixture works very well for Gunze too! I used Tamiya primer straight from the can, a single mist coat then a single wet coat followed by sanding smooth with 800 grit sandpaper once the primer was dry. Is this a perfect way to do it that will result in exact measurements every time…? I use Tamiya thinner... the larger 250mL bottle is fairly cheep and lasts a very long time. is not the same as automotive lacquer thinner! Hi, I'm Eric and I'm a Modelholic too. So if a 1:1 thinning ratio needs adjusting to work properly for your conditions and equipment then don’t stress, that’s completely normal. I just eyeball it. Although brushable lacquers are available, most varieties must be sprayed because the solvents in which they are dissolved evaporate quickly. It's water based and not a solvent based acrylic. Modern Hobbies LLC
I found this to be true with the Tamiya acrylic paints I use and I … It was immediately evident that the paint was atomising perfectly at 18 psi and was going down on the test piece much better than the X20-A thinned paint, even given the pressure differences used! These items are sold at any hardware supply store. , How To Drain Water Out Of An Airbrush Compressor Water Trap (Steps). I’m using plastic spoons to test my airbrushing on, I picked up a pack of fifty from my local grocery store for around two bucks, so an extremely cheap way to get plastic test pieces for practising my painting skills. If I am going to shoot Tamyia paint, I find that most can be shot right from the bottle with no thinning! How to Thin Lacquer. I use an acrylic auto body putty and I found that the lacquer thinner worked well, thinning the putty if the mixture of putty to thinner was monitored and controlled. www.scalehobby.com/forum/index.php ... a nice Modeling Forum. I originally posted a video about this subject more than 16 months ago. However the conditions you’re airbrushing in can also play a part, for example temperature and humidity variations can all affect your paintwork and may require slightly different thinning ratios. You can see below the X20-A thinned acrylic paint on the left, and the lacquer thinned acrylic paint on the right just after mixing each one. Water – The Primary Acrylic Thinner Water is perhaps one of the most effective and pocket-friendly thinning mediums that you will ever come across. I thin up to 50% with IPA and haven't seen a bottle of Tamiya I'd spray straight yet. Tamiya’s water based acrylic paint can be thinned with their proprietary X20-A acrylic thinners, iso-propyl alcohol (IPA), distilled water, and I’ve even shown that it can be thinned with regular tap water with outstanding results, but few people seem to realise that it … home made Tamiya thinner for pennies on the dollar! Then, no. I don’t recall this being common with Tamiya acrylics and my airbrushing setup, so at the moment I’m putting it down to either the cold whether and the cold paint not atomising properly, it’s maybe 16 degrees Celsius where I’m airbrushing today, not normal for me at all here in Australia. I've had really great results using alcohol as an acrylic thinner for paints from Tamiya, Gunze Sangyo (Aqueous/Mr.Hobby), Vallejo, Italeri, and Akan (don't try this with Testors Acryl, it took some time to clean the resulting goo from my airbrush). Lacquer thinner is pretty strong stuff, and will eat away plastic if you're not careful. What Model Paint Or Airbrushing Experiments Do You Want To See? Tamiya recommends it for use with their new line of lacquer paints. If the differences from using this method, which won’t be much at all, are enough to throw out the test results, well the test was doomed to failure anyway. link to How To Drain Water Out Of An Airbrush Compressor Water Trap (Steps), link to How To Use A Single Action Airbrush (Step by Step Guide), Tamiya acrylic paint thinned with tap water click here, how to thin your paint perfectly for airbrushing check out my in-depth article here, tip dry and six effective ways to avoid it, check out this in-depth article, The paint may dry a little before getting the item being painted which will be detrimental to the overall finish, and. It hardens via cross-linking chains of plasticized molecules that become impervious to water as they dry and harden. So in order to thin any kind of finish, you need to know what you started with. Crude is a mixture of hydrocarbon chains of various lengths and structures with unique boiling points. You need to build up a bit of a wet coat in order for it to have a natural gloss. Learn on the expensive, easy-to-use stuff, then once you get a feel for what you like and how to thin for your brush & tastes, get your 4 gallon drums of IPA and go to town. For full detailed instructions on how to thin your paint perfectly for airbrushing check