So while this video is older I'd like to put this out there. The problem of the chrome being stripped off from the inside of the paint cup is not only a problem with "cheaper" airbrushes. If you do a search you will see it's common in most airbrushes including my favorite iwata. While this will happen naturally over time ammonia will really speed it up and it makes it a pain trying to clean the cup for a color change. The quickest way to strip the inside of the cup is leaving cleaner in it. Do not under any circumstances leave cleaner in your brush for extended periods. Overnight is all it takes. The manual on my brush says no longer than 10 minutes.
I airbrush all the time and I never understood why people would want to leave cleaner in their airbrush anyways. Just get the paint out ASAP, clean it, spray some alcohol through it and you're done in two minutes.
@@xanderguldie What would you recommend for thinners? seen so many, 2-1 (water/IPA) ratios with 10mlFlow improver and 1ml retarders added to 200ml mixes. In the above mix he's used Glycerin, which many recommend, would it work with the above formula do you know? Just new to airbrushing and trying to gather the best solutions and mixes, found a window cleaner solution without Ammonia, so not so harmful.
@user-rz7pw5rk5t For cleaning, I use a couple of different things. Usually, I start with warm water, then my homebrew cleaner, which consists of windex, isopropyl, and a couple of drops of glycerine. Depending on how much paint I used, I'll flush my airbrush with a little bit of acetone. For thinners, I dont like to use retarders unless I need the paint to dry slowly for some reason. I mix rubbing alcohol with water 1:1, and that's it. But it depends on what kind of acrylics you're using. So I recommend you experiment with the ratios.
Lysol All Purpose Cleaner works as a great airbrush cleaner for acrylic paint. It can also be used to remove acrylic paint from parts you made a mistake on. It is inexpensive (smells nice too).
@@tammyadair2301 yep, straight out of the spray bottle...into the cup... spray it out, change colors, keep painting youll need a full cleaning when finished, but its a great flush between colors
I might try your recipe for the cleaner, because my recipe is a little different and think it's a little lacking. But I really like my thinner. I'll share my recipes below. Cleaner: in a 500ml squeeze bottle (all "measurements" are approximate) 1 part distilled H2O 2.5 parts windshield washer fluid (blue H2O) or rain-x windshield washer fluid (orange H2O, works better (reduced tip dry) but costs more) .5 - 1 part 90% ISO propanol alcohol 15 - 20 drops glycerin Thinner : in a 500ml squeeze bottle (all "measurements" are approximate) 2 part distilled H2O 1 part 90% Isopropyl alcohol 10 - 12 drops glycerin (flow aid & slight retarder) 10 drops propylene glycol (retarder) I use the glycol (a "second" retarder) to counter the faster drying effects of the alcohol. Some might say cut back on the alcohol, and I have tried that and it seems like it isn't as smooth (i.e. orange peeling or pigment speckles) and get a lot of wave dry without glycol. Also with this recipe I've noticed less tip dry.
I've picked up most of this stuff. Have you not found washer fluid to work as a thinner? I've talked with some old timers who use it religiously as a thinner.. I have everything but a good supply of ipa obviously because of the current pandemic. I'm just trying to find a better recipe. One guy makes up his own car paint that is super high gloss high definition which is 2 parts paint, 1 part washer fluid, and 1 part pledge.
you said yr bottle is 250ml , you put 100ml of windex and 150ml of distill water, you already reach the top, where do you have space to put in IPA and 10 drops of Glycerin. I am scratching my head.
Thank you my friend, just made up 900 mls for the cost of $15. My normal airbrush cleaner costs me $20 for 250mls. I then tested it cleaning up one of my cheap chinese airbrush's and it worked wonders. I don't know if the addition of glycerin makes a difference but the trigger and needle seem much smoother. Once again Thank YOU
I was sick and tired of $8.75 for a bottle of Tamiya thinner. Used your home brew mix and it works perfect! I did use Vallejo flow improver (15 drops) since I had that instead of straight glycerin.
@@pilot4701 Actually, Tamiya acrylic is a solvent based "hybrid" acrylic. I haven't tried Grump's mixture with it and while I know what I'm about to mention "ruins" dealing with this paint because it's acrylic, but *THE* best thinner I've ever used with Tamiya acrylics (and still do) is Mr. Color Leveling Thinner, which is a LACQUER thinner. I usually mix 60-70 (sometimes even more)? % thinner to about 30-40% paint and it airbrushes flawlessly, never clogs the airbrush tip and dries smoothly and durable. Having said that, you must then clean your airbrush with regular 'ol lacquer thinner but believe me, once you try it, you won't go back.
As a side note to the Ammonia harming rubber seals. The most common (non Chinese) brand of seal is EPDM Rubber. Ammonia is only harmful to the rubber if used in concentrated form and left to sit. With the diluted amount used in Windex, and the diluted even more with your solution, there will be no harmful effects. The only seal that Ammonia will really cause damage is with Viton seals.
My Master airbrushes in fact had Viton seals and cleaning with Windex did in fact totally destroy the O rings. It is worth noting to that Nitrile (Buna-N rubber ) seals will also not fair well with high PH type cleaning solutions.
