Okay, what airbrush do you have?
Not much. The thinner you are using is fine but the metallic flakes won’t be made smaller by the thinner. You could try Vallejo Model Air for the metallics
Interesting, Gunze leveling thinner would be the universal thinner for using with Tamiya and Mr Hobby aqueous hobby paints?
What airbrush do you use?
Would it also be working well with spraying metallic colors? From Tamiya and later maybe Mr. Hobby aqueous colors?
So I would be restricted to use metallic colors with paint brush only?
I will keep Vallejo Model Air in mind for a next time or project when I’m buying stuff again for my modeling projects. Thanks for the suggestion.
Most likely yes. Unless they have small metallic flakes. It won’t matter in the airbrush. Small nozzle sizes will get easily clogged by large metallic flakes
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We have here a saying: if a paint cannot be thinned with the Leveling Thinner than you better waste it.
But seriously, that thinner has some chemical magic inside - probably a very active solvent plus retarder because the thinned paint is perfectly spreads on the surface. I could have good results with the Tamiya acrylics recently and it was really satisfying.
I used my H&S Evolution 0.2 airbrush with no clogging. Cannot recall the pressure, though.
Tamás
I use a Iwata HP-CS
A link to a model I painted like that:
There is only one photo with Gunze black primer and Tamiya Green paints, all photos with camo are already after weathering.
I’m only using Tamiya paints and I always mix the acrylics with Lacque Thinner, either,
Advantage: It dries instantly!
Really - right after applying the color you can touch the surface without trouble.
The mentioned mistaking is true and astonishing.
Why?
Because Tamiya by itself recommends to mix e.g. clear coat with LQ Thinner to provide a “hard finish”.
And it’s true again. For a hard look e.g. Schürzen it’s worth using this mixture.
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Okay, I could give it a try. What would be the ratios?
Looks really nicely though.
I thin my Tamiya acrylics with IPA, works great and no issues with plugging or durability, also cheaper than Tamiya thinners.
I guess everyone has their varying expieriences,using IPA always gave me more dry tip,thats why I switched to their Lacquer thinner with no problems at all
Just to add my experiences with Tamiya acrylic. I tended to have the same issue of Sandy finish with x20a. I now use Tamiya lacquer thinner and add x22 clear to Matt colours for a smoother finish, which also helps with weathering, decals etc. My ratio is around 40% paint, 10% x22 clear, 50% thinner. Sprayed at around 15psi through an iwata revolution with a 0.5mm nozzle, although I use an iwata hp-cs hiline with a 0.3mm nozzle with no issues either. This results in a really nice smooth finish and is very forgiving if your technique wavers like mine!
Hope this helps, J.
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I cannot tell the exact ratio as I do not have anything with measurement. I simply add the paint into an empty plastic dropping bottle (very cheap in the pharmacy) first and then the thinner. Probably 30-50% paint and 70-50% thinner. Then I do some test spray and if I like what I see, it is OK to paint the model. Btw, you can safely use plastic spoons for these tests. They are plastic, very smooth and white; perfect to verify the thinning and your AB momentary condition.
Sometimes I also add 3-6 drops of thinner into the AB cap first, then the thinned paint. I feel this helps to clean the AB tip and nozzle somehow. But this is really just a feeling or hope, there no any sciense behind.
I believe that the real ratio would be 50-50 %, I guess.
I have a different gun for metallic paint,not that i use it often.
And to be safe, i use the thinner from the same paint brand .
This video maybe of interest regarding painting. Night Shift on Paints, Thinners etc
FWIW
My brief experience airbrushing Tamiya was good back in the early 1990’'s. Used the recommended Tamiya thinner about 1 to 1 with the paint and set pressure to 15 to 20 pounds.
I’ve stuck with Floquil or Floquil Military overall since the 1980’s and Floquil is still my favorite. I still like and use Tamiya & Gunzy.
Have seen many modelers have good to outstanding results with Tamiya paint and the various Tamiya thinners. Usually thinning around 1 to 1.
Most that struggled spraying Tamiya didn’t want to thin more than 25 percent and or insisted on homebrew thinners. Occasionally a homebrew thinner worked well but that seemed to be the exception. Have seen a lot of bad paint jobs when Tamiya is thinned with marginal thinners. Lot of the homebrewers said they used the following in various combinations.
Water
Rubbing alcohol 70%
IPA
Windex
Blue windshield wiper fluid
Orange windshield wiper fluid
Everclear
Everclear yes really 
What is IPA?
Yes, I guess everyone has it’s own unique experiences with it.
I have the wrong colors ordered at Modelbouwkrikke.nl. Probably the seller did confuse the flatbase with the clear one. I wanted paint or something for sealing my work. But got the wrong colors. Now I know that I need x22 from Tamiya for sealing in my paint work. I can next time order the right color for the right job. Thank you for the suggestion.