Thinning Acryl paint

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

I am going to embark on my first Airbrushing adventure. I am using Testors model Master Acryl paint. Any suggestions on the best material to thin with? Suggestions on ratios of thinner to paint? Thanks for your help.

Travis

2

Travis,

Model Master Acryl paint is ready to airbrush straight from the bottle. There are two exceptions:

  1. The skin tone paints are thicker than the rest of the acryl paints. This is to aid in brush painting.
  2. For fine line work, thinning may be required.

The best thinner is Model Master Acryl Thinner. I would also suggest getting Model Master Acryl Cleaner for cleaning brushes and airbrushes. The cleaner is a little more aggresive than the thinner. Also good to get is Model Master Dried Acryl Cleaner.

For thinning for fine line work, only put a drop or two of thinner into the paint at a time. A little goes a long way. First try airbrushing with out thinning. I’ve never had to thin my Acryl paints and I’ve been using them for years.

This model was painted all with Acryl:

I did the camo free-hand and didn’t have to thin the paint.

-Jesse

3

hi shogun. Havent used testors paints yet myself, but for arclyics (Tamiya) i use there own thinner or mineralised methylated spirit, which can be found in 500ml bottles very easily, and cheaply.

Peoples ratio are different i have discovered. Where i use 1:1 ratio, a friend of mine uses 2(paint):1(thin). I think its a personal thing. What id do is test a small amount for ur own comfort. Im sure others will leave there own answers…

PS so there u go, testors are ready striaght from the bottle lol, i didnt know that.

4

Yeah, I love the fact I don’t have to thin for airbrushing. I just pour it into the cup and spray. If I got paint left over, I just pour it back into the bottle.

5

Thanks for the help. I will try using the model master without thinning as a practice run. If it seems too thick I will go to my local hobby shop and get the testors thinner for the Acryl. Thanks again!

6

Shogun, just out of curiosity, what kind of airbrush do you use and at what pressure?

E

7

I am using an older Paasche (Type H) Single action external mix airbursh. I use a small Badger air compressor at 20 PSI sometimes a bit lower like 18 depending on the consistancy of the paint. I am seriously considering upgrading to an Aztek 4709 internal mix airbrush that can be used as a single or double action. I hope this helps.

Travis

8

Just a quick question, is the mineralised methylated spirits just regular old fashioned mineral spirits, or is it something else all together? I’ve been using Tamiya’s thinner X-20A to thin the acrylics, but I can get a quart of mineral spirits for less than the price of tamiya’s 8.5 oz container.

Thanks,

Fred

9

No - they are not the same thing. Mineralised methylated spirit is denatured alcohol.

10

Phil_H,

Do you know if “mineralised methylated spirits” can be purchased at a Walmart, Home Depot, or Lowes?

If so what would it be called?

11

I have found “denatured alchol” next to the other brush cleaners at WalMart, HomeDepot etc…

JUST ME ALERT:

I always thin my paint, I have found that pouring paint strait from the jar leads to nasty clogs cause by clumps and matter that cannot be removed during “shaking.” I pour the paint through some of my wife stockings into a mixing jar. I then add (depends on brand) anywhere from 2.5mL to 10mL into the mixing jar. Shake like no body’s buisness and spary away!

Oh BTW I thin with Denatured Alchol

12

guess that answers my question about why it’s so thin i can’t brush paint it.