thinning Mr Hobby Aqueous Hobby Colour for airbrush

[erewhon1872]

Hi all,

sorry if this was covered elsewhere but I looked and could not find it in the 'Paint' forum.

I am going to use the Mr Hobby Aqueous Hobby Colour paints for the first time and would appreciate any advice on thinning them.

I was gifted a lot of them and told by the gift-er that Tamiya X-20a works, but I read a comment in passing on a BM forum that Mr. Color Thinner works too, and perhaps being the same company may work better than the Tamiya?

Also any info on paint to thinner ratios, and if it flows better at a certain Psi?

So any advice is gratefully received.

Peter

[Fatboydim]

Hello Peter, I've not used these paints, but I intend to on my next model. I was given these tips by Jaime. He's a very good modeller and I respect his advice. Click HERE and scroll down until it mentions the paint. Hope this helps. Joe.

[Tomjw]

Hi Peter,

I love the Mr Hobby Aqueous Hobby Color and use them as often as possible. I always use Mr Color Levelling Thinners as it acts as a retardent and leaves a really smooth finish. The levelling thinners also works really well with Tamiya acrylics.

Hope this helps.

Tom

[erewhon1872]

Hello Peter, I've not used these paints, but I intend to on my next model. I was given these tips by Jaime. He's a very good modeller and I respect his advice. Click HERE and scroll down until it mentions the paint. Hope this helps. Joe.

thanks for the link Joe, some good information there. To summarise what Jaime said....

"Aqueous Hobby Color can be thinned with Tamiya's X-20A or Gunze's own acrylic thinner"

" I usually mix Gunze paints to a 60% paint / 40% thinner ratio and spray between 10 and 15psi. For fine line work I invert the ratio. For mottling I mix to a 25% paint / 75% thinner."

All very useful info.

The one thing that is puzzling me is which thinner to use if you use Gunze's own thinner?

I can find reference to "Mr. Color Thinner (MCT) and Mr. Leveling Thinner (MLT) are two lacquer thinners made by Gunze Sangyo" but I thought the 'Mr Color' range of paints are lacquer rather than acrylic paints?

So is there a specific "Gunze's own acrylic thinner" that I am missing somewhere, or is it ok to thin the Hobby Color paints with the Mr Color thinner?

Thanks again for the link, very useful.

Peter

[erewhon1872]

Hi Peter,

I love the Mr Hobby Aqueous Hobby Color and use them as often as possible. I always use Mr Color Levelling Thinners as it acts as a retardent and leaves a really smooth finish. The levelling thinners also works really well with Tamiya acrylics.

Hope this helps.

Tom

Hi Tom.

sorry while I was writing my "which thinner?" question above your reply came in but I only noticed it after I'd hit the 'post' button!

Thanks for the info. I have a bottle of the Mr Color Thinner (not the levelling thinner) that I got to wash away excess Mr Surfacer in awkward spots, would this thin the paint or does it have to be specifically the Mr Color Levelling Thinners?

Cheers,

Peter

[Tomjw]

I haven't used the Mr Color thinner, but from what I've read prevously it will work. If you have a scrap kit or a piece of plasticard, maybe try it on that first.

My understanding is that the Mr Color thinner was mean't for the Gunze lacquer paints, so it's probably worth a test on scrap first.

Cheers,

Tom.

[Fatboydim]

I could not get my head round it, but click on thinners . This confirms what you can use it for. Good advice from Tom. Try a test piece first.

[DannyB]

I use Mr Color Aqueous acrylics all of the time and find them brilliant to use! They can take a little longer than tamiya to dry, especially the gloss and semi-gloss ones, but once down and cured for a good 24 hours they are super tough. The only colour I've yet to get on with is white, but in any range that can be an bottom!

I only ever thin with their own thinner - Mr Color Leveling Thinner - and use a ratio of 50/50 for most general work. Word of warning though, it stinks! Make sure you open a window and get some kind of ventilation, the room can get quite 'heady' quite quickly

I normally stick to around 15-20psi when I'm spraying, and never really had any problems.

The only issues I've had is when I've tried IPA or tamiya thinners, either a clogged up mess or watery paint that won't stick.

[erewhon1872]

I haven't used the Mr Color thinner, but from what I've read prevously it will work. If you have a scrap kit or a piece of plasticard, maybe try it on that first.

My understanding is that the Mr Color thinner was mean't for the Gunze lacquer paints, so it's probably worth a test on scrap first.