I saw a video last night where someone else was making their recipe for thinner. They had 2 mixes with one of them similar to yours with the exception of ammonia while the other used windshield cleaner in the other one. They didn't measure the glycerin in any way and just poured a small amount into their mix. The rest of it was 1:2 glass cleaner to water for their glass cleaner mix and 1:1 when using windshield cleaner with both getting alcohol and glycerine.
Thank you for this great video, a question, is there any difference in Isopropyl based alcohol vs Ethanol based Alcohol when it comes to making those cleaner and thinner mixes?
I may be good to know that ammonia and brass is a poor combination if let to sit for a while. You will suffer a chemical reaction between the copper and ammonia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season_cracking) making the brass pourous. I've also experienced the same problem with airbrush nozzles made of nickel-silver.
Just one health issue worth mentioning . More than the possible damage to the seals in the instruments one should be very careful with inhalation of ammonia as it evaporates and pollutes the air we breath. Repeated and prolonged exposure is quite harmful to the respiratory system and can not be prevented by the usual masks available in drug stores.
@@tiagodagostini This is not about Ethanol but Isopropanol! One Glas would kill you! So if you dont know anything about chemistry please do not comment such bullshit!
@@hatschmolo2923 And if you do not know about physics.. learn a bit how much is the maximum saturation that it can achieve in air in normal conditions. Unless you stay for quite a bit exposed you will NOT reach hazardous levels.
Might I suggest putting the measurements of the solutions in your comments and links. That makes it easier for anyone to look up and not have to go through the video again.
the seals aspect is true, just depends on what they are made of. Dont use windex, go to the automotive section and buy store brand windshield wiper fluid its generally ammonia free and a hell of alot cheaper. Gallon of walmart brand stuff is like three bucks.
My concern with windex is what other ingredients are in it. Obviously what ever makes it blue and how these unknown ingredients will effect the paint in the long term.
There's a guy on youtube who uses Hot water to clean acrylic paint from airbrush, I asked another youtuber if the Hot water was OK because I was skeptical. He said NO WAY should you be using boiling stove/microwave water to clean airbrush, as it can damage O-rings. What say you Grumpy Modeler? Also I make my own airbrush cleaner 3/4 cup Mean Green, 3/4 distilled water, 1/2 cup 91% alcohol and 10 drops of glycerin. Does this sound OK and is Mean Green to strong? Thanks, look forward to your opinion
Good morning from sunny Brittany in France. I have returned to modelling after a 30 year hiatus and have bought my first airbrush. Your paint thinner recipe doesn't add a specific flow improver or retarder. Instead you add Glycerine as in the cleaner. Have I understood your video correctly? If so it saves me from buying two more chemicals. Thank you again.
Great video - gonna give this a try. You can also use the water from a dehumidifier, just filter it to get any contaminants from the container out. But it is chemical free.
He fills that bottle to the brim and even if it's graduated up to 250ml, those squeeze bottles contain 300ml. So he really does 100ml + 150ml + 50ml alcohol. Red Dragon ModelWerks from the Styrene Syndicate here on YT gives more or less the same recipe. To avoid the ammonia risk, you can substitute other brands to Windex or switch that mix for a 125ml distilled water + 125ml windshield cleaner + 50ml alcohol. Methanol being banned in most countries from use in windshield washers, that's pretty safe. It also works amazingly.
I'm late to the party, but noticed the same thing. Somehow the wash bottle is bigger on the inside. :-) Adding up the recipe in above gives 320mL of solution.
Thanks a lot for your advise. Did you test your thinner with AK 3rd gen paints? A lot of modellers have issues to thin it properly for airbrushing. Thanks again.
Great information, thank you. I found a free source of distilled water, if you have access to a condenser type clothes dryer. The water produced by these is distilled. I put it through a filter (a lint free cloth in a funnel seems to be sufficient) and save it in cleanded out pop (soda) bottles. Lots of uses for it, including this now. Hope this helps someone 🤞
Hi Darrin, is the Cleaner formulated for water-based acrylic paints, or solvent paints ( acrylic / enamel / lacquer ) or both ? Secondly, similarly is the Thinner formulated for water-based acrylics and solvent paints or both ? Very interesting video you have on this subject matter. Thanks and Rgds - Harry / Malaysia
My 250ml Squeeze Bottle suprisingly only has 250ml , not an extra 70ml for the alcohol. it would be easier to mix, if you would give a recipe for 250ml not for 320ml.
I've seen suggestions to use windshield washer fluid as the thinner. Compared to your idea, it would have no ammonia. Have you any experience with or do you have an opinion about that?
An excellent source of distilled water, if you have access to it, is a home dehumidifier. We heat with an unvented gas heater and use the dehumidifier to keep from getting mold etc in the winter. Any time of year tho just run it for an hour or two for a batch of fresh pure H2O.
Hi, thanks for this useful information. By the way , I'll appreciate if you tell us how much milimeters of isopropyl alcohol you add to the cleaner mix.
