Distilled water. Isopropyl Alcohol (99.9%) Acrylic Flow Improver. Acrylic Fluid Retarder.
You can find many recipes online including solvent-based ones, but here are a few recipes that are ideally suited to water-based airbrush thinners.
...
Recipe 3
- 4 Cups Distilled Water.
- 1 Cup Fantastik all-purpose cleaner.
- 1 Cup 99% Isopropyl Alcohol.
- 5 drops Glycerine.
Distilled Water
Water on its own does not contain ingredients required for drying and for adding fluidity to the airbrush paint. These ingredients are found in homemade and store-bought thinners. Water is your best option if you are looking for a cheaper way. It is cost-effective compared to other options.
Airbrush thinner is mostly an alcohol that drastically reduces the viscosity of the paint it is added to. Thinner medium is water/acrylic medium mix that is intended to maintain the viscosity of the paint to some extent while reducing the amount of pigment in the mix.
A paint thinner simply thins the paint, whereas a flow improver has a drying retardant that keeps the tip of the airbrush from drying out—especially important with very thin paint and smaller needles. Incorporating a variety of additives, airbrush mediums may do one or both of these things.
They do not present a danger to health or environment.
There are two kinds of airbrush media: a thinner and a flow improver. A paint thinner simply thins the paint, whereas a flow improver has a drying retardant that keeps the tip of the airbrush from drying out—especially important with very thin paint and smaller needles.
You can thin water-based acrylic paint with isopropyl (rubbing alcohol). The recommended amount of alcohol you can use to dilute paint is up to 20%. The use of alcohol will accelerate drying and can result in uneven application.
What Can Be Used Instead Of Thinner? It is possible to thin oil-based paint with mineral spirits or acetone instead of traditional turpentine thinners. Both of these household products can be used as thinners.
Can You Use Acetone To Thin Acrylic Paint For Airbrush? Water, medium, acetone, turpentine, flow-aid, or paint-thinner are all suitable for thin painting.
However, acetone should not be considered a panacea, for as well as removing paint from your airbrush, in the long term it will also have a detrimental effect on your airbrushes internal rubber and plastic components – indeed, if your airbrush has a plastic body, I would think very carefully about using it at all.
Distilled water. Isopropyl Alcohol (99.9%) Acrylic Flow Improver. Acrylic Fluid Retarder.
The most popular types of thinners are derived from petroleum, such as mineral spirits and turpentine. There are also alcohol-based products like denatured alcohol (ethanol) and acetone (a.k.a. nail polish remover), which are commonly used to thin lacquers, shellacs and epoxies (adhesives and primers).
Mineral spirits or acetone are acceptable thinners that can be used as an alternative to traditional ones like turpentine. Both of these common household products can be used to thin oil-based paint. You can purchase either at your local hardware store or home center.
The active component in the Flow Improver is most likely propylene glycol. The cleaner is Butoxyethanol -- ethylene glycol -- aka: anti-freeze. It is not ammonia, but Windex is a popular airbrush cleaner for acrylics because of the ammonia within it.
GOLDEN Airbrush Medium blends easily with other GOLDEN acrylics to yield a paint mixture with the proper viscosity for airbrushing. Airbrush Medium also effectively decreases clogging and tip-buildup during spraying, eliminating the largest drawback to airbrushing with acrylics.
Thinner is used to reduce the consistency and to reduce the size of the paint pigment. Reducing paints with Vallejo thinner doesn't result in loss of adhesion. We recommend the addition of a few drops of thinner to the Model Air and Game Air colors while airbrushing.
Any excess or errors can be wiped away with water without any damage or worry – plus this is a non-toxic & odourless product that won't break the bank, so that's another bonus.
They're also pretty harmless for the skin. So they're non-toxic when used as paints. It does not, however, mean that they're not toxic if ingested.
You can use acetone or nail polish remover as long as it is acetone-based. You will need one part acetone to three parts paint which is roughly a cup and a half of acetone. Add the paint you wish to thin to the bucket. Then add half of the acetone and stir thoroughly for at least five minutes.
Often one can run some lacquer thinner through the pump for awhile and get out most of the old dried debris if the sprayer does not have too much in it. If your sprayer has a flexible intake tube, flex it, move it around while running the thinner through it to try to dislodge the dried material inside it.
Mineral spirits is a heavily refined distillation of petroleum that is used to thin oil-based paints and to clean brushes and rollers. The Pros: Mineral spirits are less toxic than other paint thinners. In general, mineral spirits are less smelly than alternative products, and an odorless version is available, as well.