Thinning Mr. Surfacer for airbrush

[Gazzas]

Hi Everyone!

 

What do you guys thin it with?  And...  Can any gradient of MR. Surfacer do the job, or do you want the highest number?

 

Thanks!

 

Gaz

[LSP_Kevin]

If you want to airbrush it Gaz, start with the thinnest variety possible - indicated by the highest number. There's no point starting with the thicker varieties, and then trying to add enormous amounts of thinner to them to get them to an airbrush-ready state. You'll just end up with a heavy mix that doesn't spray well; you may as well make it easier for yourself and get a jar of 1200 or 1500, as they'll already be much thinner than, say 500, and produce a better, more reliable result.

 

As for the thinning medium, Mr. Color Thinner all the way (Levelling variety or not). Whatever you do, avoid generic hardware store lacquer thinners, as they're all different, and not reliable at all. I've had heaps of trouble using the stuff from Bunnings, for example, and only use it for cleaning out the airbrush afterwards now.

 

And don't forget that you can get them in a spray can, and they spray exceptionally well if you're trying to cover an entire model. And just in case it's not obvious, for airbrushing, get the jars - don't bother trying to decant the spray cans!

 

Kev

[Gazzas]

Thanks Kev,

    That's just the info I needed.  I have a jar I've been using for a couple of years but I was never happy with it for filling as it shrunk too much.  Over time it got thicker and I started using it for texturing armor.  But then it got so thick that I tried Bunnings lacquer thinner.  It thinned it, but it separates suspiciously over time.  The separated top half looks unbelievably clear, so I still only use it for texturing armor.

 

Gaz

[dennismcc]

I airbrushed a very holy (air bubbles) resin model with Mr Surfacer 1200, I thinned it 50:50 with Mr Color thinner and it went on great.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Old Dog]

I have always used lacquer thinner 50/50 and have not had any issues, maybe I'm just lucky. One tip if when spraying you get what looks like cob webs from the tip it's a sign you need more thinner.

[Out2gtcha]

Ive always had great luck cutting Mr Surfacer 1500 w/Mr Color thinner or Mr Color leveling thinner. 

[Jan_G]

Gaz if you want to work only with Mr. Surfacer so Kev described it pretty well. Im using it occasionally too, but usually i need o polish it or sand it a little to get nice surface.

Thats why I prefer Tamiya Fine White Surface Primer in can for a overall layer prior the painting. Rhis gives me realy nice smooth surface. For smaller parts I'm using MRP surfacers which are already thinned and ready to airbrush.

jan

[Bill_S]

I read somewhere that Mr. Surfacer contains fine particles of pulverized stone (granite or marble - I can't recall). Similar to sandpaper, the higher the number, the smaller the particles. I use only 1500, and I thin it only with Mr. Thinner or Mr. Leveling Thinner. Keep in mind that you're essentially running an abrasive through your airbrush. I have an old single action airbrush dedicated to Mr. Surfacer.

[LSP_Kevin]

6 hours ago, Old Dog said:

I have always used lacquer thinner 50/50 and have not had any issues, maybe I'm just lucky. One tip if when spraying you get what looks like cob webs from the tip it's a sign you need more thinner.

 

Actually, the spider-webbing is also a sign that the thinner is not 100% compatible. With the local generic stuff I use, I have to thin Mr. Surfacer down to around 90:10 before this stops, making it useless as a primer. With Mr. Color Thinner, it can be 50:50 quite happily.

 

Kev

[MikeMaben]

On 1/23/2019 at 11:31 AM, Bill_S said:

I read somewhere that Mr. Surfacer contains fine particles of pulverized stone (granite or marble - I can't recall).

 

Really ??  why woud they do that ?  

 

As a primer the finer paricled stuff is obviously better.

If you just want to save your old MS500 just add 91% alcohol

and save your Mr. Leveling for paint. I've been doing that for

years with no problem. 

 

[ringleheim]

I almost always use Mr. Color leveling thinner and then tend to go with the higher grits of the surfacer; it's the best primer I know of and very easy to work with.  I don't think the exact grit # is very critical, though I would probably avoid "500" or the really low numbers.

 

I also keep around cheap lacquer thinner purchased in a huge can at Home Depot.  I generally use it only for cleaning things, but sometimes I spray with it too, if you deliberately do not want the retarder effect of the leveling thinner.  

 

Anything that is thinned with normal lacquer thinner from the hardware store will dry MUCH more quickly than stuff thinned with Mr. Color leveling thinner.  It depends on what you are trying to do.

 

When I was doing a 1/24 Ferrari car model, I wanted some of my color to cure quickly b/c I had to tape off areas and then apply a second color.  Using normal lacquer thinner meant I could relatively quickly apply tape without leaving any marks or goo on the painted surface.  I have had bad experiences taping too quickly on paint thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner...it leaves a texture of sorts in the paint finish if you don't wait long enough.

 

 

 

 

[CANicoll]

I am very late to this party, but following along with the general recommendation of 50/50 mix of Mr Surfacer (1500 in my case) and Mr Color Self Leveling Thinner I tried spraying on my Mustang's wings to replicate the puttying effect.  It sprayed amazingly well and I laid on some very wet coats to fill in the rivets. 1000 probably would have worked better, but had no problem spraying it at about 18 psi.

 

Even with some very heavy coats, the self leveling thinner worked its magic.  I'll be putting pictures up on the build page for Duchess Arlene.

 

Chris