Tried it and it works great with my Paasche Talon. I will never spend $12.00 on a bottle of cleaner or thinner again. Great video that actually helps save some cash. Can’t say that for most of the informercials on UA-cam. Thanks my model building brother! 👍😊
Just a heads up, ammonia is in fact not safe to use on some types of O rings. I can say this for fact that some cheap airbrushes use Viton rubber seals because they are cheap. Viton seals do not stand up to chemicals that have a high PH (above 7.0) and ammonia which is not classified as an alkali, does in fact have a PH above 7.0 and will cause damage to cheap O rings. Just make sure if you have a cheap airbrush that you replace the O rings and seals with a quality synthetic rubber seal, which is just fine to use with chemicals like ammonia cleaners.
there is a video on how to improve the performance of an inexpensive airbrush and mentions getting rid of the provided seal and replacing it with a beeswax seal …
A note on Ammonia: In its raw state, Ammonia is a very caustic Gas (not a liquid). It is used when dissolved in various other substances and used in many things from rocket fuel to agricultural fertilizer (including some food products.) Off the shelf cleaning Ammonia is around 30% Ammonia in water. Windex says their cleaner contains 5.66% Ammonia. When mixed in Grumpy's cleaner it is down to around 1.7%, probably not enough to do any harm unless left to soak in it for an extended time. Mission Models Paints do say you can strip their paint with Ammonia or Alcohol.
FWIW - Windex is distilled or at least purified water, clear ammonia, isopropyl alcohol, and a teeny tiny bit of surfactant (soap), like Dawn seems popular, but a couple or three drops per gallon - mostly to break the surface tension .... oh, and blue food coloring. Doesn’t do a damn thing except turn it blue. Dilute it again half and half and you’ve got commercial windshield wiper fluid. I keep saying one of these days I’m going to make up a batch of wiper fluid but use yellow and orange food color at about a 8/2 ratio... then next time, hit the wiper/washer button and windshield gets hosed with a nice stream of yellow ....uh ... what on earth is ... ? Well, use your imagination and think like a 7th grader ..he he he ...
regarding the thinner, I would like to share a TIP : you can make Flat , Semi-Gloss and Gloss finish out of the same acrylic tube brand or color. Here is how! Basically it is how you play with DW and IPA 91% ratio. I put few drops of IPA 91% on my 70% Alcohol thinner to reach semi-gloss to flat finish. You have to play with the ratio of IPA91% what about your results ?
I went to find Windex and scoured 5 stores!....Every one has the NEW Windex with the new FORMULA!....I was told it does not have ammonia in it anymore. Have you heard this and will it still work? Also I looked for 91% Alcohol.....LOL.....and only found the highest was 70% Rubbing Alcohol ISOPROYL. Do you know it this will? Any reply will be appreciated.
The bottle I am using is very old. I have recently heard that this product is no longer available in the US. I never shot it through my airbrush so I am not sure of pressures. Be careful spraying that stuff, if it dries in your airbrush then it may render it unusable. That stuff dries hard.
Hi There, im gonna make some thinner and Cleaner for my Airbrush. In this mix, can i use something else than Glycerin, i cant get that in Norway. Nowone have it.
Why use 90+% alcohol that needs to be cut with water? Seems more practical to use 35% which is in medical-grade deionized water. You t don’t have to buy and add as much water, plus the weaker strengths are more available.
Rick is correct. A "Dust mask" does nothing to protect you from atomized ammonia or any of the poisonous alcohol types. You need a "respirator" with cartridges rated for the type of material with which you are working. Keep in mind that many modelers are trying to get away from (among others) lacquer-based paints, yet lacquer thinner is just another type of alcohol. You've got to block the fumes, otherwise you're not protecting yourself.
Revisiting this video as my recipe has changed. I now use Simple Green instead of non ammonia Windex. I also use a little flow enhancer in the thinner. Cheers from eastern TN
Question about thinner! My airbrush say to dilute acrylic paint 7 parts water to 1part pain. To me it looks to thin what would you recommend to dilute paint with the thinner?
Great video once more. Perfect timing too. I just ran out of my airbrush cleaner and need this stuff bad. I even ordered the two bottles. Question for you. What brands of acrylic paint can you use the thinner on? I mostly use Bombshell Brew paint and Vallejo
I copied this recipe and the recipe I'm very shocking that it works and we trying to find a cheapest way to do it this way is the best way to do it was great hands down everybody should thank you once again for your help
Thanks for posting this video, you presented it very well and in a clear concise manner! Just a point of curiosity for me, why are you using the 90% alcohol and thinning it down? Why not go for a lower percentage off the shelf (we have 50 and about 70% available where I live in Canada) and add less water or maybe no water at all? I’m certainly no chemist, just left me wondering.
91% is easily accessible here in the U.S. I can get it every bit as easily as the 70%, but I also use it during prep of my items, so I prefer the 91% anyway. :)
Hi very detail video, thumbs up!Just 2 questions . 1)i already have 100% alcohol(commercial type),do i still add in the same proportion too? 2)I'm using angelus leather paint.does it work too? and do you know the ratio for your thinner:angelus paint?
Thanks for the info...I will try that...quick question...since I have a bunch of 99% Iso Alcohol.....could you still use that or would you water it down a bit before adding to rest of ingredients.....thanks
I have WIP pictures in both the Facebook Group and on our new website www.grumpymodeler.com located in the forum section. I will do a step by step build here in the channel in the near future.
