Thinning Polly S

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Does anybody know anything about thinning Polly S with Windex?? Thanks.

2

I use distilled water. Works great, and it’s cheaper than Windex.

3

Thanks a bunch!! I was just jumping on the forum to bump this!!

What is there, if any, advantage to using Windex. I plan on going with the distilled water, but was just more curious about the Windex than anything.

4

Do you mean Polly S or PolyScale? The former is actually a latex paint and no longer in production. The latter is an acrylic.

Although you can thin acrylics with Windex and the like, I generally thin paints with the thinner recommended by the manufacturer. I clean my airbrush and tools with Windex. Many people are drawn to various substitutes when they see the price of brand name thinner. However, I found that restricting the use of the "good stuff " to actual paint thinning is pretty economical.

KL

5

I’ve even seen windshield washer fluid as a thinner mentioned here. Talk about economical…

6

Some feedback based on personal experience:

Floquil/Testors recommends thinning the paint with water; distilled water works well. I live in Florida, so tap water is out of the question.

You can also use PollyS paint thinner, ammonia free Windex or windshield washer fluid as they have Ethyl alcohol, ethanol or similar ingredients in common. This works well as it limits paint beading and sprays very smooth.

I have also tried isopropyl alcohol at 70% and at 90%; the 70% works similar to the ethanol solution, but is slighly grainer. I use 90% when weathering; mix it with dark colors to create washes and stains.

Caution: not all windshield washer fluid is the same. Some brands have impurities in the mix which can clog your brush or ruin your paint job. I have had good results with Extreme Blue by Camco. Which ever brand you choose, poor some of it in a clear glass container and examine it under a bright light.

If you are curious, try them all on a test model; pick the one you like the best.

Happy Modeling !

7

It is looking as if distilled water is the way to go.

8

Thanks Carl!

I have plenty of distilled water on hand but will experiment with the dark blue ammonia free Windex.

I like thinning with the alcohol when weathering. Very effective! Only catch is that with an airbrush the paint can start to dry on the needle after several minutes of not spraying so it’s smart to flush out the airbrush and wipe off the needle as soon as the job is finished.