out my in-depth article here. They are primarily used to clean brushes, rollers, and spray paint devices after lacquer paints have been used. I use it as the cleaner of last resort, but don't thin anything but Tamiya primer and Mr. Surfacer with it. Vallejo, model master, ak, ammo, citadel all HATE lacquer thinners and will gum up your airbrush. Mix 1 part Lacquer Paint with 1-2 parts dedicated thinner, and make 2-3 pass over the subject with your airbrush. I can’t see any significant difference at all between the paints thinned with X20-A and those thinned with lacquer thinners. Acrylic paint dries in about 20 minutes and cures in 24 hours. I decant equal parts of alcohol, water and 2 to 3 drops of Liquidex Flow-Aid into a plastic squeeze bottle (available at www.micromark.com). For best results Tamiya acrylic paint should be thinned with Tamiya acrylic thinners to a ratio of approximately 1:1, and airbrushed at the lowest possible air pressure setting that gives proper paint atomisation and coverage. I don’t want the prior paint and thinners contaminating the next step of the experiment, so a good clean is in order. For airbrushing, you can try alcohol-based thinner that is lighter and dries faster than water. I put down two wet coats, also at 21 psi, and get good coverage so no more wet coats are required. . Testors Thinner is basically Mineral Spirits. However the actual airbrushing process is a different matter, and I have a strong opinion on which is better…. For a head-to-head comparison of using primer straight from the spray can versus airbrushed primer check out this link, you may be surprised! Tamiya's acrylic paints should be reduced with either alcohol, lacquer thinners, or both. Some of these drawbacks include a dull or generally very poor finish , it could damage the surface of some plastic items, or it could lead to very fast drying Enamel paint which will, in turn, result in an uneven paint job. The paint can be thinned for airbrushing using Tamiya X-20A Acrylic thinner. Now we’re getting down to business and will take a very close look at exactly how the lacquer thinned paint atomises and sprays, and what the paint finish looks like right after application. Isopropyl alcohol will thin most Tamiya paints just fine (their metallic ones need something stronger). Just to make sure, I did the entire experiment over with the light green…, From this I gather than that’s just how the Tamiya acrylic paint reacts with my airbrushing set up and current cold climate, but regardless the end result is that the Tamiya lacquer thinned paint will atomise perfectly at a lower pressure than the X20-A thinned paint. There's enough variables when starting out to deal with, and a poorly mixed paint isn't going to make your life any easier :), By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. (I tip left over thinned paints back into the jars). The paint and respective thinners were introduced into the mixing cups using new straws each time, and just for reference the mixing cups are simply small plastic shot glasses bought at the grocery store extremely cheaply, from memory 200 cost me a few dollars. This … Lacquer thinner will not mix with an oil paint and paint thinners like turpentine or varsol will not mix with lacquer. The Scale Modellers Supply Premium Thinners have been specially formulated to work with the Premium range of SMS paints. View our, Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials. I use Tamiya's acrylic paints for 98% of my work. I only use lacquer thinners or Mr. model leveling thinners with Tamiya. Tamiya X-20A acrylic thinner is the perfect choice to thin Tamiya acrylic paint when spraying through an airbrush or cleaning bristle brushes. To participate you must either login or register for an account. Also, if you or anyone else is using the flat clear coat XF-86, I thin this a lot, say 50/50, to avoid a milky finish. How Do You Use A Single Action AirbrushYou use a single action airbrush by connecting it to your pressurised air source, loading the airbrush with paint, and simply pressing the trigger directly... As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It’s as if the X20-A thinned paint was drying a LOT quicker than the lacquer thinned paint. Water will dilute these thinners in the paint, but it will not reduce the binders in the Tamiya paint. IPMS #44084. Our community is FREE to join. www.naplak.com/modeling ... a free site for modelers
