I usually use a 50:50 mix of thinners to paint, but to check I put the mix in a small glass airbrush jar and swirl it around, the paint should run freely off the glass but leave colour on the glass, also make sure that you mix the paint well before thinning and mix the thinners and paint mixture well. I have white spirit, turps substitute and also model enamel thinners from my local hobby shop. Currently I use Tamiya thinners but it can be hard to source. The usual thinning ratio is 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner. Always mix the paint in the tinlet well, I thin to brush paint about 1/3rd thinners. Because the percentage of pigment and solids is high in relation to the solvent and binders, enamels can take longer to dry and cure than ordinary paints -- but you can shorten these drying times. TONY RUPI . Removing Humbrol Enamel Paint. beetcleaner, I usually do about 5 - 10 drops into a small amount of paint and mix it till I can get that nice milky consistency. I prefer parrafin to white spirit, it is a very light oil, the pink dye does not seem to effect the final paint colour, I prefer the oilyness of parafine for brush painting, it seems to help the paint flow and brush marks dissappear. Brush straight from the tin. The usual thinning ratio is 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner. Mojmír Skopalík mojma. Branded thinners etc is a good way to spend money. These will all be at least 20 years old, some considerably older as clearly several were used for making model aircraft and i haven't dome that for about 45 years. Just wish I could get on with acrylics but the thinning agents suggested are so varied I don't know what to use. Two thin coats are preferable to one thick coat. I've often wondered if all "white sprits" are the same quality and because of that, and because i really don't want to mess around when painting a model I've spent ages building, I tend to use the manufacturer's own thinners; OK, they're more expensive, but a tin lasts a long time. Further to my recent mention of Lidl's Baufix thinner, I left a plastic handled brush to soak in some a couple of days ago. (It tends to be very oily and in some cases can lead to paint that does not dry). Airbrush with a suitable thinner such as Humbrol Enamel Thinners. Acrylic Enamel. Maybe somebody can post what percentage to look out for. I found lighter fuel tended to make some of the Chinese humbrol paints turn to jelly. THINNING PAINT FOR AIRBRUSHING The question "What is the exact thinning ratio when using XYZ paint in an airbrush", or some derivative thereof, comes up frequently so I thought I'd try and provide a comprehensive answer once and for all. Because of its solvent properties, mineral spirits are highly effective at removing dust and grime from dried enamel paint. Should I thin with the thinners and clean the airbrush with white spirit or turps? After mixing the paint in the container for about two minutes, I thinned the paint with Humbrol enamel thinners (2 parts paint : 1 part thinner). Been flying since I was 16 but had to give it away for health reasons in '97. On the subject of enamel thinners, instead of buying the piddly little 50ml pots buy a 250ml tin of HUmbrol enamel thinners, I do this and decant into a smaller bottle, if memory serves I paid about £2.50 for the tin as opposed to £1.25 for a 50ml bottle and that's ina local village toy shop so high street would be cheaper. I sprayed my first coat thinnly and then waited an hour and sprayed another coat. I love anything to do with aeroplanes. I use white spirit for brush (and hand) cleaning and Lidl's Baufix All Purpose Thinner for stubborn brushes - it's fiercer than white spirit and contains xylene (isomers) which i understand to be a bit hazardous, but it's great for cleaning brushes. For Acrylic paint use the manufacturers Acrylic Thinners.Not many Acrylic products are compatible between different manufacturers and do occasionally end up in a gooey unuseable mess. WW2 German aircraft; WW2 German armour in 1:35th; 1:20th F1 cars ( Ferrari fan since 1967 ); some figure painting. Keep well away from RTR models though! It has always worked very well for me, I spray using 20psi. Drying time. Hi, I thin humbrol enamels with humbrol or other thinners, I clean the airbrush out with blue paint cleaner from homebase. I use white spirit from B&Q to thin Humbrol for spraying and not found any problems. I did prefer it to cellulose thinners. Plus I get it cheap from Halfords. Evert Brendel TallyHo. Best not perhaps to use this stuff on plastic. Like was stated above, make sure your Humbrol paints are mixed thoroughly-preferably by stirring. Two thin coats are preferable to one thick coat. Humbrol Enamel Paints. Note that Metalcote colours are designed to be polished when fully dry. I am an avid user of Humbrol enamels and when spraying I thin it by 50% (sometimes more) using general purpose enamel thinners from any hardware shop. It can be brushed on or applied with a damp towel. 172 months. Following advice from a well-known and respected modeller some years ago now, I have ended up using Ronsonol lighter fluid for all enamel applications, including spraying. My wife and I get away as much as possible, we love weekend drives and seeing new places. I haven't tried this yet, I have some surgical spirit here, but it seems a bit oily compared to the stuff I used to use at work. Looks like I misunderstood the question. I did clean the tops with a cloth immediately after painting. 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