I see this was made before the pandemic and the alcohol shortage. I have a very limited supply of 70% and 99% alcohol. How would you change your mixture if you were using 70% alcohol or 99% alcohol?
The math is simple, but it can take some thought to get it right. If the recipe says to use 91% iso, just take the amount, 75mL, and multiply by 0.91 to get the number of mL of actual 100% iso that is in the mix. That would be 68.25mL. The next question is how much 70% iso do I need to get the 68.25mL that was in the recipe? 0.7 times some amount equals 68.25... or with some algebra, that would be 68.25 divided by 0.7, which equals 97.5mL. Now, one thing to note is that our 70% iso has more water in it. You would need to reduce the water by the difference to get the same mixture. Essentially, you want the total of all ingredients to add up to the total volume of the bottle called for. Though I have the same name, I'm not the grumpy modeller, fyi.
good stuff! I started using the thinner mix and was impressed at how well it worked vs store bought, i wont be buying commercially made any more. doesnt matter much but i put the glycerin in first then it pretty much is mixed by the time I add the water and alcohol
Was a follow up video showing how to use the thinner with basic acrylics ever recorded? It wasn't until after I made up the thinner, that I saw the comments regarding it causing acrylics to sludge. They're the whole point I wanted the thinner in the first place... :-/
Hi, I am in Canada and I couldn't seem to find 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, only 99% are available , could I use that ? will that work/make a difference? Thanks
I use the same recipes for thinner and cleaner. Cheaper than buying the commercial "stuff". The alcohol is usually 70% isopropyl. I use the non-ammonia Windex. I use the water soluble glycerin. And I make my own distilled water. Make a gallon every night in my water distiller.
fo thinner I use 33% alcohol to 67% distilled water plus 10ml of flow improver and 10ml of paint retarder from Windsor and newton but my cleaner is pretty much the same
75 or 100ml of Windex? You say 2 different amounts in the vid. Your cleaner recipe in the description is 320 ml like someone pointed out.
7:40 if u want to skip right to the mixtures
thanks ;-)
Thanks
looking for this was making me Grumpy
thanks
Dear Lord - 7 minutes of monotone contentless preamble ....
So while this video is older I'd like to put this out there. The problem of the chrome being stripped off from the inside of the paint cup is not only a problem with "cheaper" airbrushes. If you do a search you will see it's common in most airbrushes including my favorite iwata. While this will happen naturally over time ammonia will really speed it up and it makes it a pain trying to clean the cup for a color change. The quickest way to strip the inside of the cup is leaving cleaner in it. Do not under any circumstances leave cleaner in your brush for extended periods. Overnight is all it takes. The manual on my brush says no longer than 10 minutes.
I airbrush all the time and I never understood why people would want to leave cleaner in their airbrush anyways. Just get the paint out ASAP, clean it, spray some alcohol through it and you're done in two minutes.
@@xanderguldie What would you recommend for thinners? seen so many, 2-1 (water/IPA) ratios with 10mlFlow improver and 1ml retarders added to 200ml mixes. In the above mix he's used Glycerin, which many recommend, would it work with the above formula do you know? Just new to airbrushing and trying to gather the best solutions and mixes, found a window cleaner solution without Ammonia, so not so harmful.
@user-rz7pw5rk5t For cleaning, I use a couple of different things. Usually, I start with warm water, then my homebrew cleaner, which consists of windex, isopropyl, and a couple of drops of glycerine. Depending on how much paint I used, I'll flush my airbrush with a little bit of acetone. For thinners, I dont like to use retarders unless I need the paint to dry slowly for some reason. I mix rubbing alcohol with water 1:1, and that's it. But it depends on what kind of acrylics you're using. So I recommend you experiment with the ratios.
@@xanderguldie Thanks and very much appreciated!
Lysol All Purpose Cleaner works as a great airbrush cleaner for acrylic paint. It can also be used to remove acrylic paint from parts you made a mistake on. It is inexpensive (smells nice too).
Do you use straight Lysol?
@@tammyadair2301 yep, straight out of the spray bottle...into the cup... spray it out, change colors, keep painting
youll need a full cleaning when finished, but its a great flush between colors
New to airbrushing, This was very helpful, thank you.
Thank heavens! No more spending mega bucks for +am!ya thinner and airbrush cleaner!
I might try your recipe for the cleaner, because my recipe is a little different and think it's a little lacking. But I really like my thinner. I'll share my recipes below.
Cleaner: in a 500ml squeeze bottle (all "measurements" are approximate)
1 part distilled H2O
2.5 parts windshield washer fluid (blue H2O) or rain-x windshield washer fluid (orange H2O, works better (reduced tip dry) but costs more)
.5 - 1 part 90% ISO propanol alcohol
15 - 20 drops glycerin
Thinner : in a 500ml squeeze bottle (all "measurements" are approximate)
2 part distilled H2O
1 part 90% Isopropyl alcohol
10 - 12 drops glycerin (flow aid & slight retarder)
10 drops propylene glycol (retarder)
I use the glycol (a "second" retarder) to counter the faster drying effects of the alcohol. Some might say cut back on the alcohol, and I have tried that and it seems like it isn't as smooth (i.e. orange peeling or pigment speckles) and get a lot of wave dry without glycol. Also with this recipe I've noticed less tip dry.
thanks
Where do you get glycol?