Cheers,

Tom.

ok thanks, I can try the Hobby Color/Mr Color Thinner on a test piece first, but looks like for a better finish I'd be best off hunting down a bottle of the Mr Color Levelling Thinner?

[erewhon1872]

maybe this is a silly question but as this seems to be a mix of acrylic paint with thinner meant for lacquer paints what do you clean the airbrush with afterwards, is it normal acrylic airbrush cleaner of enamel thinners?

[erewhon1872]

I use Mr Color Aqueous acrylics all of the time and find them brilliant to use! They can take a little longer than tamiya to dry, especially the gloss and semi-gloss ones, but once down and cured for a good 24 hours they are super tough. The only colour I've yet to get on with is white, but in any range that can be an bottom!

I only ever thin with their own thinner - Mr Color Leveling Thinner - and use a ratio of 50/50 for most general work. Word of warning though, it stinks! Make sure you open a window and get some kind of ventilation, the room can get quite 'heady' quite quickly

I normally stick to around 15-20psi when I'm spraying, and never really had any problems.

The only issues I've had is when I've tried IPA or tamiya thinners, either a clogged up mess or watery paint that won't stick.

thanks Danny, with the number of recommendations for the Levelling thinner I am coming to the conclusion that I should just get a bottle of that rather than experiment with just the Mr Color thinner

[Ronan71]

maybe this is a silly question but as this seems to be a mix of acrylic paint with thinner meant for lacquer paints what do you clean the airbrush with afterwards, is it normal acrylic airbrush cleaner of enamel thinners?

My understanding about Mr Color paints and Tamiya Acrylics is that they are not actually true acrylics, I think they are in fact lacquer paints. The reason for calling them acrylics has something got to do with enabling them to be sold to kids and so forth in Japan by stretching the truth as to what they are? (Or something like that!)

Hence you have to use specific thinners and not just water to thin them properly. I personally use the Mr Color Levelling thinner with my Tamiya acrylics and also for the few Mr Color paints I have as well, and it works superbly. The finish is lovely and smooth as a result. I've only been using an airbrush for a few months now and I'm really happy with the results I'm getting. I also have some of the regular Mr Color thinner which also works well, although I mostly use it to clean the airbrush afterwards with (which it is very good at!) and I also have some of the X20A Tamiya thinner which also works well. But if you can get it, the Levelling thinner is excellent.

At the moment I'm using Tamiya paints with a ratio of 60:40 paint:thinner, and the Mr Color paints at 50:50

[erewhon1872]

My understanding about Mr Color paints and Tamiya Acrylics is that they are not actually true acrylics, I think they are in fact lacquer paints. The reason for calling them acrylics has something got to do with enabling them to be sold to kids and so forth in Japan by stretching the truth as to what they are? (Or something like that!)

Hence you have to use specific thinners and not just water to thin them properly. I personally use the Mr Color Levelling thinner with my Tamiya acrylics and also for the few Mr Color paints I have as well, and it works superbly. The finish is lovely and smooth as a result. I've only been using an airbrush for a few months now and I'm really happy with the results I'm getting. I also have some of the regular Mr Color thinner which also works well, although I mostly use it to clean the airbrush afterwards with (which it is very good at!) and I also have some of the X20A Tamiya thinner which also works well. But if you can get it, the Levelling thinner is excellent.

At the moment I'm using Tamiya paints with a ratio of 60:40 paint:thinner, and the Mr Color paints at 50:50

thanks Ronan (or is it a certain medical man called Strangelove?)

Useful to know as I do have some of the 'Mr Color Thinner' already and so can use it for cleaning the airbrush after using the Hobby Color/Mr Color Levelling Thinner mixture then? Sounds like the X20A also cleans it as well?

It's been mentioned that the drying times are a lot longer than Tamiya 'acrylic' so as you have used it what would you say, if you are painting a base colour and adding another colour over the top would you give the first coat a certain number of hours to dry, or would a whole 24 hours be best?

By the way what happens if you just use standard acrylic airbrush cleaner, I'd assume it doesn't do the job properly as it's trying to clean up paint that's actually lacquer?

[Ronan71]

LOL! Yes, I'm a fan of that particular movie by Kubrick! Probably Peter Sellers best role, plus the character names are brilliant (General Buck Turdgison, Colonel Bat Guano, etc!).

