I’ve come across quite a few mentions of folks using lacquer thinner to thin enamel for spraying through an airbrush.
There are some disadvantages to this (Possible damage to the paint itself, risk of crazing or melting the plastic with a heavy application and paint flash drying, leading to poor quality finish and adhesion).
What are the advantages? Faster drying time?
Can’t think of one.
Lacquer thinner is intended to thin lacquers, which dry, rather than cure. It is a generic blend of solvents—anything from mostly alcohol (original lacquers were alcohol soluble) to a very esoteric blend. The latter are sometimes compatible with enamel systems, and are sometimes effective as universal cleaning agents.
Those who use them for enamels, as far as I can tell, use them for the reasons you mentioned. You also mentioned the drawbacks. 'Nuff said.
tis a crazy world out there. [:D] one can use Naptha to thin and speed up enamel drying time. or so I am lead to believe…only ever used it with Wood stain, hehe, and I did not hold a stopwatch to it.
Thanks for the replies guys. I thought I was missing some secret or subtle advantage.
Often you come across great ideas on the forums. I love “out of the box” thinking. Then again, sometimes you come across ideas that seem like they are more trouble than they are worth.
The only time that I mix the two is during clean-up by shooting laquer thinner through my AB. I have read on some other forums of cutting Tamiya acrylics with laquer thinner to shoot the paint easier and not allow the nozzle to dry up.
Ive been useing lacquer thinner to thin myy enamels for close to 20 years with out any issues what so ever.
I used it also, without issue. Now I use it primarily as an AB cleaner but every once in a while I’ll find myself with one hand full and a sealed enamel thinner container while needing a drop or two of thinner for the AB. OOPS. The cleaner jar is always open and a drop or two with a pipette saves the day.
I’ve never had any of the problems listed above. However, I once tried mineral spirits as a thinner. Did not like it. The finish was “different” and drying time doubled. From then on I stick to brand name thinners for the appropriate paint.
Yea, it obviously works for some people. I see people saying they do it all over the forums.
But the question is why? Why do you do it?
What is the benefit of thinning with lacquer thinner instead of paint thinner, mineral spirits or whatever?
If i where to guess it, its because the lacquer thinner breaks up the pigment better than the mineral spirets. which i beleve gives you a smoother paint job. like i said ive been useing it for close to 20 years most of my experiance is fromm working in a body shop.
The only effect lacquer thinner would have on pigment dispersal would be a lowering of viscosity, like any other reducing solvent.
Depending on what solvents are in your lacquer thinner, they may change the behavior of the binder, but that effect is as likely to be negative as it is positive. For example, if one or more of the solvents in the blend causes de-linking of the binder polymer, it will reduce viscosity, possibly produce a thinner coating, but the polymer may never fully cross-link, producing a more fragile coating. However, one or more solvents in many lacquer thinners is highly aggressive to styrene, and thus the paint is essentially melted into the plastic.
If you want to reduce drying times with enamels, try adding some Japan drier, available in most hardware stores.
When speaking of lacquer thinner, is this the same as mineral spirits or is it something different?
It can be anything and everything, as far as solvents are concerned. “Lacquer thinner” has no specific composition. It may contain mineral spirits (it usually doesn’t) but it is not the same as mineral spirits.
To me it’s more a matter of cost and convience. I can buy a gallon of lacquer thinner or automotive enamel reducer for a heck of a lot less than than I can buy the equivalent amount of OEM thinner at a hobby shop. And both thinner and reducer do the same job just as well. Plus the fact that I can get either locally. I’ve got both a hardware and a lumberyard that stock the thinner and an automotive supply store that carries the reducer - all within less than 5 minutes from my house. Closest hobby shop is a minimum of 1 hr round trip plus the cost of the gas.
Which means SWMBO is happy and I’ve got more money to spend on kits & AM.
My first experience with laquer thinner wasn’t a good one… It was during my VoTec college days in autobody repair & painting… I wasn’t paying attention and put laquer thinner into my pot of enamel, which was a VERY expensive enamel as well… Needless to say, it turned into cottage cheese almost immediately… I’ve never used laquer thinner anywhere near enamels since… Just as a cleaner…
It does make a great cleaner. I use it to wipe down the paint cup, needle and outside of my airbrush no matter what paint I’m using.
i know this is an old thread, but I’m willing to bet you were using acrylic single-stage enamel. That’s its own animal altogether. You have to use proper acrylic enamel reducer for that.
Old Hans is long gone from around here.A great and helpful contributer,he is missed.I think he is okay,I think I heard computer issues,I don’t know if he posts anywhere else.
Lacquer thinner in enamel is popular for painting model cars. It gives you fast wet coat that doesn’t sag or run very easy with a super shine and no orange peel. Typically used with a good sized nozzle and fairly high pressure, you just keep blasting till done. Three full wet coats basically. I like a blend of lacquer thinner and mineral spirits for enamel on car bodies if to use solvent paints. In short it works and it doesn’t do all the nasty things mentioned above in what ever post it was. Not my experience nor several model car builders experience who post to you tube. Don Yost commercial builder and highly regarded contest builder also does it that way and with a Paasche H. Here’s a video as to why if it will load, it’s 10 minutes long: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCKZ_fo4eW0
Excellent video, quite a few who “espouse” the dearest internal mix airbushes, should take a look at what can be achieved with just a very ordinary el-cheapo external mix airbrush.
So what this fella is saying, is you can achieve phenominal results, without having to spend heaps of dollars on an airbrush, that just aint worth all those dollars.
I like this fellas thinking, dont waste the dollars on things that aren’t worth it, use the dollars wisely for buying/making the models.
Hail the Don!
