Humbrol paints

[sturmbird]

what are you folks using to thin Humbrol paints? I want to use it in an airbrush, so it's got to be thinned out quite a bit.
gary

[adt70hk]

Hi Gary

For their enamels I know they do their own thinners (I have some) and I'm pretty sure that when I last checked their website for acrylics it said to use good old fashioned H2O.

However, I've never used either of them in airbrush so I can't comment on how it works - that said I've not yet used an airbrush at all yet. 

ATB

Andrew

[sturmbird]

Sept 19, 2017 5:44:13 GMT -5 adt70hk said:

Hi Gary

For their enamels I know they do their own thinners (I have some) and I'm pretty sure that when I last checked their website for acrylics it said to use good old fashioned H2O.

However, I've never used either of them in airbrush so I can't comment on how it works - that said I've not yet used an airbrush at all yet. 

ATB

Andrew

as you probably already know, Humbrol paint is out of production. I managed to lay my hands on about seventy five tins of it, but have never used it. What I have is plain enamel. So I guess I'll start with something like Model Master thinner. Now all I need to do is to figure out the proper ratios of thinner to paint. I miss good old Polyscale paint!

thanks for the reply
gary

[adt70hk]

Sept 19, 2017 14:46:07 GMT -5 sturmbird said:

Sept 19, 2017 5:44:13 GMT -5 adt70hk said:

Hi Gary

For their enamels I know they do their own thinners (I have some) and I'm pretty sure that when I last checked their website for acrylics it said to use good old fashioned H2O.

However, I've never used either of them in airbrush so I can't comment on how it works - that said I've not yet used an airbrush at all yet. 

ATB

Andrew

as you probably already know, Humbrol paint is out of production. I managed to lay my hands on about seventy five tins of it, but have never used it. What I have is plain enamel. So I guess I'll start with something like Model Master thinner. Now all I need to do is to figure out the proper ratios of thinner to paint. I miss good old Polyscale paint!

thanks for the reply
gary

Hi Gary

No I wasn't but then I've had no time in the last few months on the modelling front.

I've also just checked and I can't find any reference to them stopping production here in the uk. I've also checked their website and it's up and running and is fully stocked (184 enamel paints).

It would be a shame if they do go out of business.

ATB

Andrew

[adt70hk]

I'll try and dig out my bottle in the next few days to see if states what the primary ingredient is.

[adt70hk]

Sept 18, 2017 15:23:42 GMT -5 sturmbird said:

what are you folks using to thin Humbrol paints? I want to use it in an airbrush, so it's got to be thinned out quite a bit.
gary

Hi Gary

I've checked my bottle of thinners and unfortunately it doesn't list any of the ingredients so I can't help you on that front.

Good luck on your quest to find a thinner that works.

Andrew

[auldyin]

Hi Gary
I've used plain white spirit to thin their enamels for years without any problems, but having said that the only problem has been no set ratio for thinning for airbrush work. Each tin seems to have its own consistency so it has to be trial and error.
HTH Paul

[sturmbird]

Sept 25, 2017 6:08:10 GMT -5 auldyin said:

Hi Gary
I've used plain white spirit to thin their enamels for years without any problems, but having said that the only problem has been no set ratio for thinning for airbrush work. Each tin seems to have its own consistency so it has to be trial and error.
HTH Paul

glad you posted this! I miss good old Polyscale. That paint was more accurate color wise, and mixed better and easier.
gary

[Monty]

I'm a huge fan of Barbatos Rex YouTube videos, especially those regarding paint tests.  One thing he almost unequivocally recommends is Mr Color Leveling Thinner.  I've seen him use it with lacquers, enamels and even some acrylics (According to him, some "acrylics" like Tamiya and Gunze Mr Color, are actually solvent-based paints, which is why it works).  

That said, some other acrylics definitely require their own proprietary thinner.  The few times I used acrylics in the past, I just used rubbing alcohol, but IIRC there's at least one brand out there that tells you right up front that rubbing alcohol will turn their paint into a pile of goo, so do a little research before using a paint you're not familiar with. 

Summation : while MCLT may not technically qualify as a universal thinner, it's close.


HTH 

[kyledehart5]

Aug 5, 2023 18:59:47 GMT -5 Monty said:

I'm a huge fan of Barbatos Rex YouTube videos, especially those regarding paint tests.  One thing he almost unequivocally recommends is Mr Color Leveling Thinner.  I've seen him use it with lacquers, enamels and even some acrylics (According to him, some "acrylics" like Tamiya and Gunze Mr Color, are actually solvent-based paints, which is why it works).  

That said, some other acrylics definitely require their own proprietary thinner.  The few times I used acrylics in the past, I just used rubbing alcohol, but IIRC there's at least one brand out there that tells you right up front that rubbing alcohol will turn their paint into a pile of goo, so do a little research before using a paint you're not familiar with. 

Summation : while MCLT may not technically qualify as a universal thinner, it's close.


HTH 

That guys is a godsend to the hobby. Can save a lot of money and make informed choices watching those videos.

[stikpusher]

I've been using Humbrol enamels for decades. For thinning those I've used hardware store paint thinner, lacquer thinner, and the now discontinued Testors Universal Enamel Airbrush Thinner, all with great results. And like stated above, your thinning ratio depends upon the tin used. Some of the newer stuff made in China was really thick and needed more thinning. Older and most recent stuff went back to not needing as much thinner.
For Humbrol acrylics, I experimented with several acrylic thinners, but the only one that worked well with it was Testors universal Acrylic Airbrush Thinner. Unfortunately, that stuff is now discontinued, so I have used plain old tap water or distilled water for thinning with good results. I did try Gunze Mr Leveling Thinner with Humbrol Acrylics and they did not mix well together at all.

Here is a thread I had going over on FSM explaining my different experiments for thinners with Humbrol Acrylics

Humbrol Acrylics FSM