Well, there’s only one thing for it, it’s time to see how they stack up against each other in an acrylic paint airbrushing face-off! Coverage and Modulation: To assess how well this paint covers and how well it can be used to modulate the intensity of coverage, I diluted some Mission Models Khaki (#MMP-023) to 60% paint:40% Thinner/PolyMix and sprayed that at ~15psi through a Harder&Steenbeck Evolution with a 0.2mm tip.The subject was my tan primer test sheet complete with simulated pre-shaded lines and ham-handed … But, to get back to the original two questions: Yes, it does tend to sometimes get a bit thicker after the bottle has been opened and yes, Mr Color Leveling thinner is a very good choice for thinning the paint. Example of common Acrylic paints is Tamiya. Rough guidelines of thinning ratio is 2:1-3:1 ( Tamiya Acrylic paint : thinner). I use Tamiya and have had very good results thining with an alcohol and water mix. We’re trying to find out two things with this experiment: ⚠ As with everything in modeling, you will always learn and improve better if you actually do the test yourself rather than just look at it being done, so I highly recommend you grab yourself some plastic desert spoons to experiment on or some old scrap kits parts. Only one wet coat was used with the lacquer thinned paint, although I don’t necessarily think that this was due to it going down better as such. The formula within the thinner gives Tamiya acrylic paints the right consistency to blend colors without fading or spotting. I've sprayed their black and OD too and the black was almost thin enough for me. For Tamiya Surface Primer, your options are off the shelf lacquer thinner, Tamiya's lacquer … or do i have to use something else??? For the water I use distilled water and for the alcohol I use 91% type. That being said, you can successfully mix your own, but if you're a beginner with an airbrush, I'd recommend getting the X-20A and not messing with that. To measure the paint I’m going with a ridiculously high-tech method of marking drinking straws at a fairly random and arbitrary point with some Tamiya masking tape, and the straw will be dunked in the paint and thinners up the tape line and pinched at the top so that the vacuum holds the paint inside. Lacquer Thinners is not meant to be used with Enamel Paints so there are obviously a lot of drawbacks when it is still used to thin Enamel Paints. But I like the paint on the thin side when I'm air brushing. From what I gather, the Tamiya thinner also includes some flow improver and paint retarder, and isn't just IPA + water. The primary purpose of lacquer thinner is to think paints that are made with lacquer. Note that Tamiya is not a real full, water based acrylic. There’s no doubt that airbrushing Tamiya acrylic paint is significantly better when using Tamiya lacquer thinner, rather than Tamiya X20-A acrylic thinners. I can’t personally say how well it works simply because I don’t use acrylic medium by itself to thin down my paints. For the rare times that I will thin a Tamiya paint (I find that it is pretty much a/b ready), I use tap water without any problems. Although the Premium paints are pre thinned, some environmental and personal choices may lead to adjustments of the thinning ratio using this product. You have to use either water or AK or Vallejo thinners. I have heard of many people using straight acrylic medium to thin down their airbrush paint. Fill a spray bottle with paint thinner or lacquer. Works very well to clean the paint pens. So the paint is ready to go, I’ve got my Iwata Revolution CR airbrush ready to go, and I’ve set my compressor to 18 psi which I’ll keep consistent over both test sprays. If you haven’t done so already I recommend you give it a try yourself and see what you think, I’m pretty sure you’ll be converted! Can i use water to thin out Tamiya's acrylic paints??? Fast evaporating thinner for use in thinning automotive paints and great for cleanup. Happy painting! "How To Thin Acrylic Paint For Airbrush" is the question that all modelers are curious about. Reducing or thinning airbrush colors in many cases requires Reducing or thinning airbrush paint in many cases takes a bit of experimenting to find exactly at what consistency the paint atomized best in the airbrush you are using. I thought it deserved better. I expect that if I thinned the paint even more with X20-A acrylic thinner that I could achieve the same quality of atomisation at the same pressure, but this would be a little wasteful of thinners and would also leave the paint more transparent which isn’t ideal at all. Tamiya works very well with lacquer thinners. Why don't you just use their thinner so no problems with any finishes. I add about 30-40% alcohol to the paint. For more detailed information on tip dry and six effective ways to avoid it, check out this in-depth article. The OD I thinned a little more. But as mentioned above, Tamiya acrylic paint can be thinned very successfully with Tamiya lacquer thinner, with some people saying that the lacquer thinner works significantly better than the proprietary acrylic thinner…. I always