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Today I bought a tin of Testors Thinner (red can) at Hobby Lobby.......There must be gold in it now as it cost $10.99(USD).....Will be buying a can of paint thinner/mineral spirits at Wallymart next for the bulk of painting............

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The Testor's thinner sure sound expensive but the good thing is one of those red cans will usually last me a whole year so I don't worry about it too much. The cheaper WalMart thinner is what I use for clean up.

In the past I tried some painting experiments with using thinners other than Testor's with Model Master paints, there were no major problems except for trying to paint fine details and getting a slightly rougher finish, the cheap thinners did not work as well as the Testor's.

If you are not concerned with the quality of your paint jobs go ahead and use cheap thinner, but considering how much most model kits cost these days I would rather spend a little more money on quality products to get a good finish on my models.

Matrixone

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This is what I use exclusively, Paint thinner runs $15.00 a gal, Lacquer is $20.00, never had a problem, I usually thin with a 50/50 mix of both, clean up "everything" with the Lacquer thinner.

Curt

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Edited by Netz
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Netz,

Nice painting on your models, if the cheaper thinner works for you and the type of models you build than that's great.

On smaller scale models with WWII Luftwaffe paint schemes I have found the Testor's thinner works the best. Larger scale models with single or two color paint schemes its not as critical to use higher quality thinners.

Here is what you can do with Model Master paints and the Testor's thinner:

1/72 scale

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1/48 scale

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1/32 scale

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All of the above models the camouflage schemes were painted freehanded, no masking unless a sharp line was needed.

If the cheaper hardware store type thinners would work for thinning my paints I would be using them right now but they don't perform as well for the precise painting I do.

Matrixone

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I have found the Testor's thinner works the best.

Same here. I've found the Testors airbrush thinner (with black label) works the best. I have not tried the bottle with red label yet, but I assume they are the same.

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Here's an issue I had that maybe someone can explain. A few days ago, I mixed Floquil primer with odorless mineral spirits. Mixed real well and went on the model beautifully. Today I mixed Model Masters paint with the same mineral spirits, and it clumped up and separated from each other in the bottle! :doh: Does MM paint only accept their type of thinner?

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Although I use acrylic paints almost exclusively, I also occasionally use enamel for some things. I found that the Model Master enamel thins very well with hardware-store variety White Spirit, which should be pretty cheap.

HTH.

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I've used lacquer thinner, mineral spirits and DuPont Automotive Enamel Reducer 3812S very successfully in Model Master, Testors, Humbrol and even some old large bottles of Pactra enamels (that are still useable) without any major problems (and most of those weren't the fault of the paint or thinner used, rather operator head space and timing problems).

Having said that, I've read on several forums that the odorless mineral spirits reacts adversely with both Testors and MM enamels. The most commonly accepted reason is the odorless mineral spirits has a different chemical composition than the original mineral spirits.

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The Testor's thinner sure sound expensive but the good thing is one of those red cans will usually last me a whole year so I don't worry about it too much.

Matrixone

Same here on how long it last............As said the yeoman work will be mineral spirits........and I also use homemade windshield washer fluid (clear) to thin and clean acrylics..........

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Here's an issue I had that maybe someone can explain. A few days ago, I mixed Floquil primer with odorless mineral spirits. Mixed real well and went on the model beautifully. Today I mixed Model Masters paint with the same mineral spirits, and it clumped up and separated from each other in the bottle! :doh:/> Does MM paint only accept their type of thinner?

Interesting..........I know if the MM is acrylic it sure will, but if enamel don't know..........I do not thin MM/enamels with lacquer thinner as it will separate if shelved...........

What I miss is the old Floquil Dio-Sol Thinner......... :crying2:

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