Try this.... ua-cam.com/video/e30WyB8KsB0/v-deo.html
I've picked up most of this stuff. Have you not found washer fluid to work as a thinner? I've talked with some old timers who use it religiously as a thinner.. I have everything but a good supply of ipa obviously because of the current pandemic. I'm just trying to find a better recipe. One guy makes up his own car paint that is super high gloss high definition which is 2 parts paint, 1 part washer fluid, and 1 part pledge.
Finally someone that mentions propylene glycol!👌 Did you by chance also try your mix without Glycerin?
Guys…it’s just windshield washer fluid…the cheaper the better.
you said yr bottle is 250ml , you put 100ml of windex and 150ml of distill water, you already reach the top, where do you have space to put in IPA and 10 drops of Glycerin. I am scratching my head.
The head space is more than enough for the glycerol
Thank you my friend, just made up 900 mls for the cost of $15. My normal airbrush cleaner costs me $20 for 250mls. I then tested it cleaning up one of my cheap chinese airbrush's and it worked wonders. I don't know if the addition of glycerin makes a difference but the trigger and needle seem much smoother. Once again Thank YOU
Glycerin helps slow the drying particularly if using higher than 17psi
I was sick and tired of $8.75 for a bottle of Tamiya thinner. Used your home brew mix and it works perfect! I did use Vallejo flow improver (15 drops) since I had that instead of straight glycerin.
was usefull?
I wasn't sure this would work with tamiya since it's alcohol based acrylic.
@@pilot4701 Actually, Tamiya acrylic is a solvent based "hybrid" acrylic. I haven't tried Grump's mixture with it and while I know what I'm about to mention "ruins" dealing with this paint because it's acrylic, but *THE* best thinner I've ever used with Tamiya acrylics (and still do) is Mr. Color Leveling Thinner, which is a LACQUER thinner. I usually mix 60-70 (sometimes even more)? % thinner to about 30-40% paint and it airbrushes flawlessly, never clogs the airbrush tip and dries smoothly and durable. Having said that, you must then clean your airbrush with regular 'ol lacquer thinner but believe me, once you try it, you won't go back.
As a side note to the Ammonia harming rubber seals. The most common (non Chinese) brand of seal is EPDM Rubber. Ammonia is only harmful to the rubber if used in concentrated form and left to sit. With the diluted amount used in Windex, and the diluted even more with your solution, there will be no harmful effects. The only seal that Ammonia will really cause damage is with Viton seals.
My Master airbrushes in fact had Viton seals and cleaning with Windex did in fact totally destroy the O rings. It is worth noting to that Nitrile (Buna-N rubber ) seals will also not fair well with high PH type cleaning solutions.
The background set-up looks magnificent!
brilliant copy of a very old video here on YT..
I saw a video last night where someone else was making their recipe for thinner. They had 2 mixes with one of them similar to yours with the exception of ammonia while the other used windshield cleaner in the other one. They didn't measure the glycerin in any way and just poured a small amount into their mix. The rest of it was 1:2 glass cleaner to water for their glass cleaner mix and 1:1 when using windshield cleaner with both getting alcohol and glycerine.
Thank you for this great video, a question, is there any difference in Isopropyl based alcohol vs Ethanol based Alcohol when it comes to making those cleaner and thinner mixes?
Thanks for sharing, exactly what i was looking for. I tried these both out today and WOW ! Fantastic stuff !
I may be good to know that ammonia and brass is a poor combination if let to sit for a while. You will suffer a chemical reaction between the copper and ammonia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season_cracking) making the brass pourous. I've also experienced the same problem with airbrush nozzles made of nickel-silver.
Just one health issue worth mentioning . More than the possible damage to the seals in the instruments one should be very careful with inhalation of ammonia as it evaporates and pollutes the air we breath. Repeated and prolonged exposure is quite harmful to the respiratory system and can not be prevented by the usual masks available in drug stores.
Masoud Sotoudeh you are absolutely correct and I thought that I mentioned that in the video. I always suggest a respirator when spraying anything’s.
The alcohol is also bad to breath.
@@MichelleHotchkissArt Only in large ammounts. You are going to absorb less alchool that way in a year than a single wine glass.
@@tiagodagostini This is not about Ethanol but Isopropanol! One Glas would kill you! So if you dont know anything about chemistry please do not comment such bullshit!
@@hatschmolo2923 And if you do not know about physics.. learn a bit how much is the maximum saturation that it can achieve in air in normal conditions. Unless you stay for quite a bit exposed you will NOT reach hazardous levels.
Is it 100 ml of Windex or 75 ml? You said 100 ml first then marked 75ml when you started making the cleaner.
Might I suggest putting the measurements of the solutions in your comments and links. That makes it easier for anyone to look up and not have to go through the video again.
djBob0 you got it brother, about to board a plane back to DC so I’ll update it this evening. Great Suggestion!!!
Oh Wow. Didn't know. Have a safe trip home. And a most excellent video too.
I just used a pen and note pad and wrote them down.
the seals aspect is true, just depends on what they are made of. Dont use windex, go to the automotive section and buy store brand windshield wiper fluid its generally ammonia free and a hell of alot cheaper. Gallon of walmart brand stuff is like three bucks.
