What is a good ratio for Model Masters lacquer?

[Plumcrazy Preston]

How much thinner to paint? How does one measure this? Mark the jar with a Sharpie? Do painting jars and cups have graduations for measurement? I plan to salvage what Plum Crazy I have left in a couple rattle cans by decanting and mixing for airbrushing to hopefully salvage a model I have in progress. The paint job I stated with turned out to be a disaster with blistering (air bubbles, curdling) right from the rattle cans. I will have to wet-sand my model smooth then finish the job with an airbrush. I stared with MM lacquer and I have to try to somehow finish it with the same kind of paint. I don't want to throw a $40 amt model kit in the dumpster. I started this kit way back last December and have to rescue it somehow. Some buffoon sold me highly-defective rattle-can paint. 

 

Another question: won't plain old-fashioned mineral spirits work well for cleaning airbrushes? How about just cleaning them with lacquer thinner? 

Edited September 12, 2021 by Plumcrazy Preston

[Sandboarder]

Dude I answered this in your other thread (for most lacquers) Maybe do a google search or watch some air brushing videos on YouTube where they use the same paints that you wish to use. Then you’ll learn what ratios etc you will need.

[Can-Con]

David, just decant the paint from the can into a bottle and let it gas out for a while. It's probably the propellent in the can making the problems.

Most times when I do this I add a little thinner for airbrushing. Maybe 10%, maybe less. Just try spraying it first though, it might be just right without adding any extra thinner. 

[Cool Hand]

For most, if not all lacquers. 1:1 or 1:1.5

There is a plenty of new paint's out there now a days, that there is no need to use Testors or Model Master anymore. they are from a by gone era.

In Australia we have two hobby paint suppliers, SMS paints and Outlaw paints. They both produce ready to spray acrylic lacquer which is quality and super easy to shoot through an airbrush.

Im certain there are suppliers in the US who also produce ready to use airbrush paint maybe you could see whats available. Model Car World is a name that often is mentioned on here and they have very specific paints.

Also you could check this guy out, he has done a lot of testing with many brands of paint. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_66OBQNO8jXkHjlxnnxT-A/videos

Edited September 12, 2021 by Cool Hand

[Plumcrazy Preston]

Actually, mineral spirits is not harming my amt plastic. Slowly but surely with an old toothbrush, the Model Master lacquer is stripping off. At least I can get it scrubbed to where the bare plastics is showing in some parts. That I used primer first may have prevented the lacquer from biting into the plastic. I could try lacquer thinner to strip off the remaining lacquer, but who knows what that might do to my plastic. I'm sold on the Don Yost method I saw on video. Old-fashioned Testors enamel in the little bottle, equal part lacquer thinner, no primer, Paasche H brush and patent-leather-shoeshine perfection. I've decided to stop farting around with lacquer paints for good. Enamel by Testors seems much more friendly to work with. 

Edited September 12, 2021 by Plumcrazy Preston

[Miatatom]

Isopropyl alcohol will remove most lacquers. I spray rattle can lacquers without thinning them.

[Plumcrazy Preston]

I will have to try that alcohol along with my gun-cleaning bronze bore brush on a cleaning rod section. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Seriously, if you’re going to start airbrushing anyway, ditch the Model Master garbage and get some “real” paint. 
why mess around with all of this decanting and thinning nonsense when you can get the best model car paint on the planet from MCW or Scale Finishes ready to spray straight from the bottle?

The product puts anything that Testors ever made to shame, you can get virtually any color that you can imagine, and you don’t have to jump through all of these ridiculous hoops to get there.

Oh, by the way, Testors spray enamels?........even worse!!

 

 

Steve

Edited September 12, 2021 by StevenGuthmiller

[Painted Black]

40 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

ditch the Model Master garbage

If anyone has any MM they want to ditch, just let me know, I;ll take all I can get...

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Painted Black said:

If anyone has any MM they want to ditch, just let me know, I;ll take all I can get...

I’ve probably got a bunch that I’ll never use, but I won’t waste a penny shipping it anywhere.

 

 

 

Steve

[Dpate]

I have a ton of MM acrylics that i got from hobby lobby when they have the clearance sale.  $1 a bottle so i bought a ton of different colors.  Thinning i just thin until i can see the paint run down the side of the bottle or mixing cup and can see through it a little bit.  If you can see through it when you run it down the side of the jar or cup you thinned too much.  Basically how i do Tamiya line of paints.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I should probably clarify that when I’m complaining about MM, or Testors in general, I’m talking about the spray cans.

I still use a lot of Testors flat enamels in the bottles for a lot of things, but the spray cans, whether they be lacquers or enamels have always been sub-par in my opinion. 
I discovered, like many others, that there are just far too many superior alternatives available today to spend my time trying to figure out a consistent way of dealing with the stuff.

 

 

Steve

[Plumcrazy Preston]

Well, the mineral sprits did destroy the thin little steering colum for my amt Kenworth W-925. I tried the rubbing alcohol: not much help. I could not get the rest of the cab/hood parts stripped down clean anyway so I just ordered a whole new  amt kit from eBay. $56 and change for that stupid thing including tax and shipping. No more rattle cans for models (or automotive trim work even) for me, period! I learned an expensive hard knock here. There are no shortcuts in this hobby. Now, I will need to get a Paasche brush and all of its trimmings. 

 

Nobody here likes the Don Yost modified method with Testors enamels? What was Plum Crazy gone sour grapes is now planned to be Testors Grape purple in the near future. 

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2021 by Plumcrazy Preston

[OldNYJim]

I’ve seen @LoneWolf15 do some pretty good paintjobs with the Donn Yost method, if that helps 

[Miatatom]

I believe LoneWolf15 is Don Yost. I may be wrong. ?

[peteski]

57 minutes ago, Miatatom said:

I believe LoneWolf15 is Don Yost. I may be wrong. ?

According to the forum profile yes that is him.

[NOBLNG]

Any spray bomb that I have decanted I have been able to spray with no further thinning. I don’t even let it gas out. I figure if it can be sprayed straight from the can it should be gassed out enough after being sprayed twice….never had a problem. YMMV.