not isopropyl alcohol, I want real 97% alcohol[banghead] Do I have to go talk to a doctor?
Cletus an’ Jim Bob are brewin’ up some white lightnin’ right about now.
For…?!
Perhaps if you would elaborate on the reason for such an enigmatic request someone here would be knowledgeable enough to recommend an alternative product to use?
I have three kinds of Isopropyl: 75%, 97% & 99%. Are you sure you want some other kind?
Denatured Alcohol is 90-95% ethanol, roughly 5-9% methanol and 1-5% various other adulterants, depending on the formulation used. It is available at any hardware store.
Are you talking about denatured alcohol? If so you can get that at any hardware store. If you’re looking for ethanol, check your local liquor store.
You want ethanol, correct? One place to try is a liquor store. They might have grain alcohol, which is 95%. The only way to get 97% if that is really what you need (and I ask what for?) is to find 100% ethanol at a chemical supply house and dilute with distilled water to 97%. But 100% EtOH is very expensive because it requires alot of work to drive that last 5% of water out. There may be other alternatives that could suffice, unless the goal is to drink it [:D], if we knew the purpose.
Don
Not knowing if your over 21, but if you are then just goto a liquor store and buy a half pint of Everclear. It’s 192 proof, and is the real deal (96%)
gary
Sorry I didn’t state it clearly. I want to try thinning tamiya acrylic with alcohol. I can’t get the desired consistancy with 91% (is there higher percentage?) isopropyl alcohol, and I thought maybe the water content is the problem.
I want to get to the consistancy like using tamiya thinner, but that stuff dries slow, and much more expansive than isopropyl from walmart.
Haven’t thought of ethanol, that’s a good idea though. I’ve seen that everclear in stores too, is that grain alcohol? Are grain and industrial alcohol the same?
to make matters more clear… Using tamiya flat white, since different paint has different pigment sizes.
Using tamiya thinner, at 1:5 ratio, with 15 PSI and 0.23 nozzle, no visible splashing when painting 1mm lines.
Using isopropyl alcohol, at same 1:5 ratio, using 0.18 nozzle, splashing still visible at 10 PSI. When the line is 1mm, little dots extend to 0.4mm or so outside. Using the regulator on the pen i got it down to about 5 PSI and the splashing disappears. But this is too low a pressure to be practical, especially when larger coverage is necessary. Also really annoying to clean the airbrush, have to losen everything and redial next time.
Picture around actual size. You can see the little dots along the edges. This is with isopropyl alcohol at 10 psi.
This might be a surface tension issue. Do you add Windex or a drop or two of dishwashing soap to your 91% iPrOH? That should reduce surface tension and the diluted paint might flow better. Tamiya probably adds a little detergent to their thinner. Try it and let us know the results.
Everclear and grain alcohol are the same. Both are ethanol/water mixtures. Industrial alcohol is also called denatutred alcohol and contains other organic solvents like benzene or methanol. Prevents one from drinking it unless you wish to poison yourself… Might not be the best choice for aerosolizing with an air brush.
Don
I use denatured alcohol for thinning acrylics. I mostly use Tamiya and Model Master and it works well with both. And yes I use it with an airbrush.
denatured alcohol is the ones they sell in metal cans right? Is there a percentage I should be looking for?
I use a respirator as well as exhaust fans, poisoning isn’t an issue. I persume that’s what pordoi meant by not the best?
Should I try the dishwasher type detergent or the bubble kind? The dishwasher kind doesn’t bubble, but it’s got some solid pigments in it to create friction.
No thats mineral spirits. Denatured alchohol is found in plastic bottles due to the problem of the Ethanol eating through any sort of metal product.
The denatured alcohol I’ve been using comes in a metal container.
I’ve seen this exact package in the stores. Not sure what percentage they are, but definitely not mineral spirit.
Hey, that would probably work just great. I remember using lots of that stuff before the switch to digital photography.
Satori: It used to be that denatured alcohol was cut with benzene, which is a carcinogen. Whether or not benzene is still used, I don’t know. A mask with carbon filter and good ventillation should be OK. And to clarify, not the detergent used in automatic dishwashing machines (which has particles in it to help clean), but the liquid kind used for hand washing dishes.
Don
Just my [2c] here, but why, if Tamiya thinner is the best formulatoin to use for Tamiya paints, would anyone be trying to use all these “exotic” mixtures? I think you’re treading into murky territory about what certain chemicals might do to your pigments–I wouldn’t even think of using strong alcohol or any photo finishing product in the paint–you dont know how stable that might be over time. And don’t forget–Tamiya “acrylic” is not really “acrylic” in the true sense of the word–it’s part lacquer.
Satori–just curious-what kind of tank are you painting? It looks like a sky blue color? [%-)]
I’m going to give denatured alcohol a try. I don’t have the none bubble hand dishwashing soap, having bubbles in the paint cup might not be a good idea, so I’ll hold off on that for now. The photoflow solution could be ideal though. Paint is probably more stable than the chemicals used in photo developing.
And doog, that’s not a tank. I was trying to paint 700 ships and was testing paints on a plastic card. The green gray is the base color, flat white mixed with a little yellow was overspray.
I think for the most part, thinner acts as a medium to carry the paint to the surface. They vaporize and leave just the paint pigments on the surface. Should be ok as long as they don’t react with paint and shift colors around.