Great videos on great topics! The one thing I use that is different is Liquitex Flow Aid as a leveler. Or does the glycerine tackle this?
From what I`ve read, you can use a drop of glycerine. Save the flow aid for paint as its more expensive.
I just did my first refill. Lasted me about two years.
My concern with windex is what other ingredients are in it. Obviously what ever makes it blue and how these unknown ingredients will effect the paint in the long term.
There's a guy on youtube who uses Hot water to clean acrylic paint from airbrush, I asked another youtuber if the Hot water was OK because I was skeptical. He said NO WAY should you be using boiling stove/microwave water to clean airbrush, as it can damage O-rings. What say you Grumpy Modeler? Also I make my own airbrush cleaner 3/4 cup Mean Green, 3/4 distilled water, 1/2 cup 91% alcohol and 10 drops of glycerin. Does this sound OK and is Mean Green to strong? Thanks, look forward to your opinion
You’re a class act...Thanks for the info!!!
Your recipe for the "cleaner" is way too ambiguous ... is it 100ml or 75ml Windex ... how much alcohol? The math doesn't work out.
I used windex 70 % and metholated spirits 20% and 10% water and it is ok for cleaning
Good morning from sunny Brittany in France. I have returned to modelling after a 30 year hiatus and have bought my first airbrush. Your paint thinner recipe doesn't add a specific flow improver or retarder. Instead you add Glycerine as in the cleaner. Have I understood your video correctly? If so it saves me from buying two more chemicals. Thank you again.
Great video - gonna give this a try. You can also use the water from a dehumidifier, just filter it to get any contaminants from the container out. But it is chemical free.
Your measurements for the cleaner do not add up. It looks to be:
75 ML Windex
125 ML Distilled Water
50 ML IPA
10 Drops of Glycerin.
Is that correct?
"Water here" bit hard to guess where. I hope it's this, thnx
He fills that bottle to the brim and even if it's graduated up to 250ml, those squeeze bottles contain 300ml.
So he really does 100ml + 150ml + 50ml alcohol. Red Dragon ModelWerks from the Styrene Syndicate here on YT gives more or less the same recipe.
To avoid the ammonia risk, you can substitute other brands to Windex or switch that mix for a 125ml distilled water + 125ml windshield cleaner + 50ml alcohol.
Methanol being banned in most countries from use in windshield washers, that's pretty safe. It also works amazingly.
I'm late to the party, but noticed the same thing. Somehow the wash bottle is bigger on the inside. :-) Adding up the recipe in above gives 320mL of solution.
Thanks a lot for your advise. Did you test your thinner with AK 3rd gen paints? A lot of modellers have issues to thin it properly for airbrushing. Thanks again.
Great information, thank you. I found a free source of distilled water, if you have access to a condenser type clothes dryer. The water produced by these is distilled. I put it through a filter (a lint free cloth in a funnel seems to be sufficient) and save it in cleanded out pop (soda) bottles. Lots of uses for it, including this now. Hope this helps someone 🤞
Thank you for this video. Can you use mineral oil in place of the glycerin? Or just go with the glycerin?
you should not add OIL to acrylic ink (even when it does not mixes whit water)... so, no, keep whit the glycerin.
Hi Darrin, is the Cleaner formulated for water-based acrylic paints, or solvent paints ( acrylic / enamel / lacquer ) or both ? Secondly, similarly is the Thinner formulated for
water-based acrylics and solvent paints or both ? Very interesting video you have on this subject matter. Thanks and Rgds - Harry / Malaysia
Teh BH this formula is for water base acrylic paints only
I'm curious what is the point of the glycerin? Thanks for the recipe and the info
I like water and fantastik cleaner.. Clean my brushes with it and thin paint with it,, clean hands with it,, its awesome,,
My 250ml Squeeze Bottle suprisingly only has 250ml , not an extra 70ml for the alcohol. it would be easier to mix, if you would give a recipe for 250ml not for 320ml.
You know a video is old when dude says a gallon of distilled water only cost him $1.89
I've seen suggestions to use windshield washer fluid as the thinner. Compared to your idea, it would have no ammonia. Have you any experience with or do you have an opinion about that?
Windshield washer fluid is made with methanol (wood alcohol), which is very dangerous to breath if atomized.
If you have to use the 70% isopropyl alcohol, you can adjust by using slightly more and less water. Just do the math by proportion of the two.
Can you use denatured alcohol aka methylated spirits. It like quarter of a price here in Australia cheers
Hi, wich brand of acrilics do you thin with your Brew thinners? Thanks
can anyone help with the ratios here instead of ml ? TIA
An excellent source of distilled water, if you have access to it, is a home dehumidifier. We heat with an unvented gas heater and use the dehumidifier to keep from getting mold etc in the winter. Any time of year tho just run it for an hour or two for a batch of fresh pure H2O.
James Williams full of heavy metals though depending on your dehumi
Thanks for the advice! I mixed both today and absolutely love the cleaning solution. Inexpensive and very effective.
Hi, thanks for this useful information.
By the way , I'll appreciate if you tell us how much milimeters of isopropyl alcohol you add to the cleaner mix.