I think any of the proprietary thinners will work as a cleaner, I tend to use the Tamiya X20A mostly for cleaning as it is readily available locally here in Dublin, whereas I have to order the Mr Hobby stuff from abroad (currently I use a shop in Poland). The non-levelling Mr Color stuff is great thinner too, I just think the levelling stuff if even better, but ultimately you can't go far wrong with either of them.

You are right about the standard acrylic cleaners with the Tamiya/Mr Color paints in my experience, they don't work that well. I have a bottle of Ultimate airbrush cleaner though which I use to flush the airbrush with prior to painting to make sure it is clean and it works well for that.

I find the drying times even with the levelling thinner is fast (it takes longer to dry than with the non-levelling stuff, but it's not hours longer, rather a few minutes longer). I haven't timed it, but so far I have found paint to be touch dry within 10 mins at the most, (usually less). I guess I leave around 30-60mins before adding a second colour, but that's probably because I would be masking areas (I usually use Tamiya tape) and I don't want to end up with the paint coming off when the masking is removed.

[erewhon1872]

LOL! Yes, I'm a fan of that particular movie by Kubrick! Probably Peter Sellers best role, plus the character names are brilliant (General Buck Turdgison, Colonel Bat Guano, etc!).

I think any of the proprietary thinners will work as a cleaner, I tend to use the Tamiya X20A mostly for cleaning as it is readily available locally here in Dublin, whereas I have to order the Mr Hobby stuff from abroad (currently I use a shop in Poland). The non-levelling Mr Color stuff is great thinner too, I just think the levelling stuff if even better, but ultimately you can't go far wrong with either of them.

You are right about the standard acrylic cleaners with the Tamiya/Mr Color paints in my experience, they don't work that well. I have a bottle of Ultimate airbrush cleaner though which I use to flush the airbrush with prior to painting to make sure it is clean and it works well for that.

I find the drying times even with the levelling thinner is fast (it takes longer to dry than with the non-levelling stuff, but it's not hours longer, rather a few minutes longer). I haven't timed it, but so far I have found paint to be touch dry within 10 mins at the most, (usually less). I guess I leave around 30-60mins before adding a second colour, but that's probably because I would be masking areas (I usually use Tamiya tape) and I don't want to end up with the paint coming off when the masking is removed.

Re: Dr Strangelove, there's also the US President "Merkin Muffley" and the U.S.A.F. General "Jack D. Ripper"

Thanks for the info on drying times.

By the way in last modelling magazine I wrote it said Albion Alloys are now UK agents for all things Mr. Hobby, so you may not have to send to Poland any more for supplies?

[Ronan71]

Brilliant names!

You are right, there are a few good retailers in the UK for the Mr. Hobby stuff, but the issue is postage and even though I use a parcel forwarding service in Belfast (giving me a UK address even though I'm in Ireland) a lot of retailers will only send to mainland UK addresses, not even to Northern Ireland.

Plus at the moment the exchange rate between the Euro and Sterling is terrible so it is cheaper to buy from Europe. Also on my holidays in July I passed through both Madrid and Seville and in both places found some great local model shops and stocked up! (I was driving so no worries about bringing stuff onto planes).

[erewhon1872]

Brilliant names!

You are right, there are a few good retailers in the UK for the Mr. Hobby stuff, but the issue is postage and even though I use a parcel forwarding service in Belfast (giving me a UK address even though I'm in Ireland) a lot of retailers will only send to mainland UK addresses, not even to Northern Ireland.

Plus at the moment the exchange rate between the Euro and Sterling is terrible so it is cheaper to buy from Europe. Also on my holidays in July I passed through both Madrid and Seville and in both places found some great local model shops and stocked up! (I was driving so no worries about bringing stuff onto planes).

ah well as Captain Mainwaring would say, "as you were"

I was in the Aviation Megastore near Amsterdam airport recently and they had some Daco paints there I fancied, was part way to the checkout and thought "can I get these on the aircraft" and as the answer was "don't know" I went and put them back again. Still not sure if they'd have been confiscated but not will to take the risk!

Do you know the names of the hobby stores in Seville? May be close to there sometime next year so would be good to know what's there?

[Tomjw]

maybe this is a silly question but as this seems to be a mix of acrylic paint with thinner meant for lacquer paints what do you clean the airbrush with afterwards, is it normal acrylic airbrush cleaner of enamel thinners?

I clean my airbrush with cellulose thinners. Works a treat.

