Paint thinner, paint leveler, etc.: What I the difference?

[conchan]

Paint thinner, paint leveler, paint reducer, etc: what is the difference in terms of painting with acrylic paint. (Ie Tamiya and Mr. Color paints.

Stay safe and enjoy!

[Dave G.]

Both the Mr Color and Tamiya acrylics to my knowledge are acrylic hybrid lacquers. Vs Mr Hobby Aqueous which is true water borne acrylic paint for instance. As such MC and Tamiya use solvent lacquer thinner or in the case of Tamiya you could use alcohol. You can also use Tamiya acrylic thinner which is an alcohol blend. The My Color thinners work well in both brands. These are fairly mild lacquer thinners. Mr Color Leveling thinner has retarder in it which slows the initial dry and allows extra flow out of the paint which induces leveling. Or you could buy their retarder and add that to the plain lacquer thinner and make a variable blend according to how much you use. So that's the "thinner" thing for those paints. It's worth noting that Tamiya too has lacquer thinner, retarder and a slow dry lacquer thinner available for use in their acrylic line or lacquers. According to Tamiya's website, to use lacquer thinner in their acrylic paints produces a harder finish than the acrylic thinner does. However either can be used.

Paint reducers are generally associated with enamels but it may be that some acrylics term their thinning medium as reducer. In enamel reducers are usually associated with containing some form of spirits, be that mineral spirits or otherwise. Where thinners are lacquer/alcohol etc. They are all solvents but of different makeup. Enamel reducers / spirits won't work in lacquer based products but it's pretty common practice by quite a few folks to use lacquer thinner in enamels.

Speed of thinners and reducers: They come in fast medium and slow dry formulas . This is a bit different than adding retarder. But can promote leveling too.

In true water borne acrylic paints flow aid is generally offered and often retarders here as well. But the question was specific to Mr Color and to Tamiya acrylic so I will stop here.

Have a blessed day !

[Sandboarder]

52 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

Both the Mr Color and Tamiya acrylics to my knowledge are acrylic hybrid lacquers.

So your saying this Tamiya paint is a hybrid? Learn something new every day.

 

[peteski]

In the paints world, reducer is another name for thinner.  It reduces (thins) the paint to make it less viscous.  I have never heard term "leveler" but I suppose it is also some sort of substance to make paint less viscous (thinner or more runny) to help it in leveling out on the painted surface.  Could just be yet another name for thinner.

[Sandboarder]

51 minutes ago, peteski said:

I have never heard term "leveler"

Leveler is retarder. It slow down the drying time to allow the paint to level and dry smooth. 
 

 

I’ve noticed that is why enamel paints are so popular here. The slow drying time allows them to level and dry really smooth. 

[Dpate]

13 hours ago, Sandboarder said:

So your saying this Tamiya paint is a hybrid? Learn something new every day.

 

Yeah there XF set is hybrid and LP are true lacquer.  Can be thinned with mr leveling thinner.

[conchan]

17 hours ago, Dave G. said:

Both the Mr Color and Tamiya acrylics to my knowledge are acrylic hybrid lacquers. Vs Mr Hobby Aqueous which is true water borne acrylic paint for instance. ...

Thank you so very much for taking the time to write up the detailed explanation. 
It really does help me understand things better and is greatly appreciated. 

Stay safe and enjoy!

[conchan]

3 hours ago, Sandboarder said:

Leveler is retarder.

Thanks for the image. Makes it a lot easier to find in the hobby store.