windex - made by Johnsons?

[lesthegringo]

Seen some stuff called Windex on sale here, made by Johnsons, want to know if it's the same stuff you guys use for thinning future and acrylics. It's lime scented, not sure if that makes any difference

[SonyKen]

Les,

Yes, Windex is a trademark product of S.C. Johnson Family of household products here in the U.S. All I remember about the smell of Windex was the ammonia smell. I don't know does limes smell like ammonia? I personally use denatured alcohol to thin Future if I have had the bottle for a long time. Windex is formulated with denatured alcohol along with the ammonia, and I use straight ammonia to clean my airbrush after I have used Future. Most of the time my stuff is new and doesn't need thinning. On acrylics, I use the recommend thinner that is sold by the paint manufacture. Hope this helps!

Best regards,

Ken Bailey

(SonyKen)

Edited February 28, 2013 by SonyKen

[Parabat]

This has been taken from the Swanny's Models page titled 'The Complete Future' (The full page can be found HERE

" I want to talk about Windex for a moment here. Windex is an ammonia based window cleaner, it has a transparent blue color to it. In the United Kingdom a comparable product is Windolene or if you are in New Zealand you can look for "Mr. Mussle". In Singapore you should be looking for a product called "Kao Glass Magiclean". What it's called is not so important as what is in it - ammonia. In the Netherlands and in Portugal the equivalent of Windex is Glassex.

A cautionary note on Humbrol masking liquid, Humbrol is an ammonia based masking liquid and the ammonia will break down Future so DO NOT use this product to mask over Future floor polish. However, with this same information in mind, you can use Humbrol masking liquid to strip Future from select areas of a model without harming the underlying coats of paint.

When using Future in an airbrush, to clean your brush all you need to do is shoot some Windex or other ammonia based window cleaner through your airbrush. I know that some modelers like to shoot straight ammonia through their brushes but this can cause some pretty strong odors - similar to a barnyard. I don't know about you but I got off the farm many years ago and do not care to be reminded of the olfactory joys of my childhood.

Okay, so what if you are a little careless and get the Future on your hands? Washing with soap and water will take care of you.

One modeler reported that he had fogging problems after using superglue, here is an excerpt from his solution using ammonia:

I dipped a q-tip into pure household ammonia and started to scrub the canopy. Well, it worked PERFECTLY. In less than 30 seconds the future was stripped, and the fogging went with it, and I was back down the original clear plastic surface, undamaged. Amazingly, even though I had painted the frames after dipping in future, the ammonia did not attack the future under the painted frames - the paint stayed intact.

So next time you dip a canopy in future and something goes wrong, like dust, a fingerprint, or a thick spot in a corner, just take a q-tip and straight ammonia and you can undo it in seconds. "

[ChippyWho]

Dunno about 'Windolene' -haven't seen it since I was a kid (I use the trigger-spray stuff that smells of vinegar for window cleaning), but I'm sure it was a thick, pink cream that would need industrial thinning in itself. Think Pepto Bismol but nicer smelling! I'm gonna look for some at the store today; it may have changed over the years.

(I, of course, am still the same fresh-faced, carefree youth...what mirror??? AAAAAAAARRRGGGHH!)