Thinning Tamiya acrylics for airbrushing

Bob,

Don't even waste your time or money on Tamiya's thinners or retarders for airbrushing their acrylic paint.  Just get a bottle of 91% isopropyl alcohol and thin your Tamiya paint with that for a "skim milk" consistency.  Never understood precise mixing ratios, as they will change depending on the condition of the paint.  Every time you take the cap off that paint bottle, a tiny bit of it evaporates, and it becomes a tiny bit thicker.  Conversely, if you return thinned paint to the bottle after airbrushing, the paint becomes a little thinner.  The key is to look for a sprayable consistency.  As a final check before shooting the paint on the model, I like to just do a few test shots onto a pad of sticky notes to make sure I'm getting good atomization and no spitting or water discharge.

But... if you do go with Tamiya thinner, start with a ratio of around 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner. Adjust from there as needed depending upon the consistency of the paint. Older thicker paint tends to need more thinner. No need to add the retarder for airbrushing, that stuff is for hand brushing. 

Thanks to everyone who's offered advice. I have some Tamiya thinner on hand, so I'll use that for now. I understand about the difficulty of precise "recipes" for preparing paint for airbrushing. 

I'm a newbie to airbrushing, after a lot of misunderstanding and denial on my part that it would work for me in my small apartment. In another Finescale thread, Gregbale convinced me to try a Mr. Pro-Spray Delux offered by Canadian Gundam, and I think he was correct. I've only tried it once, but it obviously has a lot of potential.

Bob

Tamiya acryllics airbrush quite well with a minimum of fuss. They can be thinned with their own thinner, hardware store or Tamiya's own lacquer thinner, Gunze's Mr Levelling Thinner, or Isopropyl Alcohol. I've gotten best results from Tamiya's thinner, Gunze Levelling Thinner, and hardware store lacquer thinner. 

Don't worry about alcohol or Tamiya thinner,consider going with hardware store lacquer thinner,sprays great and gives a hard finish,no dry tip whatsoever.

You know,I don't actually measure it out,but eyeball it to the look of skim milk,never gave me any problems.

On previous recommendation, I will look into Mr Leveling Thinner.

Tojo72

Don't worry about alcohol or Tamiya thinner,consider going with hardware store lacquer thinner,sprays great and gives a hard finish,no dry tip whatsoever.

Hardware store lacquer thinner?" Isn't that stuff highly toxic? And stinks to high heaven? Taniya lacquer thinner could be used as a WMD!

Bob

Bobstamp

 

 

Tojo72

Don't worry about alcohol or Tamiya thinner,consider going with hardware store lacquer thinner,sprays great and gives a hard finish,no dry tip whatsoever.

 

 

Hardware store lacquer thinner?" Isn't that stuff highly toxic? And stinks to high heaven? Taniya lacquer thinner could be used as a WMD!

Bob

 

Maybe if your spraying a full size tank or plane with a paint sprayer,but adding a few drops of LT to an airbrush cup of Tamiya paint produces a minimum of odor.I know when I spray, I control the paint and air feed correctly so that there are no huge clouds of paint overspray.I work in my basement that has 9ft ceiling,1500sq ft, 4 windows and sliders.If I'm painting a bigger object like a 1/350 hull,then I Don my respirator to play it safe.

But it's all about proper airbrush technique to avoid the situation that you describe.You mention that your a newbie to airbrushing,it will come around.

You didn't at first mention small apartment,so a small amount of LT I guess could even smell.

Everyones tolerence is different to these various chemicals. There was a time we had no choice, paint a model and it was solvent based, we didn't know any different. But we're still here. Lacquer thinner has always stunk, still does. But in the doses we use toxic might be an over statement/ or not. I mean an asthmatic probably should go another route. Just sayin.

As to Mr Leveling thinner vs Hardware store. Around here I don't see a ton of difference in Tamiya acrylic paints. Might be a little merit for the MLT in warm dry conditions. But I say around here with a reason, as different states have different standards on hardware store lacquer thinner. In some states it's mostly acetone for instance. So there you may notice a considerable difference when using MLT vs hardware LT since the MLT will be consistently better product wise.

