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Thinner or Cleaner


Bortig

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Hi all, can anybody tell me the difference between thinners and cleaners as I've heard of people just using thinners to thin and to clean, is this right ? also is it better to use the same manufacturer as the paint being sprayed ?  Questions questions but I need to learn.

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On average the thinners of a paint by the same manufacturer are one of the basis of the paint. Thin it with water or cleaners reduces the effectiveness of the integrity of the paint  which the manufacturer has built in. That is flow of paint to level itself and adhere to the paint or primer under.

 

Cleaners at least Vallejo have quite a high content of IPA for breaking down the paint which you do not want. IPA, when airbrushing, you are in danger of partially sending or drying the paint before its reaches its destination.

 

I have used Vallejo thinners with Lifecolor Mig Ak etc as they have the same driers ets. Tamiya and other similar paints have a lacquer base so you need a lacquer type thinner.

 

Laurie

 

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As said above, in the case of acrylic paints, thinners are basically a thinner version of the acrylic 'vehicle' which holds the pigment in the paint and so, if you try to use it to clean an airbrush it will actually leave a residue of clear acrylic inside the brush which is not what you want or, in the case of traditional brushes it will stick the bristles together requiring alcohol or another solvent to dissolve it off in order to save the paint brush.

When talking about 'thinners' for use with enamel type paints then it is a different animal. It is purely a solvent like turpentine/turpentine substitue/white spirit/ naptha(lighter fuel(liquid not gas), Automotive panel cleaner and Humbrol enamel thinners are examples of Naptha) and so it is fine for use in cleaning through an airbrush or rinsing out brushes.

 

To explain a little further, paints generally are made of a 'Vehicle' and a 'pigment'. In the case of matt finishes there is an added constituent to make the surface look matt but that isn't important.

 

The vehicle is what dries to form the hard film that binds the colour to the surface and the pigment is simply the colour of the paint. In the case of enamels it is a modified linseed oil which is the vehicle and naturally dries (oxidises) to form a hard but flexible film while in Acrylic it is an acrylic polymer that performs that purpose. You need very little oil in order to create a pretty tough skin while acrylic is a lot more fragile and so, to thin acrylic you really need to use a proprietary thinner which makes the paint runnier by adding more watery acrylic vehicle to the pigment where, with enamels all you need to do is add more of the solvent that keeps the paint runny in the first place.

 

basically after all that rambling - Acrylics use a thinner and need a separate solvent to clean your equipment and enamels use a solvent for both thinning and cleaning.

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6 hours ago, dancho said:

One of the great advantages of acrylic paint is that I can clean the brushes in running water. 

 

Yes I do that dancho. But it depends on circumstances. The stock at the top can get chocked up with paint leaving the top part of the bristles solid without a spring.

 

I use water soluble acrylics and part fill an old small Vallejo paint container with Vallejo Cleaner. Suspend the brush clear of the bottom, using an elastic band, and soak for a couple of hours. That loosens the junk accumulated at the stock which, with gentle manipulation, washes out and restores the brush to near perfection. Top on the paint container for next time otherwise it dries out.

 

Laurie

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