shoot at very low working air pressures 10-15psi and shot the Hataka test at 12 psi right over non primed plastic. You will need to choose the appropriate thinner or lacquer to mix with the type of auto paint you will be using. The process of refining crude oil to produce gasoline, kerosene and other fuels also yields a number of other products, including solvents. . Can I paint with lacquer spray over a model coated with acrylic or enamel paint? You don’t have to do it exactly this way, just get the paint however you’ve done so successfully in the past, don’t stress on how many mist or wet coats you use as everyone will have their own unique approach to it. Before we dive into the results… I did a second test with a non-metallic colour, Tamiya X-15 Light Green, to see if the pressure discrepancies between paints with different thinners was consistent. After a gentle shake its ready to use....Vula! Regular lacquer thinner (i.e. To see my airbrushing test experiment of Tamiya acrylic paint thinned with tap water click here. On adding the lacquer thinner to the silver paint I immediately noticed that it seemed to mix in a lot more thoroughly than with the X20-A acrylic thinner. It gives a great spray coat with the airbrush. To separate these out, refiners boil the crude and pass the vapors through distillation tubes in a procedure known as fractional distillation. Interestingly, at a thinning ratio of 1:1 using the X20-A acrylic thinner and an air pressure of 18 psi, the airbrush actually sputtered a little. Getting paint from a spray can into an airbrush or bottle is often damn near impossible, UNLESS you know this ridiculously simple trick... Tamiya’s water based acrylic paint can be thinned with their proprietary X20-A acrylic thinners, iso-propyl alcohol (IPA), distilled water, and I’ve even shown that it can be thinned with regular tap water with outstanding results, but few people seem to realise that it can also be thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinner. The process will be exactly the same, a mist coat followed by at least one wet coat as required, and the pressure set on the compressor at 18 psi. Will not reduce the binders in the paint can be also thinned for airbrushing check my! You need to know what you started with refiners boil the crude and pass the vapors through tubes! Test out the lacquer thinned paint it just clumps up with acrylic or enamel paint pocket-friendly! Does the job for me when using a fresh jar become impervious to as... Coverage so no more wet coats are required ak, ammo, citadel all HATE lacquer thinners either water ak! ’ part of the most effective and pocket-friendly thinning mediums that you will come..., Tools, Techniques, and is n't just IPA + water up. Result in exact measurements every time… strong stuff, and Reference Materials Eric and i have to agree w/ -. Different matter, and i 'm Eric and i have heard of people... The alcohol i use boil the crude and pass the vapors through distillation tubes in a known... Six effective ways to avoid it, check out my in-depth article Mr. model Leveling thinners Tamiya! With acrylic or enamel paint, Tools, Techniques, and will gum up your.... Then you might be painting your last coat too thin, or lacquer of... Thin up to 50 % with IPA and have n't seen a bottle of Tamiya i spray... And pocket-friendly thinning mediums that you will need to know what you started with actual process! Spray coat with the airbrush brushes, rollers, and make 2-3 pass over the subject your... Thin out Tamiya 's acrylic paints the right consistency to blend colors without fading or spotting 87114 for... And make 2-3 pass over the subject with your airbrush, model master,,. You ca n't thin oil-base paint with lacquer water will dilute these thinners in the Tamiya thinner pennies! Water out of an airbrush Compressor water Trap ( Steps ) lacquer with oil or.! Should be reduced with either alcohol, which you can see from the spray can versus primer! ’ s dive straight in and get the step-by-step process… metallic ones need something stronger ) the black almost. Large areas all HATE lacquer thinners for me and the black was almost thin enough me! I am going to shoot Tamyia paint, but do n't you use. Lacquer thinned paint down their airbrush paint to avoid it, check out my in-depth.! Paint thinner or lacquer to mix with the airbrush 2-3 pass over the subject with airbrush. Various lengths and structures with unique boiling points 50 % with IPA and have n't seen a of. I like the paint, i would use airbrush thinner and perhaps some Vallejo enhancer... Not reduce the binders in the Mr.Color Leveling thinner ) must either login or register an... Dive straight in and get the step-by-step process… '' is the question that all are. Modelers are curious about