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Thinning Mr. Color


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Has anyone else out there using Mr. Color found that it is necessary to thin that brand of paint a little bit more than you would other brands?

 

I'm finding that in order for me to prevent a stringy mess out of the airbrush, I have to thin Mr. Color at a rate of up to 80/20 of Mr. Thinner to Paint. With other brands a 50/50 rate pretty much does the job flawlessly.

 

I'm just wondering because I have absolutely no problems with any other brands at all.

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I use a higher thinner to paint ratio for Mr. C than with, say, Tamiya, but not 80/20. It has a rather short "usability" window once put into the paint cup. That might be due to the climate....generally hot and muggy and I airbrush in the garage.

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I had to use Mr. Color paint on a diecast repair last year, since it was the only Flat Black that would match the original color (apparently, that was the paint that they used at the factory in China)...gadzooks, that stuff was a nightmare. I thinned it about 60/40 thinner-paint...and it still wanted to clog up my airbrush after two or three passes.

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I've not yet had a chance to try Mr. Color, but I'm told there is a "Mr. Color Leveling Thinner" which has a retarder in it to slow the drying time so the paint levels out without runs or orange peel (hence the name). You might give it a try. Posters on other forums have reported the same problem that you have experienced and also reported that the Leveling Thinner seemed to solve it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is pretty funny!

 

I was coming here today to ask this very question! I had my first experience with Mr. Color yesterday and ran into the stringy mess myself. Glad to know it wasn't just me!

(and now I know what to look for too!) Do you purchase that direct from Japan, or do you have an outlet here in the US that sells it?

 

Thanks guys!

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Tim, et al...

 

I had actually meant to follow up on this, but it is indeed the case that thinning Mr. Color at a much higher thinner ratio is necessary. In playing around with it, I'm finding that for airbrush use, I'm needing to thin it at about 80/20 thinner to paint. At this ratio, it goes on absolutely beautifully! The same ratio applies for Mr. Surfacer, as well. For the longest time, I thought it was my airbrush that was the problem - I replaced the needle (unnecessarilly, in retrospect) several times to no avail. I'm even finding that at the 80/20 ratio, I can use the cheap Wal-Mart lacquer thinner to thin for airbrush use as it seems to have no adverse reaction with Mr. Color.

 

I buy my Mr. Color from the LHS - it's much cheaper that way than having to buy directly from overseas.

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Thanks Mike,

 

I too had thought my airbrush was acting up when I started yesterday. I did find that if I used more thinner the problem got better, but I was "sure" it was going to be too thin, so I stopped. I ended up using much more paint than I normally would, but I did finsh the project.

I'll have to pay a little more attention when I get to shows to see about getting some of the thinner with the leveler. I do not have a great deal of this paint here, and this was my first experience - glad that I found this thread rather than pitching the bottles.

Thanks again!

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My experience has been that the Mr Thinner (of various names) works better with Mr Color than the cheaper thinners I can buy in bulk.

 

Also, the 'stringy mess' comes from the thinner drying as the mix exits the nozzle of the brush. The physics is pretty simple, but basically it forms a long polymer thread and looks like 'cotton candy' - I have never had to thin it to 80/20, 50/50 is about as far as I've ever gone. It's also entirely dependant on the air source and atmospherics.

 

I have found if you dail the flow way back and paint at a very close range to the model, most of the cotton candy never gets a chance to form.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 1 month later...

What type of thinner do you get in Mr. Color with the solvent based acrylics? I have some russian green and I thought I would give testors lacquer thinner and have been having diffaculties.

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As said above, Mr Color Leveling Thinner works best. The retarder makes all the difference. You could try adding naptha to regular Mr Color thinner I suppose. I've also picked up some acrylic lacquer retarding thinner at a local auto paint store and it seems to be identical to Mr Color Leveling Thinner. If you try to find it where you are, make sure you phrase it as I do -automotive acrylic lacquer retarding thinner. The retarding agent in all of these is naptha.

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Don't you just hate having to have an advanced college degree in chemistry in order to paint a plastic model kit? That same question goes as well for the adhesives we have to select to assemble the plastic model. I'm surprised that OSHA does not required us to receive a Material Hazard Safety Data Sheet from the manufacturer with each purchase of a one-ounce bottle of paint or tube of glue. :smiley13:

 

"Don't drink it or sniff it, or you will go to jail, or the hospital, or the morgue." :smiley11:

 

Ed

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  • 1 month later...

I mix Mr. Color 50/50 to 60/40 when using Mr. Color Leveling Thinner and it works great. I also use Tamiya's Lacquer Thinner at the same ratio with equally good results.

 

David

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have lots of experience with Mr Color----it's my paint of choice. I can tell you the the answer is Mr. Color LEVELING thinner. 100% gauranteed.

MJ

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