Naptha As Thinner?

I've seen a few references to using lighter fluid as thinner for enamels, but never done it myself (I use acrylics).

One thing that doesn't sound right is the suggestion to let the pigment settle and pour off the remaining clear liquid. In addition to thinner, this also contains the binder medium, so if you were to do this, I would expect some adhesion problems.

The only suggestion I can make is to try it on a junker, but only as a thinner, not a replacement for the carrier.

Phil has pretty much covered it, but the "reason" to do this is that naptha is generally quite aggressive to the styrene plastics used in scale models, essentially melting the surface so that the pigment is well bonded to it. This may also produce a thinner coating, since as Phil pointed out, you are removing a fair amount of binder.

As a practice, why bother? There are better ways to accomplish the same thing (Alclad, for one).

If you use naptha, use it as a thinner, keeping in mind that it has a lower flash point than most of the other common solvents used for thinning paint.

Thanks to both of you, Phil_H and Triarius.

I'm interested in the part about naptha being aggressive on styrene.  I've use it in the form of Ronsonol lighter fluid as cleaner with no issues.  It's very good at removing tape residue and such without harming the plastic.  Maybe it isn't naptha, or it's diluted with something.

Anyway, thanks for answering.  I think my fellow club member will be trying Alclad instead.  I certainly have no reason to try something else at this point.

Regards,
Bruce

I sure am grateful for you guys around here who know your chemistry.

They taught us to use lighter fluid as an adhesive solvent in an art class I took around 1967, and I've used it ever since to get price tag residue and such off plastic and ceramic merchandise, etc.  I've occasionally used it on styrene with no ill effects.  Someone told me a long time ago that lighter fluid was naptha, but I couldn't swear to it.  Then again, my chemistry is so weak I didn't know what naptha was in the first place.

Thanks again.

Neptune48 wrote:

I sure am grateful for you guys around here who know your chemistry.

You have that right Neptune! I love the chemistry and engineering expertise available in these forums! Ross and Gerald(just to name two) seem to go out of their way to advise....and then explain the advice in lay terms. We get to learn and have interesting reading!