YADQ: why thin Acrylics?

Captain Riker · Post by **Captain Riker** » Tue Apr 07, 2015 10:39 pm

yet another dumb question:

What is the goal of thinning paints, especially acrylics? I use Tayima almost exclusively and don't thin at all. Am I missing something?

irishtrek · Post by **irishtrek** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:56 am

Any paint needs to be thinned if you're going to run it through an air brush, and also if you're just using a plain old bristle brush the paint could be a bit too thick for the finish you may want to achieve.

Post by **TER-OR** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 9:42 pm

Some acrylics need to be thinned to be properly used. Gaming acrylics, particularly. Also, some paints are a bit thick to airbrush - and some can evaporate over time, I've found that with Tamiya in particular.

Not all use similar thinners, though.

Captain Riker · Post by **Captain Riker** » Wed Apr 08, 2015 10:24 pm

Hmm. I've been shooting Tamiya straight, but tried some thinned tonight. I can see the difference. It seems like it doesn't need to be thinned very much.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:45 am

Depends on what pressure you shoot @. I shout between 8 & 12 psi so I thin about 50/50.

Captain Riker · Post by **Captain Riker** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 9:25 pm

Usually between 15 and 20.

Are there andy good resource sites or books on the subject that someone could recommend?