Not millimeters. Milliliters
Thanks for sharing! Interesting stuff :)
Thanks a million, keep up the excellence!!
whats the grade of alcohol, (70 or 91) or does it matter?
Where do you buy glecerin from cheers
Tried it and it works great with my Paasche Talon. I will never spend $12.00 on a bottle of cleaner or thinner again. Great video that actually helps save some cash. Can’t say that for most of the informercials on UA-cam. Thanks my model building brother! 👍😊
Just a heads up, ammonia is in fact not safe to use on some types of O rings. I can say this for fact that some cheap airbrushes use Viton rubber seals because they are cheap. Viton seals do not stand up to chemicals that have a high PH (above 7.0) and ammonia which is not classified as an alkali, does in fact have a PH above 7.0 and will cause damage to cheap O rings. Just make sure if you have a cheap airbrush that you replace the O rings and seals with a quality synthetic rubber seal, which is just fine to use with chemicals like ammonia cleaners.
Do you know if the seals in a Point Zero airbrush would be damaged by the ammonia?
there is a video on how to improve the performance of an inexpensive airbrush and mentions getting rid of the provided seal and replacing it with a beeswax seal …
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience.
Please excuse my ignoramce...This Formula is to be used on /with Acylic water based paints correct?
How much of this goes in to the paint?What Percent of thinner to Paint. Thank you.
Acrylic paints and the ratio of thinner all depends on type of air brush, pressure type of paint and consistency. Lots of variables.
A note on Ammonia: In its raw state, Ammonia is a very caustic Gas (not a liquid). It is used when dissolved in various other substances and used in many things from rocket fuel to agricultural fertilizer (including some food products.) Off the shelf cleaning Ammonia is around 30% Ammonia in water. Windex says their cleaner contains 5.66% Ammonia. When mixed in Grumpy's cleaner it is down to around 1.7%, probably not enough to do any harm unless left to soak in it for an extended time. Mission Models Paints do say you can strip their paint with Ammonia or Alcohol.
Is it possible to add a retardant to your mixture so it acts like a leveling thinner?
FWIW - Windex is distilled or at least purified water, clear ammonia, isopropyl alcohol, and a teeny tiny bit of surfactant (soap), like Dawn seems popular, but a couple or three drops per gallon - mostly to break the surface tension .... oh, and blue food coloring. Doesn’t do a damn thing except turn it blue. Dilute it again half and half and you’ve got commercial windshield wiper fluid. I keep saying one of these days I’m going to make up a batch of wiper fluid but use yellow and orange food color at about a 8/2 ratio... then next time, hit the wiper/washer button and windshield gets hosed with a nice stream of yellow ....uh ... what on earth is ... ? Well, use your imagination and think like a 7th grader ..he he he ...
what about if on a well water that does not have all the other stuff in it?
Well water will always have at least trace elements in it, from the earth.
ok thanks a bunch
regarding the thinner, I would like to share a
TIP : you can make Flat , Semi-Gloss and Gloss finish out of the same acrylic tube brand or color.
Here is how! Basically it is how you play with DW and IPA 91% ratio.
I put few drops of IPA 91% on my 70% Alcohol thinner to reach semi-gloss to flat finish.
You have to play with the ratio of IPA91% what about your results ?
I went to find Windex and scoured 5 stores!....Every one has the NEW Windex with the new FORMULA!....I was told it does not have ammonia in it anymore. Have you heard this and will it still work? Also I looked for 91% Alcohol.....LOL.....and only found the highest was 70% Rubbing Alcohol ISOPROYL. Do you know it this will? Any reply will be appreciated.
Also in your video you state 100ml of windex then you changed your mind and said 75ml and in the description you. Stated 100ml which is correct
Will this work with mrhobby paint
4 years later, everyone seems to think this is a great mix, but your amounts of each ingredient don’t add up.
The bottle I am using is very old. I have recently heard that this product is no longer available in the US. I never shot it through my airbrush so I am not sure of pressures. Be careful spraying that stuff, if it dries in your airbrush then it may render it unusable. That stuff dries hard.
Hi There, im gonna make some thinner and Cleaner for my Airbrush. In this mix, can i use something else than Glycerin, i cant get that in Norway. Nowone have it.
can i use 90 grade PINK denaturate alcol instead of transparent iso 91? Will the pink contaminate the acrilic color?
Thanks
What kind of acrylic paints are you talking about? I use Craft types, Tamiya, and Model Masters.
I have used a the home brew on two occasions now with excellent results. Airbrushing with acrylics is fun again!
The only glycerin I can find is suppositories....I'm going for it
🤣😂🤣
Why use 90+% alcohol that needs to be cut with water? Seems more practical to use 35% which is in medical-grade deionized water. You t don’t have to buy and add as much water, plus the weaker strengths are more available.
A "dust mask" does nothing for atomized gases.
gases no, particulates, somewhat depending on size
Rick is correct. A "Dust mask" does nothing to protect you from atomized ammonia or any of the poisonous alcohol types. You need a "respirator" with cartridges rated for the type of material with which you are working. Keep in mind that many modelers are trying to get away from (among others) lacquer-based paints, yet lacquer thinner is just another type of alcohol. You've got to block the fumes, otherwise you're not protecting yourself.
