I just got off the search page looking for “alcohol thinner”. The results do not answer these questions. Why use distilled water over filtered? And which alcohol can I use? There are so many kinds of alcohol. Wood, denatured, isopropyl, rubbing etc.
I have some 99% isopropyl on hand, but do I mix that with something else? Kinda makes me go buy some poly S thinner.
Tnx
Ordinary Windex (or the equivalent) works, just don’t over-thin it… also good for cleaning out your air brush when used full strength. So you have a cheap alternative to Polly S thinner… doesn’t happen too often in the hobby now days! Good luck. Always experiment first.
Bruce,
I would just go with the distilled water. With distilled water, the water is brought to a boil and the steam rises and condenses into another chamber, leaving the impurities and minerals behind.
And you can usually pick up a whole gallon of distilled water for under $1. If you or your wife irons, you can also use it for that, as well.
Tom
I’m using 50% distilled water and 50% window cleaner. I haven’t done a lot with it but so far, so good. Nice price too!
For Polly S, distilled water is a good thinner, but I’m surprised to learn that Polly S is still available. For Polly Scale, distilled water also works fine, although methyl hydrate can also be used. Personally, I don’t like any water-based paints for spraying, but thinning is occasionally required for brush-work, too.
Wayne
Hi, Bruce,
I use distilled water to thin water based paints. Works just fine. Cheaper than borscht by the gallon (pardon me, 4 litres!) at the drugstore. Almost as cheap as we pay for tap water here![:)] And I’d rather have something very pure and free from contaminants going through my airbrush. I use it to clean the airbrush after too. 70% iso alcohol is best for thinning and spraying on scenery. The 99% stuff is good for removing paint so I’ve heard. I’ve got some 99% stuff and tried using it for thinning India ink and the smell made us sick and drove us out of the basement. I’ve heard that rubbing alcohol has something added to it to make it easier to massage skin with it, but the druggist I asked about that didn’t think so. Maybe someone can comment on that.
As a custom painter, I use an 80/20 mix of water/70% isopropl alcohol. The alcohol acts as a wetting agent to prevent beading and also accellerates the drying. Only add enuff thinner to get a milk consistency. You can used tap water if your water is soft, otherwise use filtered or distilled water to prevent mineral stains.
I guess it is called poly scale now. I was always told that distilled water was “hungry water” and as such was good when first opened. But as time went by, various impurities began to re enter the water from the air inside the bottle. Therefore, is old distilled water still useable for thinner? I don’t want things growing in my airbrush!