Hello all
Can anyone tell me if Scalecoate ll thinner is OK for the Model Master enamel?
Second I have a dual action air brush with three needles and ports. With the enamels do I use the smallest needle or a larger one?
Thanks [bow]
Lee
I do not know much about air brushes but I did spend nearly 17 years in the paint industry. The size of needle to use is related to the viscosity of the paint being sprayed. In the commercial paint industry manufactures usually recomend a specific size for application of their products. I do not know if the model paint industry does this or not. A manufactures website might contain this information. I would suggest that once your product is thinned experiement and see if a particular needle and nozzel combination works or not.
As far as thinning paint goes you must use the same solvent that the paint uses. Generally oil based paint can be thinned with paint thinner or mineral spirits. But do not use these in a waterbased paint or you will find yourself with a gooey mess. But if the paint is something like a high performance epoxy or a cabinet finish the solvents can be specific to the coating. Many available paint products list the primary ingredients on the container somewhere and that may tell you the base solvent to use to thin the product. With the limited size of a modeling product this may not be on the lables.
Read the warning lables on the thinner products too. There is a thing called a flash point. That is the ambient temperature at which vapors can ignite. Please note that they can ignite, not that they will everytime. Hot solvents have low flash points. One does not want to learn about flash point when the portable heater comes on the work shop that is filled with fumes from something like lacqour thinner. Many paint fumes are heavier than air too so they will collect closer to the floor nearer the pilot lights.
Hopes this helps some
I don’t know about Scalecoat thinner with Model Master paint, but I do know Model Master/Testors airbrush thinner works perfectly fine with Scalecoat II paint. Since both paints are enamels, I would assume both thinners would work with either brand.
If your air brush is like my old Badger model 200, the 3 sizes of needles and coresponding tips are used depending on how much paint you want flowing throught the brush. Medium is the general purpose size, fine is for fine detailing and weathering and coarse is for painting large areas like buildings.
I seem to remember reading on this forum that lacquer thinner was a suitable for these paints
Is this incorrect or correct?
And if incorrect, what is a suitable hardware/big box store substitute for the expensive airbrush thinner product?
In a pinch, lacquer thinners will thin most any solvent based paint. What I’ve found with using lacquer thinners is that it will destroy the gloss of the finish somewhat.
There’s a reason why manufacturers make a reducer specific for their paint line … it’s formulated to work specifically with their paint for optimum drying and finish. I found over the years, to obtain the best finish possible, use the manufacturer’s recommended products. I have a can each of Testors, Floquil, Scalecoat and Tru-Color thinner on hand and use them religiously with their corresponding finishes.
As a side note, I do find when I have to use Scalecoat II paint for a specific color, I get much better spraying and drying results using the Scalecoat I thinner.
Mark.
I use Xylol with all enamels, like Scalecoat, MM, Floquil. While Scalecoat thinner is a mixture of Tuolol and Xylol with a little bit of some others, these are the maiin components. They are also the main components in Floquils Diosol.
I buy Xylol by the gallon for generally under $15 at the Home Depot. When they have it in stock, I also get the Tuolol and mix it with the Xylol roughly 1/2 & 1/2. But either one will do the job.