Hey Guys,
Just one quick stupid question here.
After adding washes with white spirit and let it completely dry, if I want to add pigments using MIG’s thinner for washes, will this destroy the previous white spirit washes ?
It shouldn’t if they’ve dried sufficiently. If you scrub on them I’m sure you will degrade them some, but then again, if you’re scrubbing in pigments, you wouldn’t notice that inderneath anyway?
The best way to apply fixative spirits for MIG pigments is to just drop them on from a wetted brush.
Thanks for the quick answer doog.
I never tried the Mig thinner, so before I try it I just want to ask first.
Dont wanna destroyed a build in the end.
I’m a liberal arts major (which is code for I could be wrong), but I think from a chemical standpoint, Doog might be leaving a few things out. Ulitmately, it depends on what the Mig thinner is made of and what kind of paint you used in the washes.
The white spirit is basically an alcohol molecule with a small amount of solvents, right? It acts to further disolve enamal paint into a slurry. We do this to get the paint to flow into small areas or whatnot. Eventually, the spirit evaporates leaving the pigment behind to form a thin (sometimes v e r y thin) sheet on the surface of the model. If the Mig thinner is solvent based or has a significant solvent component, like Naptha or turpinetine, even if the wash is dry, it could act to loosen the bonds that hold the wash in a thin sheet. Basically having the effect of lifting the wash
If, however, the Mig thinner is mostly alcohol, I think you will be o.k. in that the alcohol shouldn’t be able to loosen the bonds of dried pigment on its own.
There have got to be some chem heads on the site who can speak to this better than I.
IA Novice, I could never come even close to disputing your expertise in that response, if indeed you have any chemistry knowledge, but my most cynical side tells me that MIG’s thinner is probably nothing more than good ol’ regular thinner marketed as something unique.
I say that because before MIG came out with a fancy bottle and label for it, if I recall correctly, Miguel himself was saying that he fixed his powders with regular thinner dripped from a brush. I know he also markets and sells an “Acrylic Resin” for fixing, but that could hardly be confused with “thinner”?
For the prices his stuff goes for, methinks you’d be much better just going with regular mineral spirits–that’s what I use, and have never had a problem with it. I’m also a huge advocate AGAINST the use of sealants, “Future”, etc for the “protection” of washes, base coats, etc, so all my washes are done straight onto the base coats and subsequent weathering layers.
I dont know if you guys ever smell the mig thinner or not, but from what my nose can tell me, it smells like the tamiya enamel thinner.
I’d say your chance of having it affect the washes might be pretty good