[Rizzo]

My understanding about Mr Color paints and Tamiya Acrylics is that they are not actually true acrylics, I think they are in fact lacquer paints. The reason for calling them acrylics has something got to do with enabling them to be sold to kids and so forth in Japan by stretching the truth as to what they are? (Or something like that!)

With Tamiya, they're alcohol based acrylics

Mr Color is cellulose (lacquer) based acrylic

Mr Hobby Aqueus I think is alcohol based acrylic

[DannyB]

I clean my airbrush with cellulose thinners. Works a treat.

What he just said ^^

I use a bit of mr color level thinner to blow out between colours then a deep clean with cellulose thinners once I'm finished, works a treat

[Ronan71]

With Tamiya, they're alcohol based acrylics

Mr Color is cellulose (lacquer) based acrylic

Mr Hobby Aqueus I think is alcohol based acrylic

That makes sense, hence alcohol instead of water based, while the Mr Color is a true lacquer based acrylic.

[Ronan71]

ah well as Captain Mainwaring would say, "as you were"

I was in the Aviation Megastore near Amsterdam airport recently and they had some Daco paints there I fancied, was part way to the checkout and thought "can I get these on the aircraft" and as the answer was "don't know" I went and put them back again. Still not sure if they'd have been confiscated but not will to take the risk!

Do you know the names of the hobby stores in Seville? May be close to there sometime next year so would be good to know what's there?

I'd say you would get non-aerosol paints onto a plane in check in luggage, but probably not in hand luggage.

The one shop I found in Seville was near the cathederal, on the Plaza de San Francisco I think.

Here is a link to their site: http://www.jugueteriatecnica.com/

A small shop, not a huge amount of stuff, but some nice quality stuff all the same! Worth checking out if you are in Seville. I did not spend long there however, I had the wife and kids with me and it was 46C the day we were there, (around 115F I think?) so a quick browse was all I had! Madrid has far more local hobby stores, the two I got to were one in the south west suburbs (I drove across Madrid from SW to NE on my journey which was from Portugal to Normandy where I got the ferry back to Ireland, an enjoyable 2 days!) called http://www.maquetas113.com/tienda/ (a neat shop with a lot of aftermarket stuff), and another one just north of the city centre called: http://www.lojume.es/

Lojume was an amazing shop, not brilliant for aftermarket, but a huge selection of kits. I ended up getting quite a few as I didn't have to worry about getting them onto the plane. The main shop is big, but the basement is packed with stuff. Really impressive!

[erewhon1872]

I'd say you would get non-aerosol paints onto a plane in check in luggage, but probably not in hand luggage.

The one shop I found in Seville was near the cathederal, on the Plaza de San Francisco I think.

Here is a link to their site: http://www.jugueteriatecnica.com/

A small shop, not a huge amount of stuff, but some nice quality stuff all the same! Worth checking out if you are in Seville. I did not spend long there however, I had the wife and kids with me and it was 46C the day we were there, (around 115F I think?) so a quick browse was all I had! Madrid has far more local hobby stores, the two I got to were one in the south west suburbs (I drove across Madrid from SW to NE on my journey which was from Portugal to Normandy where I got the ferry back to Ireland, an enjoyable 2 days!) called http://www.maquetas113.com/tienda/ (a neat shop with a lot of aftermarket stuff), and another one just north of the city centre called: http://www.lojume.es/

Lojume was an amazing shop, not brilliant for aftermarket, but a huge selection of kits. I ended up getting quite a few as I didn't have to worry about getting them onto the plane. The main shop is big, but the basement is packed with stuff. Really impressive!

thanks for the tips on the Spanish model shops, although I'd be nearer to Seville sounds like the ones in Madrid may be a better option, might be a good excuse to visit a city I've never been to.............. when it cools down a bit in Spain that is!

[erewhon1872]

thanks, have some cellulose thinners so at least I can clean the airbrush if nothing else!

[Ronan71]

thanks for the tips on the Spanish model shops, although I'd be nearer to Seville sounds like the ones in Madrid may be a better option, might be a good excuse to visit a city I've never been to.............. when it cools down a bit in Spain that is!

No problem! Both are nice cities, but Madrid is considerably larger. I believe there is a high speed rail link between them so it's only around 2.5 hrs on the train or less each way. So if you were in Seville and side trip to Madrid would not be too difficult. Apparently Madrid if quite cold in the winter as it's up on a plateau, but it was hot in July I found!