I am trying to find a good (homemade) thinner for MM Acrylic Paints. I have tried window clean, with little success. And I have tried White Wall tire cleaner with some success. I am looking for any other possablities that you have tried with success.
Thanks,
TooTall _6[8]
Rubbing alcohol (70% isopropyl in water) works well in my experience. Others have found that windshield washer fluid (contains methanol) also works well, although I would be careful with it, given methanol’s toxicity. Denatured alcohol (ethanol/methanol mix) may also suit your purpose. If you don’t want to go those routes, try straight water wtih a SMALL drop of dishwashing liquid to break down water’s surface tension.
Of course, if all else fails, Testor’s makes a thinner for their MM acrylics…
Hope this helps.
Gip Winecoff
Gip,
Greg Williams (plasticmod992) tried 70% isopropyl alcohol and the MM Acryl turned to a sludge he said in the thread at the bottom of page 2 here: http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?page=2&TOPIC_ID=13137
Mike
switch to tamiya acrylics, use their thinner, and you’ll have no trouble.
Mike,
That’s interesting. Wonder why? I will admit that I’m a die-hard enamel user, but have experimented with acrylics–both Tamiya and Testor’s. I 've thinned both with IPA, and while I like the response from Tamiya the best, as I remember, I wasn’t disappointed with the Testor’s acrylic, either. Please understand this was some years ago, and Testor’s may have changed or adjusted their formulation since then.
Gip Winecoff
Gip,
I don’t know why it reacted that way but I do know that Testors Acryl is a different formulation than the old acrylics were. I don’t know when they changed the formulation though, maybe someone else here does. [%-)]
Mike
Thanks for the help I was wondering about the Tamita paints as well. I will have to try some experimenting. Thanks.
I haven’t had MM Acrylics turn into sludge with isopropyl alchohol as thinner but I’ve had another brand of acrylics do that using it’s own brand of thinner which smelled like very strong isopropyl alchohol.
That original Model Masters Acrylics were really horrible.
Is this all about Model Master Acryl or Testors other Acrylic?
The Acryl bottles say that you may not need to thin the paint, and I have found that I could paint with it through my Badger 150 just fine.
My painting sessions have not been that long so maybe I have not seen the drawbacks of not thinning.
But if Acryl says it doesn’t need to be thinned, why do it?
Oh, and I know this subject has beaten into the ground, so if you have a link that says it all, please show me.
I found that the flat white and flat black sprayed fairly well without thinning but it all depends on what you want to do. I can crank the compressor up to 80 psi and get almost any paint to flow great. [:o)]
Mike
I’ve been using MM Acryl on a recent project. Thinning the paint was not a major concern (I used MM Acryl thinner) but calculating curing/hardening time has been a problem. I called Testor and talked to one of their customer service reps, but the information I got from him and the Testor website was none too helpful. Testor put its manual on line; however, that addresses application technique. The biggest problem I’ve had is Acryl peeling away when I remove masking. This was a major hassle as I’m doing Luftwaffe splinter camouflage. It finally came out ok, but for awhile it was ugly. I applied the paint over sanded and polished automotive gray primer. I’d like to know if anyone else has had the same problem. The other point I want to make is that there’s alot out there in the art world that can help us if we’re willing to look around and ask questions. For example, Createx makes a catalyst and bonding agent that can be added to acrylic paint that sets up under heat using a hair dryer. Liquitex has extenders and other products that improve paint flow or that slow drying time (useful when airbrushing). It would be nice to know what works and what doesn’t.
Acrylics need some “tooth” to grab onto to adhere well, so I would try it with the primer still slightly rough instead of polishing it. If you polish it the smooth surface will not allow the acrylic to grab as well as it should. You might also want to use a lower tack tape like automotive painters use. The Post-It note pads also work well in this regard as they have a real light tack.
I have been using Createx for textile airbrushing for 10 years and am very familiar with it.
The problem with it is that it needs more heat than a hairdryer to set properly, although with the catalyst it may harden enough with a hair dryer. Createx does not have the right colors you need for aircraft also and you would have to mix the colors to get what you want.
Mike