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Thinning Tamiya - More Thinner Needed for Gloss Paints?

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  • Member since
    April 2004
  • From: Windy city, US
Posted by keilau on Sunday, April 4, 2010 8:00 PM

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  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Sydney, Australia
Posted by Phil_H on Sunday, April 4, 2010 1:29 AM

It's best not to get caught in the mindset that there is a specific thinning ratio for paints and that to step outside this is to invite problems, because there ISN'T.

Paint consistencies vary between brands, colours within a particular manufacturer's range and even between different production batches of a given colour..

So, if you find that a particular colour of paint needs a little more or less thinner, the sky's not going to fall.

A given ratio may be used as a broad guide, but it's not set in stone and can and will vary depending on what effect you wish to achieve, your particular equipment setup and your individual painting technique/s.

 The ratios which you are using with your Paasche H, for example, won't work for me because I use a different brush and my own individual technique tends towards very thin paint applied in multiple coats.  Personally, I use much more thinner, moreso than most other people here, but that's what I'm used to and that's what works for me. 

So forget the "magic number", and look at the consistency of the thinned paint before you pour it in your airbrush.

  • Member since
    April 2008
Thinning Tamiya - More Thinner Needed for Gloss Paints?
Posted by Kizzy on Saturday, April 3, 2010 5:18 PM

I was wondering if you guys typically find that, on average, Tamiya gloss paints tend to need more thinner to airbrush properly than flat paints?  The last model I worked on (which was my first with an airbrush) called for only flat paints, and I got quite good over the course of the build at knowing how much thinner to use to get them to spray well.  (Note: I have been using Tamiya's propietary thinner).  The magic ratio was typically 2:1 paint:thinner, though sometimes a little higher, like 3:2, if the color was a metallic.

My current model called for a gloss red, for which I bought a bottle of Tamiya X7.  I thinned as usual (approx. 2:1), and it sprayed OK, but I was experiencing tip dry very quickly (like almost immediately), which rarely happened with the flat paints even after a minute or more.  It also seemed as though I had to open the needle up more on my Paasche H (and use a slightly higher PSI) to get the paint to flow.  Not sure if it's just this particular bottle, or if it is a general rule that Tamiya gloss paints run a bit thicker than flats, and so need a bit more of their thinner to compensate?

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