Thinners
One question decides everything here: which paint are you thinning? Enamel Thinners readies Humbrol Enamel for the airbrush and doubles as the brush cleaner for solvent work. Acrylic Thinners does the same for Acrylic paint, improving drying time, adhesion and usability over plain water.
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What thins enamel, what thins acrylic
Enamel paint thins with Enamel Thinners, mixed on a palette or in the airbrush fluid cup. Acrylic paint thins with Acrylic Thinners, improving drying time and adhesion. Nothing here suits the aerosols, which spray as they come.
What thinning does to drying time
Mixed at 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner, each bottle halves its paint's drying time. Different ratios shift drying differently, so treat the 2:1 mix as the baseline for airbrush work and adjust from there. Thinner coats also carry less risk of runs on detailed surfaces.
Cleaning brushes with Enamel Thinners
Enamel Thinners washes brushes after enamel paint, washes, cotes and Model Filler. Thin the residue down to a high ratio of thinner and wash it off. After acrylic paint, wash brushes with water or with Acrylic Thinners; the thinner itself cleans up with water. The 28ml and 125ml bottles sit in the wider Coatings and Thinners range.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Humbrol acrylics need a special thinner?
No: plain water thins Humbrol Acrylic at 2 parts paint to 1 part water, and cleans the brushes while the paint is wet. Acrylic Thinners is there when you want more than water. It improves drying time, adhesion and usability, and greatly improves airbrushing.
Why use Acrylic Thinners instead of water?
For the finish rather than the convenience. It greatly improves airbrushing and improves the usability and quality of brush painting. At 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner it halves the drying time of Acrylic paint. It also washes brushes after acrylic use, and cleans up with plain water afterwards.
How much thinner do I add to enamel paint?
The standard mix is 2 parts paint to 1 part Enamel Thinners, on a palette for brushing or in the fluid cup for airbrushing. That ratio readies enamel for spraying. You can vary the mix for a thinner or heavier coat; drying time shifts with the ratio.
Will thinned paint dry faster?
Yes. At the 2:1 ratio, Enamel Thinners halves the drying time of enamel paint. That matters when a build needs two coats, each hard-dry before the next. Ratios other than 2:1 change drying time by different amounts, so keep the mix consistent across a session.