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Price of Testors Enamel Thinner 1/2 Pint (8 oz)


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Hi all. Yesterday I went to my local Hobby Lobby with my 40% coupon, only to find that the Testors Universal Enamel Thinner 1/2 Pint (8 oz) price had increased from $9.99 to $14.99! WOW. So having said that, I wanted to ask everyone if there was a cheaper substitute that is available out there from somewhere like Lowes or Home Depot.

I am using an airbrush with primarily Testors enamel paints, and the use for the product will be for airbrushing, thinning and cleaning.

Any information greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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I don't think Testors is Lacquer Thinner, but pick up a gallon anyway, then look at the Low to No odor Mineral Spirits,they are paint thinners that are more refined/purified, they will suit you fine for airbrushing any enamel paints.

I like to use a 50/50 Lacquer thinner paint thinner mix, I 1st drop in my Lacquer thinner add paint mix, it will cut/thin the paint much better then paint thinner, then I'll add a bit of paint thinner to wet-en it a bit as Lacquer thinner does spray a bit dry.

Curt

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I do the same thing as you- get the Hobby Lobby Coupon for the Thinner. I came back to that after some problems with other thinners.

Something I do to make it last- only use it for thinning the paints! Use the cheap-o stuff to clean your airbrush. I actually use acetone for cleaning the enamels out of it. (not spraying, wiping and swabbing)

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For the past 40 or so years, I've used DuPont 3812S Enamel Reducer with my enamel paints (Testors, Testors MM, Humbrol and a few bottles of Pactra that are still usuable)as my thinner/clean up liquid of choice. Reason? It's relativly cheap (IIRC, when I first started using it, 3812S was about 1/3 as cheap as the equivilent amount of Testors thinner), It was readily available at at least two auto supply stores in town (Currently, it's a 50 mile round trip if I want a bottle of Testors), and lastly, I believe (due to smell and the way it acts with my enamels)that is the same liquid as the Testors. Having said all that, if I could no longer get the DuPont product, I would go with either laquer thinner or mineral spirits because both seem to work well with modeling enamels, are far cheaper and easier to get than the Testors thinner.

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I only ever use the Testors "Universal" thinner for airbrush thinning and maybe a flush cycle at the end of a color use. For brush cleaning (hand brushes and a teardown of an airbrush) I use other stuff. That way my supply of just that stuff lasts a long time and I continue to use it since I know what its thinning properties are like.

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Yessir, I also use lacquer thinner that I buy by the gallon to thin MM enamel paints. I still use Testor's thinner on occasion, but I use the Testor's airbrush thinner that comes in the 1/2 pint, black can. (product #1799) The stuff in the black can has something added that helps the paint bite into the plastic better than the stuff in the red can. However, like I said at the beginning, my main weapon for thinning MM enamels is lacquer thinner.

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