I've found that Tamiya paints thinned with lacquer thinner tend to have less odor during the airbrushing session, or during the dry & cure time afterwards than thinned enamel paints. Especially during the drying & curing phase. Mr Levelling Thinner has even less odor than lacquer thinner.

Bob Stamp -

So many airbrushing variables to consider:

1) Paint type, gloss or flat.

2) Color or clear.

3) Airbrush needle/nozzle size.

4) Solid or camo.

5) Air pressure.

As you describe yourself as new to airbrushing, there will be a bit of experience and experimenting needed, before you reach a comfort level with what the start of the painting process is. Once basically familiar with what works for you, you'll find not much ingredient adjustment is needed in final preparation.

I use Tamiya almost exclusively, I tried their X-20A and lacqeur thinner at first, then went to IPA, either 71 or 91% works fine, store bought LT also does well but seems to be a bit more aggressive and unpleasant for my use. It makes a great cleaner though.

Since you'll be in a small space and have no fume control I solidly recommend IPA, it's an effective cleaner as well for Tamiya, just not as quick as LT. When spraying anything, respiratory protection is a great assist.

My Tamiya most frequent thinning ratio, (just my own from experience, NO science involved,) 50 - 60% paint to IPA, sometimes as high as 90% IPA. As mentioned, with time and use you will have a beginning point in mind before you start the job.

For checking my paint flow and pressure when I begin a session I use glossy printed cardboard, such as the sort that holds products from the store. It replicates plastic bits better than plain cardboard, which absorbs the solution quickly and you can't visualize the sprayed paint flow.

My usual pressure setting is 14-16 psi, rarely as high as 20 psi. The usual needle/nozzle size is medium, using Iwata and Badger equipment.  In fairness I do seldom get some buildup on the needle, but then about every 10 or 15 passes I use a Q-Tip and IPA for a quick swipe of the tip. Tip dry is pretty much a non issue for me.

Best of luck as you get your airbrushing up to speed, you'll soon have a very satifying time in the hobby. Above all do what works best for you, what works for me may be altogether wrong for you.

Patrick   

Thanks again for everyone's opinion. It seems that I probably used too much isopropanol for my first "serious" attempt at airbrushing -- coverage of some of the parts I was airbrushing wasn't thorough. But the overall paint job was far better than I've ever been able to achieve with brushes. I'm looking forward to the next foray into this type of painting, and I'm thinking of buying a small compressor so I can get away from the cans of compressed air.

Bob

With a solvent type thinner such as lacquer thinner or even straight 91 ipa 50-50 or so called 1-1 paint to thinner works, Tamiya acrylic will spray and it will cover and it won't be too thick. I can't speak for their own acrylic thinner since never have used that. But Ya you might need a drop or two more paint or thinner to be "just right" but it will spray and it will cover. If it's on the thin side just spray another coat or two. FWIW most people starting out airbrushing error on the side of too thick,that is not enough thinning. And they error in the area of missing spots on the model, heck I can still do that sometimes. Just look it over and dust a little more paint into those areas, nothing lost. If the paint is too thick that dusting in is iffy and you risk less flow out of the paint on the surface or worse than that a spotty spray pattern with stray droplets of paint I call blops. Or even spatter. Especially using the pressurized cans that tend to freeze up.

Everything gets easier when the paint is mixed right and thats by viscosity, as someone else said " like skimmed milk consistency". But 50-50 is a good starting point. I haven't seen a bottle of Tamiya acrylic yet that won't spray there and usually spray better than 60/40 paint to thinner.. Better in that the spray pattern is nice and smooth with tiny droplet size and flow out more even. Even if it takes an extra coat. I've mixed 50-50 and had to either add a little paint or a little more thinner after shooting a little test pattern and to see what I want but it always sprays.

If you are new to airbrushing, may I suggest the Scale Modelers Workshop series on You tube by Paul Budzic.

watch

The whole series is well worth watching!

Rob