Comparing Thinners with Tamiya Acrylic Paint

Comparing Thinners with Tamiya Acrylic Paint
In this video I compare the finished result of using Tamiya Acrylic paint with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, Tamiya Lacquer Thinner, and Tamiya X-20A Thinner. There are definitely some differences in the finish of each result, so check it out and see which one you think would work best for your painting situations!

[@jstockton303]

Very good comparison, thanks for sharing you opinions on the uses of IPA vs X20A

[@pdrrengineer1404]

Thanks for the info Joey. Very well done comparison test.

[@JDsHouseofHobbies]

Have you ever tried Mr. Color Leveling Thinner? It's by Mr. Hobby and it's great stuff! I use it with Tamiya paints and the finish is excellent.

[@JoeyBPhotography]

I have not, I've been told by others it's good stuff as well. I might pick some up at some point

[@dustinbuckley30]

Jd can u send me a link of which one to get I got some but I think it's the wrong stuff for tamiya acrylic

[@Caboose121]

Thanks Joey. Nice to see a good comparison of the thinners

[@HumancityJunction]

Absolutely fantastic. Thanks for doing this omparison video.

[@donwhead]

Very detailed comparison, thank you!

[@timothybogans3905]

never used anything other than x20a to thin Tamiya paint, have tried ammo acrylic thinner it works as well

[@BoxcarJerry]

Thanks for sharing the results and doing this. All good info to know . Take care Joey

[@paulhumphriesz4557]

great video glad I found it!. I'm new to Airbrushing glad you showed the difference in all 3 and explained your views on them, why does no one else do it. I will stick to the X20-A for now maybe try the Tamiya orange cap retarder type Lacquer thinner and see what the results will be.

[@JoeyBPhotography]

Glad it was helpful! Airbrushing starts to feel like second nature after only a short while, it's very freeing once you get used to it

[@houseofrandomness]

Great comparison! Very useful information for the hobby.

[@harperlarry49]

Nicely done. The only paint I use in my airbrush is Tamiya and 99% IPA. I really don't know the mix ratio. It can be as low as 50/50 and as high as 75-80% IPA. In fact when I buy a new jar of Tamiya the first thing I do is top it off with 99% IPA. I do have a bottle of the X-20, maybe I will give it a try one of these days. Again, great test. Thanks for sharing. Be safe - Larry.

[@JoeyBPhotography]

My mix isn't always 50:50, it's all over the place depending how much color I want coming out of the airbrush. I chose 50:50 for this test just to have some kind of control for comparison. Thanks for stopping by!

[@Alfredo.Barros]

I had similar results testing this type of thinners. With IPA, Tamiya paints dry VERY fast but the finish with X-20 is better, smoth and soft overall (but it dries a bit slower) You can use Mr.Color Leveling Thinner too for Tamiya Acrylics and Tamiya LP and works great, it adds a strong sheen and glossy colors look like a mirror. Just a small note that probably have small applications. Mr.Color Leveling thinner plus Tamiya Clears for candy effects are risky, since the clear paint + that thinner tends to eat the color beneath. I tried many MANY combinations, drying times and so on and 99% of the time the paint beneath showed weird circles or dots, ruining the overall work. I learned that the hard way, destroying a Samus figure that took me a lot of work haha. Even using strong Lacquer paint metallic bases, fully cured gave me that issue. Later on i tried Gaianotes with Leveling Thinner and 0 issues, worked amazing. Great video by the way, i love this very niche tests that are ideally for people like me that want the best for their projects.

[@edwardnash7411]

By what you are showing it looks like theX-20A is lighter then the other two or is it just the way the pitcher turn out??

[@JoeyBPhotography]

There's a slight sheen from the X-20A, which I think is making it appear lighter

[@davestrains6816]

Very nice info, thanks for sharing. Dave

[@johnarthur6302]

Great comparison, Joey. I didn’t catch you mentioning it but in case you didn’t, IPA is super cheap, too. Great for all purpose but nice to know how it works next to X20A as well. Thanks for the information!

