5 Tips for Saving Money as a Modeller!

You should have seen this thing a few days ago. Redness about two inches wide, insane itching.

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I don’t follow how a lack of control using the mop in the bottle lid is not solved by using a separate brush. (Not to mention the fact that when using the mop the bottle is wide open.) What are your concerns?

This was a valid point in the video, but the real lesson that should be stated is that for thinning you should use the thinner recommended by the paint manufacturer but for cleaning you can use any compatible solvent.

Another useful cleaner for acrylics is Windex or another ammonia-containing glass cleaner. For dried paint you really need denatured alcohol.

I suspect that when you try to use the latex a second time after cracking the seal on the bottle you’ll have a 1 pound brick instead of a 1 ounce brick.

One advantage of the Micro product is that it is dyed, which helps in application and especially removal.

The general concept of “shopping around” seems like such an important practice for living as an adult that it is jarring whenever I see it mentioned with a flavor of “Here’s something you might not know about . . .”

KL

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Hahaha! :laughing:

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Don’t worry, once the necrosis starts to spread you won’t feel anything.

:roll_eyes:

KL

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Eh. Who knows. We have black widows and brown recluses around here, so…

Fire ants too. They’re always enjoyable.

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What kind of training……Army training sir! :rofl:

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That’s funny !

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I read a article about the use of Windex for cleaning your Airbrush and it’s not good for the Airbrush . Over time it breaks down the chrome finish .

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It’s okay to use Windex as long as you run distilled water through it afterwards to flush out all the Windex. The ammonia also corrodes the brass internals if you leave the Windex in there. Washing the airbrush with distilled water makes it safe to use Windex.

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I do as Matt suggested but I use off brand windex and 91% IPA or Meada Airbrush cleaner I have on hand instead of distilled water after. The point is to flush out the ammonia and not let that sit in the gun.

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I tend to use car screenwash to clean after spraying acrylics - it has alcohol to remove paint, and is super cheap by the gallon! No way will I put ammonia anywhere near the brush. Every once in a while the AB gets dismantled and the parts are sprayed through with Badger AB cleaner - that xylene-based stuff dissolves everything!

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Some Windex products do not contain ammonia.

This is why I use grocery store brand window cleaner which has ammonia as part of cleaning my rifles after a day at the range.

So maybe ammonia-free Windex would be okay with an airbrush?

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I would think so but I would be still tempted to flush it afterwards. I was also under the impression (not a chemist) but it’s the ammonia that helps break up the old acrylic paint so it would kinda be defeating the purpose if my impression is correct and I am not sold that it is.

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Good question! I’m not sure if the other ingredients have the oomph to get rid of the crud from acrylics without the ammonia. Ammonia eats brass and strips chrome so its bad news in the AB. The glycol and other alcohols in windshield-washer fluid are enough for cleaning fresh acrylics out, so I’d stick with that. (I run water and then screenwash through at the end of each session, followed by a quick strip-down to rub everything clean with rolled-up paper towels.) If you have old dried crud, that’s when you need the xylene! Oh, and flushing with water to get most of the paint out is by far the cheapest option so before I add the screenwash I pour and tip out a few cup-fulls to remove the bulk of the paint before blowing some through - it’s also good to follow the cleaners with a water rinse to ensure there’s nothing nasty left in the brush that might affect the next load of paint. Sounds complex, but my session-end cleaning takes only a few minutes if that…

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Lots of potentially harmful chemicals to clean out the “safe” acrylics.
:thinking:
I think I’ll stay with the enamels …

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For the win! @Uncle-Heavy

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At first glance, I thought that was one of those drug ads that I’ve become so inundated with on TV. :tv: :rofl:

Question: Do you guys really use all of the chemical products that you recommend?

—mike

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Off of the top of my head, this is the bulk of my chemical inventory used:

Testor’s Liquid Cement - :white_check_mark: used frequently

Molak Stucco Putty, Tamiya Basic Gray Putty - :white_check_mark: used frequently

Mr Color Leveling Thinner - :white_check_mark: used frequently

Tap Water - :white_check_mark: used frequently

Tamiya X20A Thinner - :white_check_mark: used regularly

StarBond Black CA - :white_check_mark: used regularly

Track Blackening Chemicals - :white_check_mark: used regularly

Micro Set, Micro Sol - :white_check_mark: used regularly

Goof Off Paint Remover - :white_check_mark: used regularly

Minwax Prestain, Minwax Walnut stain & Minwax Lacquer - :white_check_mark: used regularly

Tamiya’s Extra Thin, Airbrush Cleaner & Lacquer thinner - :heavy_check_mark: used sparingly

Xylol - :heavy_check_mark: used sparingly

CA Accelerator, CA Debonder - :heavy_check_mark: used sparingly

KwikStrip Paint Thinner - :heavy_check_mark: used sparingly

Naptha/Zippo Lighter fluid - :heavy_check_mark: used sparingly

MEK/Substitute MEK - :heavy_check_mark: used very sparingly

Milliput Standard, Milliput Super Fine, Tamiya Epoxy Putty, DevCon 5 minute Epoxy - :heavy_check_mark: very rarely

Turpentine - almost never

Dio-Sol - almost never but still have some

IPA - almost never but still have some

KwikStrip Lacquer Thinner - almost never

I probably need drop a quarter of it at the local recycling place and be rid of it.

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“Welds” styrene just perfectly.
Not recommended for thinning Humbrol enamels though it does give the enamel some “bite” on the styrene.
:grin:

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Pretty sure that is the only way I recall how to use X is cause I have done it/doing it myself.

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