A step forward...getting my first airbrush

Plain old mineral spirits seem to work fine for thinning enamels for airbrushing, and shouldn't hurt your airbrush. The small bottle of Testors thinner won't last long, however they have "Airbrush Thinner" in larger cans. Not sure if it's for enamel or acrylic though.

With a little practice, you'll love the results you get from your airbrush, but be aware that they do take some practice. An airbrush is a tool and you have to learn to use it just like any other tool.

i echo scott, good advice on the airbrush being a tool. also, like scott said, you can go to a hardware store and buy lacquer thinner and low oder mineral spirits much cheaper that at a local hobby shop. i use mineral spirits some to thin, but most of the time i use turpentine as it seems smoother and levels the paint a little better in my opinion. also, turpentine thins the paint without it losing much of its "hide" properties. you can thin with turpentine at 60%thinner and 40% paint at about 10psi and lay on 3 coats and its covered nicely and smoothly. ofcourse, thats with a gravity feed brush, you will need to spray at a slightly higher pressure with the siphon feed VL. thats a nice airbrush though. hang in there and practice on some scrap plasic and you'll be a paintin' fool before you know it. later.

Ryan, I also forgot to mention: to the forum!

Also, make sure you are using Model Master enamels since the MM line is available in both enamel and acrylic. The bottles look very much the same but one is MM "Acryl" and one MM "Enamel".

I use a product called TRPS. It's a thinner similar to mineral spirits and Turpentine that thins enamel paint extremely well. Like it's acrynm suggests, it is a eco-friendlier replacement for turpentine. TRPS suspends the thinned paint very well, eliminating the need to re-stir the paint after it has been thinned, unlike regualar mineral spirits, the paint sometimes separates and the vehicle and binder settles to the bottom. TRPS performes very well with Model Master enamels and dries slightly faster than regular mineral spirits. TRPS is also an excellent cleaner for your airbrsuh as well!

hey greg, i started using turpentine because you recommended it and i love it!! i wish i could find some TRPS though, no one has it around here. good recommendation though. how does it smell? turpentine smells like pine sol but a little stronger. later.

Salty,
It smells kinda nice, actually...not offensive or knock-you-over strong, as one might suspect. For a more familiar comprison, I would describe it as: lighter in aroma than Model Master airbrush thinner. Nearly oderless, that is; If one uses a respirator while spraying it mixed with your enamels. If you're having trouble finding it, you may want to try contacting the company. Happy modelling!

Sunnyside T.R.P.S.
Sunnyside Corporation
Consumer Products Division
Wheeling, Illinois 60090-6095
1-800-323-8611

Any Aussies out there, is T.R.P.S available here??

regards Neil