Substitute for Tamiya Acrylic Thinner

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
21

As much as I enjoy using lacquers they will sometimes make seams and bodywork that you thought were perfect reappear. With Tamiya flats I prefer using denatured alcohol. With gloss and semigloss Tamiya I use either X20 or Iso alcohol. Tamiya lacquer thinner or Gunze Mr Color thinner are pretty mild and work well with Tamiya acrylics but it’s still lacquer thinner. You can thin as much with denatured alcohol as you can with lacquer thinner. I don’t use retarder or flow aid with Tamiya acrylics anymore. Try polishing the airbrush needle from just behind the needle seal or bearing forward and that, along with very thin paint, will greatly reduce or eliminate tip dry. If you have polishing cloths then use them down to the finest grit and then use a little metal polish on a clean cloth. If you don’t have polishing cloths then 1500 and 2000 grit sandpaper will work. Just wet it with a drop of oil or a little water, fold them over, place the needle in the fold and gently squeeze the paper or cloth against it with thumb and forefinger and turn the needle with your other hand. Finish with some metal polish and then clean off the residue. Doesn’t take that long. And when painting, occasionally go off target and pull the trigger wide open for a couple seconds. Thin paints, low air pressure and a polished needle will work wonders.

Tony

22

Same here - my preference is for denatured alcohol, though I do use Tamiya lacquer thinner from time to time. The big secret is to thin way more than common wisdom dictates and use multiple thin coats. When you go up to the 75-80% thinner range using DA, you don’t really need to use a retarder (even here in Australia where it’s frequently hot and dry). You cannot thin this high with water, Iso or X-20A as the paint will bead and run. It does come down to technique though, and Tamiya acrylic seems to work best when you super-thin the paint and use low pressure at a close distance.

The only real difference that I have found with Tamiya lacquer thinner is that it extends the drying time more and gives the paint more time to level. This is often helpful with gloss finishes. Personally, I consider the lacquer thinner to be an option, another tool to be used when appropriate, not a universal cure-all.

23

mineral spirits is a enamel thinner so scratch that out.

denatured alcohol works better then iso.