Plus one sub my friend
Revisiting this video as my recipe has changed. I now use Simple Green instead of non ammonia Windex. I also use a little flow enhancer in the thinner. Cheers from eastern TN
there is no windex in turkey, is it okay if i just put ammonia?
75ml ammonia 25ml detergent shaped
Question about thinner! My airbrush say to dilute acrylic paint 7 parts water to 1part pain. To me it looks to thin what would you recommend to dilute paint with the thinner?
This was great information. i will give it a try and hopefully save some money on the long run. Thank you
Nice video - thanks. Maybe cut the time by half. Nine minutes in until your formula. I like the glycemic. . .
Great video once more. Perfect timing too. I just ran out of my airbrush cleaner and need this stuff bad. I even ordered the two bottles. Question for you. What brands of acrylic paint can you use the thinner on? I mostly use Bombshell Brew paint and Vallejo
I copied this recipe and the recipe I'm very shocking that it works and we trying to find a cheapest way to do it this way is the best way to do it was great hands down everybody should thank you once again for your help
Thanks for posting this video, you presented it very well and in a clear concise manner! Just a point of curiosity for me, why are you using the 90% alcohol and thinning it down? Why not go for a lower percentage off the shelf (we have 50 and about 70% available where I live in Canada) and add less water or maybe no water at all? I’m certainly no chemist, just left me wondering.
91% is easily accessible here in the U.S. I can get it every bit as easily as the 70%, but I also use it during prep of my items, so I prefer the 91% anyway. :)
Hi very detail video, thumbs up!Just 2 questions .
1)i already have 100% alcohol(commercial type),do i still add in the same proportion too?
2)I'm using angelus leather paint.does it work too? and do you know the ratio for your thinner:angelus paint?
Been using windex on car windows with chrome trim all my life.
Very handy,
Question can you use spray tin primer. Then go over the top with Acrylic air brush paint?
Very new to this 😳
Thank you for info. Can I use 70% alcohol.
Thanks for the info...I will try that...quick question...since I have a bunch of 99% Iso Alcohol.....could you still use that or would you water it down a bit before adding to rest of ingredients.....thanks
Hello i cannot find 91% isopropyl what can i use instead
The percentage is simple math. The rest is plain water. When you calculate your amounts. figure it with the amount of water already in the alcohol.
Hey Darrin, do you any links to the video of your F-16 that you are building???
I have WIP pictures in both the Facebook Group and on our new website www.grumpymodeler.com located in the forum section. I will do a step by step build here in the channel in the near future.
NICE! Look forward in seeing it.
I see this was made before the pandemic and the alcohol shortage. I have a very limited supply of 70% and 99% alcohol. How would you change your mixture if you were using 70% alcohol or 99% alcohol?
The math is simple, but it can take some thought to get it right.
If the recipe says to use 91% iso, just take the amount, 75mL, and multiply by 0.91 to get the number of mL of actual 100% iso that is in the mix. That would be 68.25mL.
The next question is how much 70% iso do I need to get the 68.25mL that was in the recipe? 0.7 times some amount equals 68.25... or with some algebra, that would be 68.25 divided by 0.7, which equals 97.5mL.
Now, one thing to note is that our 70% iso has more water in it. You would need to reduce the water by the difference to get the same mixture. Essentially, you want the total of all ingredients to add up to the total volume of the bottle called for.
Though I have the same name, I'm not the grumpy modeller, fyi.
Only alcohol that is 91%. Can’t use 70?
You should be able to use 70%. I never tried it but an experiment never hurts. Let me know how it works out.
good stuff! I started using the thinner mix and was impressed at how well it worked vs store bought, i wont be buying commercially made any more. doesnt matter much but i put the glycerin in first then it pretty much is mixed by the time I add the water and alcohol
Was a follow up video showing how to use the thinner with basic acrylics ever recorded? It wasn't until after I made up the thinner, that I saw the comments regarding it causing acrylics to sludge. They're the whole point I wanted the thinner in the first place... :-/
your using 250 mm bottles ? then why with 175 mm water and 75 mm alcohol the bottle is not full?????
Great informative video. IPO is fairly expensive where I live. Is there a cheaper substitute?
Hello, I live outside the state and w don't have Windex here, is there any possible replacement that I can use to clean the airbrush? Thank you.
Hi, I am in Canada and I couldn't seem to find 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, only 99% are available , could I use that ? will that work/make a difference? Thanks
Yes you can use that, no it won't make a difference.
New to this. Can I use these DIY recipes for cleaning and thinning lacquer paints?
You did read the video description right? Is Lacquer(Enamel), Acrylic?
@@LazarusLong Right. But i guess i didnt realize that lacquer was enamel. But thanks for your encouragement.
I use the same recipes for thinner and cleaner. Cheaper than buying the commercial "stuff". The alcohol is usually 70% isopropyl. I use the non-ammonia Windex. I use the water soluble glycerin. And I make my own distilled water. Make a gallon every night in my water distiller.
fo thinner I use 33% alcohol to 67% distilled water plus 10ml of flow improver and 10ml of paint retarder from Windsor and newton but my cleaner is pretty much the same
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