Testors enamel thinner and enamel brush cleaner. Is it the same?

I don't know, but you can use plain old mineral spirits for both jobs and it costs a whole lot less.

If they are marketing two different products, I would assume that the brush cleaner would probably be more aggressive that their thinner. Perhaps the brush cleaner is like lacquer thinner whereas the their thinner is regular miner spirits. Regardless, I would go with go with Scott's suggestion abouth getting the cheap stuff. Go to Home Depot or some other home center and pick up a quart can of Kleen Strip mineral spirits for paint thinning, and if you like a quart can of Kleen Strip lacquer thinner for brush cleaning, and you spend about the same amount of money that you would if you bought Testors' thinner and brush cleaner from the hobby shop.

No, they aren't the same product.

Testor's Enamel Thinner is a formulation that mimics the vehicle most commonly used in Testor's enamel paints. It is designed to maintain the loose bond between the paint pigment and vehicle.

Testor's Brush Cleaner (I note that my bottle does not say enamel) is a stronger formulation designed to quickly and effectively break the bonds between the paint pigment and vehicle. It is equally effective on laquer paints or enamel paints.

Hope this helps...

Now for more thinner fun. As I airbrush a lot I buy the pint cans of testor or model master airbrush thinner, I find that it works to thin the enamel paints that I brush with too. I use it because it works with those brands of paint. For cleaning brushes (and the airbrush) I get lacquer thinner by the quart at the wal-mart. For acrylics you can use denatured alchahol again by the quart at wal-mart , some guys say their using windshield wiper fluid for acrylics... I wonder how well that works?? It's cheap.
g.l.

Thanks very much for the replies guys. It helps!

Thank you and a very merry Sunday to you all,

Dave

QUOTE: Testor's Brush Cleaner (I note that my bottle does not say enamel) is a stronger formulation designed to quickly and effectively break the bonds between the paint pigment and vehicle. It is equally effective on laquer paints or enamel paints. Hope this helps...

Actually it's the other way around, not discounting another modelers personal results, but...Testors brush cleaner is less agressive than their Enamel and Airbrush thinner. In the Testors Technical Manual, they recommend their brush cleaner to thin enamels for washes because it is less agressive than the airbrush thinner. I've even tested using the brush cleaner as a thinner for my enamels and it does not mix the vehicle and binder as thouroghly as the Airbrush thinner does.

im curious, i use acrylic lacquer, and the only thing that thins it is the acryl lacquer thinner that comes fromt eh same paint manufacturer that made the paint i use, is there a cheaper way? or should i just merge over to the enamel scene and use mineral spirits?

anyone know what turpentine cleans up or what is better than it?

QUOTE: Originally posted by Archades im curious, i use acrylic lacquer, and the only thing that thins it is the acryl lacquer thinner that comes fromt eh same paint manufacturer that made the paint i use, is there a cheaper way? or should i just merge over to the enamel scene and use mineral spirits? anyone know what turpentine cleans up or what is better than it?

It sounds logical to switch to enamels and use mineral spirits or if you'd like; the manufactuers recommended thinner. But enamels thin just as well, and more economically with mineral spirits. Turpentine is great for enamels as well, probably slightly better. With hobby enamels such as Model Master, turpentine seems to blend the vehicle and binder more thouroughly than mineral spirits. There is another product available, you may be familiar with, called T.R.P.S. or (Turpentine Replacement Paint Solvent),a not-so-noxious alternative to Pure-gum Terpentine that has the same great thinning qualities for hobby enamels. T.R.P.S. is all I use for my Model Master enamels with excellent results, in place of the Testors brand thinner. Look for T.R.P.S. at your local paint store, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. It goes for between $3-$4.00 for 1 quart, depending on your area.

can I both thin the enamel paint and clean out the airbrush afterwards with the brush cleaner?

Probably. But for best results you should always use the manufacturer's recommended thinner, regardless of the type of paint or brand. Why? Because it is formulated to work specifically with their paint and/or vice versa. Don't skimp with cheap substitutes. I speak from some 60 years, off and on, of building models.

