Thinning Tamiya paint = brush painting?

[Tankbuilder]

I've heard that Tamiya paint should ONLY be thinned with alcohol. I have 99% Isopropyl alcohol. My buddy, new to model building, got 77% Isopropyl alcohol and the other 23% is water. Can he use that to thin his Tamiya paints or will that 23% water cause gumming or other problems?

Note any thinning he does is for brush painting and NOT for airbrushing.

Thanks and cheers from Peter

 

[Bagge]

Not sure but i use their own thinner and some retarder to make it dry slower, not so a big fan of brushing tamiya paints, I find that the older tamiya paints was better but it can be something i just imagine.
I don't think it will be a problem, just test it
//Mats

 

[phantom II]

I've heard that Tamiya paint should ONLY be thinned with alcohol. I have 99% Isopropyl alcohol. My buddy, new to model building, got 77% Isopropyl alcohol and the other 23% is water. Can he use that to thin his Tamiya paints or will that 23% water cause gumming or other problems?

Note any thinning he does is for brush painting and NOT for airbrushing.

Thanks and cheers from Peter

I have been told that It can be thinned with water for hand brushing but I have never tried it .

I do sometimes paint small parts using Gunze self leveling thinner with any problems.
No ratios. Dip brush in thinner then into paint . I like to brush it around on a pallet first till it feels right.
It does not stay wet very long using this method.

Hope this helps a bit. Cheers, Christian B)

 

[Tankbuilder]

All I need to know is, will Isopropyl alcohol that is 23% water ruin Tamiya paint if that alcohol is used to thin it?

Thanks and cheers from Peter

 

[AndyFettes]

I use the 91% Rubbing Alcohol to thin Tamiya but that is purely for the airbrush. I think youll find that the Tamiya thinner is Isopropyl anyway

Personally I do not use it for brush painting because I dont like the way it covers by brush as it tends to skin up while drying,..there are much better alternatives for that.

Having said that its purely my own personal experience and opinions,..... others may have much better results or techniques that they use.

So to answer your question,... no it wont ruin it

Andy

 

[SA Dave]

Tamiya acrilics thins nice with Alc BUT I have tried handbrushing then and it dries on the brush. Tamiya's own thinners has some retarder in it and it works better than with alc or water BUT the best I have found is using theyr own thinners and adding a new retarder they now also have

http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87114paint_retarder/index.htm

 

[Swordsman]

I myself love to brush paint ..... the better the brush the better it looks ..... what you are looking for is for the paint to not dry before it levels but be thick enough to cover the styrene color ..... Testor makes a all acrylic paint thinner called Aztek under the Model Master name

..... I haven't used it .... when it comes to alcohol use We used to use ever clear from the liquor store .... as it was cheaper than denatured Alcohol .... but that is 99% pure alcohol the trouble with anything less is that it is a impurity in the alcohol ...... now ever clear does evaporate very quickly so a retarder would be need now I've also heard of using Windex as a thinner .... How bout it Dave .... I'm a filtered water guy for my acrylics .... ldguy Just my two cents

 

[AndyFettes]

I think the addition of Windex breaks up the water tension so only a few drops in the mixture for that could be wrong though.