I've concentrated on the thinning of paints but often these solutions are suitable for cleaning airbrushes too. For thorough cleaning, celluslose thinners, windolene (ammonia based) and proprietary airbrush cleaners are recommend.
Please feel free to post comments and additions below.
Painting Thinning | |||||||
Brand/Type | Own Brand | White Spirit | IPA | Water | Cellulose | Other | Notes |
Humbrol Enamel | yes | yes | yes | ||||
Humbrol Acrylic | n/a | yes* | Klear | *hit & miss | |||
Humbrol Clear Cotes | yes* | yes | *slow drying with own brand, website says use cellulose | ||||
Tamiya Acrylic | yes | yes | yes | ||||
Gunze Sangyo Mr Color Lacquer | yes | ||||||
Gunze Sangyo Acrylic | yes | yes | yes | yes | GS Mr Color | ||
Testors Model Master Acrylic | yes | ||||||
Testors Model Master Enamel | yes | ||||||
Testors Model Master Lacquer | yes | ||||||
LifeColor Acrylic | yes | yes | Tamiya* | *issues with blues | |||
Vallejo Model Color/Air Acrylic | yes | ||||||
Citadel Acrylic | n/a | yes* | Tamyia** | *use flow enhancer, **IPA too hot | |||
Xtracolor Enamel | yes | yes | |||||
Xtracrylic | yes | yes | spray quite thin as they clog | ||||
Revell Acrylic | yes | yes | yes | ||||
Polly Scale Acrylic | yes | ||||||
White Ensign Enamel | yes | Humbrol | |||||
Mister Kit Acrylic | yes |
IPA - Iso-Propyl Alcohol
Flow Enhancer - Acrylic additive to achieve smoother finish, available from art shops eg. Windsor & Newton
Some thinners are "too hot" and can cause paint to 'curdle', thorough mixing can sometimes bring it back to a usable consistency.
Tamiya thinners seem to be a weaker ("less hot") IPA solution.
Xtracrylic is a different formulation (possibly ketone based) to most acrylics and so generally doesn't thin well with alcohols (*in light of recent comments by PB I need to re-check this)