Question about auto. paint from NAPA

[fiatboy]

I bought a "special mix' of Chevy Marina Blue from NAPA.  Actually I bought 2 paints, the other, a Mopar color.  I shot the Mopar paint through an airbrush, and the results were fantastic.  I took the Marina Blue to my LHS and they said I needed a 'matching' thinner/reducer from NAPA.  The person at NAPA said this was not so.  (He saved me $21.00.)  I suppose I should just try the Marina Blue on a plastic spoon.  And if it needs to be thinned, I'm thinking isopropyl alchohol.  Any comments on this would be great.  Thanks

[peteski]

If we are talking about automotive enamels/lacquers you will need something much stronger than isopropyl alcohol. Any automotive paint reducer will likely work, as will a hardware store type lacquer thinner. But like you said, test it first.

Are you saying that the Mopar color (paint for full size cars) was shot through the airbrush unthinned?  Or was the Mopar paint in a spray can which you decanted into an airbrush?

When you buy custom mix automotive paints from 1:1 scale car shops, it usually comes in a metal paint can, and it is very thick. It needs to be thinned quite a bit.

[fiatboy]

Hi Peteski.  This Mopar paint came from a paint can.  The man at NAPA said that all modern automotive paint is enamel.  I really do not remember what I thinned it with.  I may have shot it thru my airbrush unthinned.  The man said that the Marina Blue was already thin enough, by just shaking the can.  I told him it would be applied to model car styrene, and he thought it would be OK.  If it needs to be thinned, what would you recommend?  I guess I should try various thinners and spray the results on plastic spoons.  Thanks

[Bainford]

13 hours ago, fiatboy said:

  If it needs to be thinned, what would you recommend? 

I recommend hardware store lacquer thinner for all enamels and lacquers used for hobby painting.

[Rat Roaster]

If you're spraying lacquer thinner on bare plastic or most aerosol primers you're probably gonna have a bad day.

[Art Anderson]

17 hours ago, fiatboy said:

Hi Peteski.  This Mopar paint came from a paint can.  The man at NAPA said that all modern automotive paint is enamel.  I really do not remember what I thinned it with.  I may have shot it thru my airbrush unthinned.  The man said that the Marina Blue was already thin enough, by just shaking the can.  I told him it would be applied to model car styrene, and he thought it would be OK.  If it needs to be thinned, what would you recommend?  I guess I should try various thinners and spray the results on plastic spoons.  Thanks

FWIW, (and I am coming to this conversation with more than 6 decades of model car building experience (started building at age 8, in 1952), be it enamel, acrylic lacquer, or straight nitrocellulose lacquer,  cheap lacquer thinner, such as can be found just about anywhere (outside of Kalifornia), works not only just fine, but IMO, the best possible thinner for airbrushing any of those still common automotive paints.  Been doing it since the middle 1960's. with great results.

Art

[Art Anderson]

1 hour ago, Rat Roaster said:

If you're spraying lacquer thinner on bare plastic or most aerosol primers you're probably gonna have a bad day.

Geez, I must have missed that warning--as I airbrush all my models with acrylic lacquers, from primer to finish--never a problem!

Art

[Rat Roaster]

2 hours ago, Art Anderson said:

Geez, I must have missed that warning--as I airbrush all my models with acrylic lacquers, from primer to finish--never a problem!

Art

I'm makin' popcorn

[fiatboy]

OK, everybody, thank you so much for your input.  Now, is 'test-spraying' on plastic-spoons still an important technique?  Again, thanks everybody!

[peteski]

2 hours ago, fiatboy said:

OK, everybody, thank you so much for your input.  Now, is 'test-spraying' on plastic-spoons still an important technique?

See

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/130412-plastic-spoons-for-testing-paint/