thinner for scalecoat paint

[fisker4jc]

In the interim,while we wait for Scalecoat products to become available again (fingers cross), what cn I use to thin scalecoat paint?

[gmpullman]

I seem to recall this came up not too long ago?

https://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/297447.aspx

 

I've tried two different lacquer thinners but they did not work. Scalecoat is an enamel afterall.

I had good luck with Xylene. You can still find quart cans of it in some hardware stores or Sherwin Williams paint stores.

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/paint-and-supplies/chemicals-and-cleaners/paint-thinners-and-solvents/1438589?store=17800

TEST it on a scrap carbody. I recently sprayed some Scalecoat 2 on some Walthers passenger cars using Xylene as a thinner and iit went well. Allow about a WEEK for the paint to cure!

Good Luck, Ed

[maxman]

gmpullman

I had good luck with Xylene.

What paint to thinner ratio did you use?

Thanks

 

[gmpullman]

maxman

What paint to thinner ratio did you use?

2/3 paint to 1/3 thinner. Gravity feed Iwata Eclipse at about 18 psi.

Conrail 11 12 sides L by Edmund, on Flickr

Cheers, Ed

[richhotrain]

Thanks for posting that info, Ed.

Rich

[AntonioFP45]

Hello guys,

Years back, an occasion occured where I ran out of Scale Coat's thinner while airbrushing several models. Meanwhile, I noticed the similarity between Scale Coat II and some of the automotive paint products that I used on my previous job. 

I decided to experiment thinning SCII with "automotive" lacquer thinner.  However, rather than use the full strength versions I decided to use "wash thinner".  Still automotive lacquer but not as potent since it's formulated for washing out paint spray guns. I tried H.E.T based on a friend's recommendation.  Success on the first try! Have been using it since. The downer is that it has gone up in price, courtesy of our economy. I paid $12 for a 1-gallon can that lasted me nearly a decade!  Now it's up to between $23 - $25, but I will be purchasing another gallon can soon.

NOTE: The "lacquer thinners" sold at businesses, such as Lowes, Home Depot, Ace, and "Wally World" do NOT have the same formulations as automotive lacquer thinners, like H.E.T.

The new "environmentally friendly" formulas don't always mesh well with the old school solvent based products. Except for California, automotive Wash thinners, like H.E.T, may still be found at your local Auto Body supply businesses where the personnel are familiar with the products.   

Ed's recommendation of thinning is a good one, 2/3 paint to 1/3 thinner, although sometimes I thin a little more depending upon the actual color as some formulas are slightly thicker than others. Always test a scrap piece first before spraying the model, to gauge your distance and stroke speed and make needed adjustments. Then have some fun! 

Once you see a smooth finish on the test panel, go for the gusto!

[Overmod]

Be careful with Grow 1501: its formula is more akin to a paint remover than a paint 'thinner' (it contains methyl acetate, methyl alcohol, toluene, and tetrahydrofuran as well as V&MP naphtha) so use REALLY GOOD VENTILATION anytime you have the container open or are letting the coating dry.  (Of course it helps that you have something ready to hand to clean anything out of your airbrush after working!)

I wonder if one of the 'flow enhancers' for auto-body paints might be serviceable here (example Custom Shop KE-218).  Of course these are at least as expensive as the 1501, and have ingredients needing much the same respect, but they are designed to improve spray characteristics...

[AntonioFP45]

Overmod you're spot on. 

I should have mentioned that users should wear a respirator and spray the shell/item(s) in a ventilated area or inside of a portable spray booth. 

I did find that 1501 enabled  SC II with very good flow and leveling characteristics. The 1/3 (33%) thinning works well, but thnning SCII up to 40% (for slightly thinker mixes like grays) also worked well with no adverse effects. To me, the 1501 acts like a weakened version of the old DuPont 3661 thinner. 

But this, again, is just a suggested workable alternative to Scale Coat's thinner, if it's not available. 

[fisker4jc]

I should have asked the quetion more specifically.  What to use to clean brushes (air brushes and real paint brushes)?

[Overmod]

fisker4jc

I should have asked the quetion more specifically.  What to use to clean brushes (air brushes and real paint brushes)?

While 'thinner' and 'cleaner' are mixes of chemicals with somewhat different characteristics, we  have recently (in the last prior couple of posts, in fact) noted that the Grow 1501 is actually more a cleaner (in the sense it will unbind and remove paint from things) than a true vehicle-thinner, although AnronioFP45 indicates that it works well for the latter purpose with modeling paints.

Whether or not you could improve brush cleaning with added small amounts of surfactants/detergents is something for the community to comment on.