 

That said, virtualy all enamels can be thinned, and brushes cleaned, with mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, or turpentine with no ill effects. I use a 50/50 mix of mineral spirits and lacquer thinner to thin enamels for airbrushing, but straight mineral spirits for cleaning brushes (the hairy stick variety), as lacquer thinner is too harsh on the bristles.

Proprietary thinners to thin stuff,the cheaper hardware store stuff to clean up.

I agree with using proprietary products, but I've found that it depends on the brand.  For example, I use Tamiya's proprietary acrylic thinner to thin Tamiya's acrylics.  Through trial and error, I learned that I get my best results with their paint, using their thinner, especially brushing by hand.  However, I learned an exception in this case, that I can use generic lacquer thinner to thin Tamiya acrylics for airbrushing.

But in the case of Testor enamels, I use generic mineral spirits to thin the paints, as well as to clean my brushes afterwards. Same goes with my dwindling stash of Model Master enamels.

For the water-based acrylics that I use-Andrea, Vallejo Model Color, craft store brands Apple Barrel, Americana, Folk Art-I use plain ol' tap water to thin them for hand-brushing, with a wet palette.  For cleaning my brushes, I use water, and occasionally isopropryl, when there is any residue build-up on them.

I do not use Vallejo Model Air, because I have read many comments across forums from people who do, and they describe using a group of Vallejo adjuncts with Model Air. If they didn't use the Vallejo products, they got less-than-optimal results.  I already have good paints for airbrushing, so I don't see the need to switch to a product that sounds like it causes more effort.

But as they used to say in car commercials, "Your mileage may vary."

I always use whatever works for thinning and cleaning.  With paints like Testors enamels, there are all kinds of oil-based thinners that can be used for hand brushing.  For airbrushing them, some people even like to use lacquer thinner.  I found that I didn't like that as much, and it kind of defeats one of the great things about Testors enamels...that when thinned with oil-based thinners, they won't attack any non-Testors enamel paints that might already be on the model.  The only thing I would caution on there is that, if you use anything other than actual Testors thinner, it's not a good idea to return any unused, thinned paint to the jar.  Put it in its own jar if you want to keep it, because there's a chance it may react with the stuff in the original jar and cause it to gel.  If it gels in its own jar, you're not ruining a whole jar of new paint.

For brush painting Tamiya Acrylics...which I try to avoid as much as possible, as I just don't like brush painting in general...Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver is something I accidentally found to be a great thing to use.  When I airbrush Tamiya Acrylics, I use 99% isopropyl alcohol to thin it, with really good results.

Ya, if you're two toning Testors enamel or going over an unknown existing paint, what I use and have for years is a 50/50 combo of Odorless Mineral Spirits and hardware store paint thinner. Not lacquer thinner but paint thinner. Then thin with that combo. Why you ask ? Because the paint thinner flows and levels wonderfully and with gloss, increases gloss, while not hurting flats. Paint thinner alone though, can crater, which is something similar looking to the phenomenon called fish eyes. The OMS stops that.

On a fresh new paint job, if using enamel, I like hardware store lacquer thinner. It gets a good bite and great flow out without running too easy.. Now I use the Kleen Strip lacquer thinner from the hardware store. That one has moderate attack, not brutally hot and is medium dry rate. I can't speak for gallon containers of Walmart lacquer thinner, as I've never used it. I don't know how hot it is or it's dry rate, so I'll just be quiet.

Something I will experiment with in Testors enamel though, is odorless Tupenoid. I suspect that's going to be a winner all around but haven't gotten to the test yet. I know it's good with oil painting, as I use it. And it truly is odorless. I buy it at Micheals when I have a 30% off coupon. But I have it in stock here so might just as well try it ! After that day comes, I'll put my 2 cents worth in on it when these Testors threads come along.