[@JoeyBPhotography]

Thanks! Oh yes, by far IPA is the cheapest of the three.

[@andyroo3022]

Thanks, saved a lot of people testing the products to find the best results. Good product test.

[@JoeyBPhotography]

Thanks for stopping by. These are my results, so I'd also encourage folks to do their own tests/ratios.

[@lucgagnon5241]

I'm using Tamiya paint on a large scale on a lot of things like model train cars, structures, etc. I'm always thinning it with 70% IPA and I like the result. 99% of the paint finish I'm using is flat. I never put more than 35% of thinner. It dries very fast, it can be masked 5 minutes after one or more thin coats and it never chipped out when removing the tape. But at the end, it would've been interesting from you to test the paint resistance on every sample you did. This is the main issue with model paint. How strong it sticks on plastic and keeps on it's flat finish.

[@MyFingerLakesRailwayLayout]

New sub here. Finger Lakes Paul sent me 😎

[@JoeG-firehousewhiskey]

Awesome comparison, thanks for the video!

[@kevinreed4027]

Joey, just watched your A&A build part 3. I have to ask where did you get the "Programmer" tee shirt? I was a programmer analyst for over twenty years. I want that shirt.

[@JoeyBPhotography]

My wife found it on Zulily.com I believe, she gave it to me as a gift a couple of years ago. Thanks for stopping by!

[@REKlaus]

Thanks for the comparisons. Tamiya USA says that using their lacquer thinner gives a harder finish with their acrylic paints.

[@JoeyBPhotography]

A harder finish feels like an accurate statement on their part

[@gasgassteve]

One thing to note . Using the lacquer thinner give the paint a lot more bite . Quite a few people out there in the web , say they don't use a primer at all . The paint bites well to bare plastic . I use primer for my armor modeling . But the main reason is for pre shading before base color . This can help with shadow effects as well as brighter areas that the sun and weather affects more . Other wise I might not use Primer when using lacquer thinner

[@JoeyBPhotography]

For those that want to skip a primer, that info might be useful for them!

[@Juank05]

what ratios did you use with each?

[@JoeyBPhotography]

50:50

[@ShawnCalay]

The chalky feel is your breaking down the paint ....dont thin with something you use for paint stripper....

[@JoeyBPhotography]

I've thinned with IPA for a long time, but I typically don't use it when I want a smooth surface. I typically use it for weathering and painting scenery. I've had good success with it, this is just a comparison of the various media

[@rrl4245]

Thanks for this. I've always used X-20A, and been happy with it. But I wondered about the Lacquer thinner. And anything that makes airbrush cleaning easier is great! I do wonder how the lacquer thinner or IPA would effect the 'hairspray chipping' technique.

[@JoeyBPhotography]

Hmm, yeah not sure if it would if the chipping effect had enough time to full dry. Might need to test that out

[@Peter-vl9fz]

Thanks

[@DS-gk8vr]

Great comparison, can I use tamiya acrylics without a primer?

[@JoeyBPhotography]

Sure, but you'll get better adhesion with one.

[@_Fanzy_]

How slow are we talking on the x-20A?

[@JoeyBPhotography]

It's been so long since I did this test, but compared to the IPA it's generally slower drying time before I apply another coat. It's been a while since I airbrushed anything lately, but maybe I'd wait about 10 minutes before another coat? It's not anything longer than that. I'll be airbrushing again in the near future, so if I remember I'll update this comment after that

[@_Fanzy_]

@@JoeyBPhotography Alright, thank you!

[@WickedPinfish]

What ratios were you using for each or were the amounts the same?

[@JoeyBPhotography]

50:50 for each

[@WickedPinfish]

Thanks for the reply@@JoeyBPhotography

[@FreedomAboveAll]

Nice video. Many thanks!