Model Master acrylic thinner alternative

TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan · Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:46 pm

This should be a quick answer (I hope). I understand that Testors sells their own brand of acrylic thinner for their Model Master paints, however that is unavailable to me since I live in Japan. They sell the paints, but no thinners. I am curious if I could use Tamiya acrylic or GSI Creos Mr. Hobby acrylic thinners?

I've only airbrushed MM acryls twice before, using 91% alcohol, and the first time was pretty terrible. "Orange peel" would be generous, but then again, I was very novice about using air brushes at the time and probably had the airbrush too far away from the subject, didn't thin the paint properly, or probably both.

Is 91% alcohol still my best bet, or is simple lacquer thinner the way to go?

Thanks in advance.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 10:08 am

I use Tamiya thinner for what few MM paints I have. The rainbows and unicorn farts that Tamiya puts in their thinner worked great for me.

TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan · Tue Sep 09, 2014 8:39 pm

Kylwell wrote:I use Tamiya thinner for what few MM paints I have. The rainbows and unicorn farts that Tamiya puts in their thinner worked great for me.

LOL! So you're talking about Tamiya acrylic thinner for use withTestors MM acrylics? I just want to make sure you aren't talking about their lacquer thinner.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 10:11 pm

Yup, use Tamiya's regular thinner in MM paints all the time. I know of a few people that have used regular hardware store lacquer thinner too.

I love Tamiya thinner. Mr. Color Leveling Thinner is also the pooh for when you want to go lacquer.

TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan · Tue Sep 09, 2014 11:08 pm

Kylwell wrote:Yup, use Tamiya's regular thinner in MM paints all the time. I know of a few people that have used regular hardware store lacquer thinner too.

I love Tamiya thinner. Mr. Color Leveling Thinner is also the pooh for when you want to go lacquer.

Thanks. A few years ago I learned about using lacquer thinner for enamels. I only recently learned about using lacquer thinner for acrylics, too.

I actually use Mr. Hobby Color lacquers more than any other paint. I live in Japan, so these are cheap and readily available. Many people say that they prefer using acrylics, but I tend to not use them as much because they scratch easily while handling as I am working on the model. I always use Tamiya airbrush cleaner, and it is powerful to clean my airbrush out.

I use Mr. Color Leveling Thinner for when I need to hand paint any lacquers, or if I am going to be painting a gloss finish. Otherwise, their regular thinner suffices just fine.

Dukat, S.G. · Post by **Dukat, S.G.** » Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:08 pm

Gentlemen,

What would happen if one tried to prime, and paint for that matter, a vinyl kit with MM Acryls thinned with lacquer thinner ... or did I misunderstand something?!

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:46 pm

Don't know. I've primed vinyl parts with lacquer based paints in the past, thick hard parts. It either sticks quite nicely or slumps off like mold on a rock.

Dukat, S.G. · Post by **Dukat, S.G.** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 3:37 pm

Kylwell wrote:Don't know. I've primed vinyl parts with lacquer based paints in the past, thick hard parts. It either sticks quite nicely or slumps off like mold on a rock.

Interesting. I'll experiment on some of that it's massive "flash" parts.

What about thoroughly (albeit gradually, with many, many mist coats) coating the thing with Dullcote or spraying a basic lacquer primer, like Alclad II, then airbrushing enamel over that?

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 3:56 pm

Could work. I'm trying to remember who here has a lot of experience with vinyl kits.

veedubb67 · Post by **veedubb67** » Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:49 am

I normally use Automotive (lacquer-based) Primer when working on vinyl kits. That way I can paint enamels or acrylics over it without any issues.

Rob
Iwata Padawan

TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan · Sun Mar 08, 2015 8:54 am

I was working on a Bandai mecha model from Martian Successor Nadesico, and I decided to paint the rifle Model Master Acrylic Gun Metal. I thinned it with Tamiya lacquer thinner and airbrushed it. I've had this bottle of paint around for about 10 years now, so I don't know if it's because it was old and I did not thin it enough, but I was able to successfully put down a nice layer of paint. It just gunked up the nozzle really badly. I may try thinning it more next time, or maybe shoot it with a higher pressure. I was able to thin MM acrylic Jet Exhaust with Tamiya Acrylic thinner on a test spoon a few months ago and it worked fine though, just as Kylwell said it would!

TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan · Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:54 am

Update! I opened up my recently purchased, never used bottle of Model Master acrylic Blue Angels Yellow, thinned it to the consistency of milk with Tamiya lacquer thinner, and sprayed it on a spoon. It's a gloss paint, and it turned out FANTASTIC!

EDIT: Okay, after I gave it over a half hour to dry, it turned out not as glossy as it was at first. It seemed that the gloss acrylic would dry to a mirror finish. I'll try another coating and see how that one turns out.