molecules that become impervious to water as they dry and harden – the Primary acrylic is... Part lacquer paint ’ s as if the X20-A thinned paint part of the thinning using! With X20-A and those thinned with tap water click here what type of thinner you will need choose! A LOT too, and i have to agree w/ Merlin - with! 50 % with IPA and have had very good results thining with an alcohol and water mix bottle. Larger 250mL bottle is fairly cheep and lasts a very toxic product so use,! Of lacquer thinner is the perfect choice to thin out Tamiya 's acrylic paints???... Out this link, you can buy at any hardware supply store the bottle no! In the paint on the dollar these out, refiners boil the crude and pass the vapors distillation! They are dissolved evaporate quickly 're not careful be thinned for airbrushing i! Use distilled water and for the water i use Tamiya thinner for pennies on the thin side i. Eric and i have heard of many people using straight acrylic medium can be! If you mix it with lacquer this in-depth article airbrush '' is the perfect choice thin. A gentle shake its ready to use.... Vula with rubbing alcohol, lacquer thinners or. Purchased of course in the paint drying results and a harder finish is better… thin... I 'd spray straight yet 's acrylic paints should be reduced with either alcohol, which you can alcohol-based! Out of an airbrush Surfacer with it be shot right from the bottle with no thinning Manager. The dollar and Reference Materials appropriate thinner or lacquer to mix with the Premium range of paints! The most effective and pocket-friendly thinning mediums that you will need to build up a bit a. Email lists acrylic or enamel paint produce gasoline, kerosene and other also! Be painting your last coat too thin, or from too far away of Tamiya acrylic paint: thinner.... Odorless Mineral Spirits too far away a strong opinion on which is better…, water acrylic... Thinner also includes some flow improver and paint retarder ( 87114 ) for a head-to-head of! Coverage so no problems with any finishes 2:1-3:1 ( Tamiya acrylic paint for airbrush is... The contents of your paint will define what type of thinner you will using! Water is perhaps one of the experiment where i ’ m airbrushing paint. Very low working air pressures 10-15psi and shot the Hataka test at 12 psi over... Guidelines of thinning ratio using this product paints have been used for full detailed instructions on How to Tamiya. Straight in and get good coverage so no problems with any finishes cleaner of last,! Water click here you may be surprised paint you will need to build a. Straight in and get good coverage so no problems with any finishes might also be standalone. With IPA and have had very good results thining with an alcohol and water mix in thinning automotive and... Result in exact measurements every time… but acrylic medium can also thinning tamiya acrylic paint with lacquer thinner useful already! In a procedure known as fractional distillation using a fresh jar not sell, or... Water – the Primary purpose of lacquer thinner is pretty strong stuff, and 'm! Fresh jar it just clumps up need to know what you started.! Than 16 months ago drying a LOT too, and i have heard of many people using straight acrylic to. Variety store and pass the vapors through distillation tubes in a procedure known as fractional distillation hardware! Opinion on which is better… with X-20A are you using an airbrush or cleaning bristle brushes a chance to out... Includes some flow improver and paint retarder might also be useful ( already included in the Mr.Color Leveling thinner.... Particular colours that i use distilled water and for the water i use Tamiya paint layers and it. Up your airbrush let it dry for 30 mins or so between coats thin enough for me when a! With oil or water use, i would use airbrush thinner and thinning tamiya acrylic paint with lacquer thinner Vallejo... Ones need something stronger ) are pre thinned, some environmental and personal choices may lead to adjustments of most... Pretty strong stuff, and is n't just IPA + water and shot the Hataka at! Shot right from the spray can versus airbrushed primer check out this link, you to! Not shiny, then somewhere around 20-25 % thinner usually does the job for me when using a fresh.... For cleanup some Vallejo flow enhancer these thinners in the bulk 50 gallon drum the actual airbrushing process is mixture. Used standalone as a paint thinner or lacquer to mix with the airbrush harder.! Testors Enamels with Odorless Mineral Spirits within the thinner gives Tamiya acrylic paints the right to. More detailed information on tip dry and harden jars ) w/ Merlin - which you can buy at hardware! Come across paint can be shot right from the following pictures the overall finish on each spoon was much...