Tamiya acrylic paint thinner

[Stryke]

I was wondering if anyone has used Tamiya acrylic paint thinner in the past for brush painting and if it was any good and also how does adding a thinner help with painting?

[mario]

I was wondering if anyone has used Tamiya acrylic paint thinner in the past for brush painting and if it was any good and also how does adding a thinner help with painting?

I have not used Tamiya paint thinner but adding a thinner to a paint will make it thinner (less thick). It's like adding water to thin the paint. You can add both for thinning paint but water has a higher surfce tension because of dipole-dipole intermolecular forces. So when you use a lot of water for thinning it will force the paint to the edge of the "pool" because the cohesive force will keep the water together and push other (non polar) molecules out. A thinner doesn't have the same polar power as water has. That should make the whole process easier.

 

Thin paints canbe useful for glazes or washes: Glazes are used to tint and change the hue and saturation of some area while washes are used for darkening some area. Similar techniques but used for a different purpose.

 

And thinning paint us useful if you want to keep the details of your miniatures visible. If the paintis too thick your miniature will end up as one big blob.

[Sara]

Yes, it's apparently quite useful. My friend uses it (with a little water too). It is especially good wth Tamya paints. It helps keep the coverage of the paint even when it's quite thin.

[Captain Hat]

I would recommend that you use Tamiya paint thinner with, you guessed it, Tamiya paints. The Tamiya range is pretty good, but you can't use water with it if you're using an airbrush. You pretty much have to use the thinner. That said, if you do use it, it's pretty good: I've done a few commissions on 1:35-scale military models using it.

[HuronBH]

Do not use tamiya paint thinner with non tamiya based. Tamiya paints have a higher Alcohol content the most other companies and the thinner has the same high Alcohol content to it. Be careful when using it, you can melt previous layers(especially around sharp corners) right off. I ruined a few minatures trying it out with non Tamiya paints before I gave up. The only thing I use it for now is the 2 to 3 Tamiya colors I still use and when working with their Clear line(though water and future floorwax works well with the clear too).

 

 

-jay

[Evilrik]

Tamiya acrylic paint thinner otherwise known as isopropyl alcohol, available from your local pharmacist or chemist at vastly cheaper and larger quantities. great for airbrushing.

[Yodhrin]

Do not use tamiya paint thinner with non tamiya based. Tamiya paints have a higher Alcohol content the most other companies and the thinner has the same high Alcohol content to it. Be careful when using it, you can melt previous layers(especially around sharp corners) right off. I ruined a few minatures trying it out with non Tamiya paints before I gave up. The only thing I use it for now is the 2 to 3 Tamiya colors I still use and when working with their Clear line(though water and future floorwax works well with the clear too).

 

 

-jay

 

It's perfectly possible to use Tamiya thinner with other brands of paint, you simply have to "thin the thinner", as it were. Pre-mix your thinning mixture(dropper bottles from an art shop are useful) with 10 parts water to 2 parts Tamiya thinner and 1 part ordinary washing up liquid(stir gently rather than shake to avoid it foaming up, after a couple of days in the bottle you no longer have to worry about that), then just use it the way you would normally use plain water.

 

There's just enough Tamiya in there to counteract the "polar problem" you get with normal water, and I find the washing up liquid gives the paint some interesting properties for glazing and layering.

[Shinohai]

tamiya in general is a quality brand, from there models to their paints. as stated it can be a risk using tamiya thinner with other brands of paint. there is a way to use water and not have the high surface tension it normally has. just add jet dry. it breaks up the surace tension. you'll need less of it to thin and makes wonderful washes.

[Hemal]

why not just add a drop of washing-up liquid to distlled water? It actually breaks the surface tension already - and is a lot cheaper than isoproyl alochol.. ^_^

[Stryke]

Thanks for all the info. Decided not to buy the Tamiya Thinner because the salesman said that a Mr.Hobby Thinner 110 would be better for acrylic paints but thanks again.