Very true with Tamiya,forgot about that,I have used that,but then someone mentioned Mr Color Leveling Thinner which also works great for Tamiya and Ak-Real paints

Mr Color Leveling thinner works very very well in Tamiya LP Lacquer. It works in the acrylic too but to me is exceptional in LP. I put down an exceptional gloss black finish with that on some 34 Ford fenders using LP1 Black. And with no struggle, it's basically flawless, no polishing needed. Let me just say that it's the best I've ever done in over 60 years of models in black. That's not a brag on me but a testimony to that combo. Now the maroon/wine body is still fighting me to this day. It's not the flow to the paint, that's fine. It's my own color matching ! The funny part of that is in testing, I nailed it right away with craft paints and clear lacquer top coat and also with Tamiya acrylic.. But I don't want to paint that body in craft paint. I'd like the lacquer and no clear coat.

A very close second to the black lacquer is the old Model master enamel. Then following that is Tamiya acrylic, thinned with denatured alcohol.

For mixing colors and tinting solid colors with LP you really need the tinting set that is specifically made to do this. I have it but now I'm out of the base red I was using. So enough for now, my morning coffee has me rambling !

 

oldermodelguy

Mr Color Leveling thinner works very very well in Tamiya LP Lacquer. It works in the acrylic too but to me is exceptional in LP. I put down an exceptional gloss black finish with that on some 34 Ford fenders using LP1 Black.

I've been using that same combination for the black basecoat for Alclad.  The gloss is the best of anything I have tried, and the dry time is quick.

oldermodelguy

A very close second to the black lacquer is the old Model master enamel.

Got really good results on the striping on my Boss 351 with Testors square bottle gloss black.  Mixed it with the Testors airbrush thinner, so I didn't even have to mask around the pinstripe decals.  Just dampened a foam swab with the thinner and carefully wiped away the overspray from the main color (Grabber Green Metallic). Cooked the body in the Oster toaster oven afterward for a few hours to dry the Testors.  You can get that oven down as low as about 100 degrees.  I usually go to about 140 with no issues.

Have you looked at MCWs lacquer paints?  They might have that maroon/wine color you're looking for.  I used their lacquer as the base coat for the enamel top coat on the Boss 351.  Got an exceptionally smooth finish with that combo.

Eaglecash867

 

 

oldermodelguy

Mr Color Leveling thinner works very very well in Tamiya LP Lacquer. It works in the acrylic too but to me is exceptional in LP. I put down an exceptional gloss black finish with that on some 34 Ford fenders using LP1 Black.

 

 

I've been using that same combination for the black basecoat for Alclad.  The gloss is the best of anything I have tried, and the dry time is quick.

 

 

oldermodelguy

A very close second to the black lacquer is the old Model master enamel.

 

 

Got really good results on the striping on my Boss 351 with Testors square bottle gloss black.  Mixed it with the Testors airbrush thinner, so I didn't even have to mask around the pinstripe decals.  Just dampened a foam swab with the thinner and carefully wiped away the overspray from the main color (Grabber Green Metallic). Cooked the body in the Oster toaster oven afterward for a few hours to dry the Testors.  You can get that oven down as low as about 100 degrees.  I usually go to about 140 with no issues.

Have you looked at MCWs lacquer paints?  They might have that maroon/wine color you're looking for.  I used their lacquer as the base coat for the enamel top coat on the Boss 351.  Got an exceptionally smooth finish with that combo.

 

MCW has it or certainly would mix it, given the code. Honestly, I like the LP better than MCW lacquer, it's a high gloss finish right out of the airbrush. My experience with getting to a classic car finish with MCW, you need to clear coat. Those cars weren't clear coated.

No, I just need a new bottle of the base red to make the color and the hobby store is about 18 miles in the opposite direction of every place we've been to lately. So is Hobby Lobby for the Testors enamels, or the same Hobby Store.

Edit: To my knowledge Model Master and Testors enamel have/had the same chemical makeup. But Model Master had the millitary standard , some automotive codes and railroad colors, much expanding more accurately the color range beyond that of the little square bottle Testors enamels. So with Testors SQB you have limited color range and less specific. They're still good paints in terms of application and with a number of different thinners, to include their own...