Author Topic: Thinner for AMMO, MIG Acrylics  (Read 5244 times)

Offline JayBee

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Thinner for AMMO, MIG Acrylics
« on: February 20, 2020, 03:44:55 AM »
I am looking for a thinner for AMMO/ MIG acrylics for use with an airbrush.
OK I got the colour that I have been after for ages, at last years Glasgow model show. However I did not think to pick up some dedicated thinners for it.
I am now about ready to spray with it but I need a suitable thinner.
As MIG and Vallejo both come from Spain, I thought the Vallejo thinner would work. NO, it just separates.
Then I tried Xtrraclyric, from Hannants. NO that did the same.
I have heard that Polish spirit (at 60%) works but that is a triffle expensive for this exercise, as well as being a bad use of a good drink.
So I am looking for an answer to this problem that I can obtain easily in the UK.
Any suggestion?

Jim
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Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Thinner for AMMO, MIG Acrylics
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2020, 04:03:26 AM »
@JayBee -

First off, welcome aboard Beyond The Sprues forums. 

Second, if AMMO/MIG is an acrylic medium does the usual thinners for acrylics not work with this product?  I know next to nothing about actually using acrylics at this point in time but from my own browsing on the subject it seems that many modelers use off the shelf products such as glass cleaner (eg: Windex) or alcohol to thin their acrylic paints for spraying. 
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Offline tankmodeler

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Re: Thinner for AMMO, MIG Acrylics
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2020, 02:11:12 AM »
Second, if AMMO/MIG is an acrylic medium does the usual thinners for acrylics not work with this product?
No, unfortunately not all acrylics thin with the same products. Isopropyl based thinners, like Windex, windshield washer fluid and isopropyl, itself, work on acrylics like Tamiya and Gunze but DO NOT WORK on the newer acrylics like AMMO/MiG, Vallejo, Modelmaster Acryll, etc. These thin with water, distillled water, their proprietary thinners (mostly water with a couple of additives) or acryllic medium thinner, which is a medium to thin the pigment density without reducing the viscosity much for brush painting (and for airbrush thinning you want to reduce the viscosity so don't use this for airbrushing).

If you are spraying any of the water-based paints, I heavily recommend adding a drop or two of "flow improver" or "retarder" that slows the drying a titch thus reducing the build-up of paint on the airbrush nozzle and helps the paint flow and even out on the model. No more than a drop or two to a 1/4 oz cup is all that's needed, but it really, really helps the airbrushing.

Clean up afterwards first with water and only use a more agressive thinner (like lacquer thinner) when doing a complete teardown clean. DO NOT use lacquer thinner in the paint as the paint will clog and curdle. Isopropyl causes the same effect, but doesn't break down the paint making it even harder to clean up than if you mistakenly used lacquer thinner (ask me how I know!).

And, just to be complete, don't use any of the normal enamel thinners (varsol, turpentine, turpinoid, etc.) on these paints as the mess is as brutal or worse than with isopropyl.

Here endeth the lesson...  ;D

Paul
« Last Edit: February 22, 2020, 12:13:51 AM by tankmodeler »

Offline Frank3k

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Re: Thinner for AMMO, MIG Acrylics
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2020, 02:30:58 AM »
Just to throw a wrench into the above - MiG also repackages Badgers' (excellent - probably the best acrylic primers out there now) Stynylrez paint and they can be thinned with almost anything; water, alcohol, Windex, Vallejo thinner.

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Thinner for AMMO, MIG Acrylics
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2020, 03:36:13 AM »
My son works in autobody, he tells me that all the paint they use now is water based. Maybe go to an autobody shop and scrounge some thinner from them and see if that works.

Offline jcf

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Re: Thinner for AMMO, MIG Acrylics
« Reply #5 on: February 23, 2020, 11:24:04 AM »
Those automotive paints are water-borne not water-based. Completely different animal.
Some brands use a polyurethane resin base, others use an acrylic latex resin base.
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Offline kitnut617

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Re: Thinner for AMMO, MIG Acrylics
« Reply #6 on: February 23, 2020, 10:59:55 PM »
I was talking with my son only yesterday about it and you're right, it's water-borne -- my bad