Thinning Tru-Color paint

Acetone

You can use acetone to clean your equipment but it dries waaaay to fast to get a smooth finish. Lacquer thinner comes in fast, medium, and slow dry formulas. Common Klean Strip lacquer thinner is labeled medium dry and is dirt cheap. Gives a better finish than pure acetone. The slow dry lacquer thinners would be the best option but those are made for automotive applications and will be priced 2-3 times what Klean Strip sells for. Still a bargain compared with Tru Color thinner.

Pete

Tru Color thinner is VERY pricey - but it works. I don't understand Tru Color's actual paint formula - it's not like water-based acrylics and is some kind of proprietary mix with a solvent-based carrier. I use ordinary lacquer thinner to clean up after it but it is resistant to that as well as acetone. Ordinary airbrush cleaner does not work either or not without scrubbing, which is hardly an easy/quick solution. 

So I'd be a bit careful about trying alternatives. OTOH most Tru Colors are airbrush-ready to spray out of the bottle and I have found that once opened, they don't keep very long without thickening. At that point you may be forced to thin it if you want to use it up but I have taken to planning spraying in such a way that I use up a bottle within a couple of sessions only days apart. Finicky, yes, but the colors are better than anything else out there any more.

The compounds used in Tru Color thinner are listed on the bottle. Many, but not all, of the same compounds are in lacquer thinner. I have tried acetone, Tru Color thinner, two brands of lacquer thinner including some NOS Dupont thinner made for acrylic lacquer that has been sitting in my shop for over 40 years.

Try them all on some scrap and determine for yourself what works for you. All you have to loose is a little paint.

Pete

I was a Scalecoat guy but that’s out unless someone else picks up the line. I am about to start trying to use Tru-Color. I found this older thread about thinner and wondered if there are any updates or newer info from any of you that use TC.

Thanks, Malcolm

I've switched from Scalecoat to Tru-color. I've only used the Tru-color thinner while painting, but so little of it is used I'm comfortable with the cost. I've been using 20% thinner - 80% paint at 30 psi (as the paint right from the bottle was a little too thick for my liking).

For cleaning, I've been using acetone with good results; no need to waste the branded thinner on cleaning.

~Chris

@C.Vigs posted:

I've switched from Scalecoat to Tru-color. I've only used the Tru-color thinner while painting, but so little of it is used I'm comfortable with the cost. I've been using 20% thinner - 80% paint at 30 psi (as the paint right from the bottle was a little too thick for my liking).

For cleaning, I've been using acetone with good results; no need to waste the branded thinner on cleaning.

~Chris

Thanks

You are going to be painting a model(s) seemingly worth hundreds or possibly be priceless.  If you have a small job, buy the $6 bottle.  If you have many jobs in your future the large bottle for $30+ dollars will last you a very long time and give you great results without having to try and be a chemist.

This was done with all Tru Color.

I have been using Xylene for a number of years now for thining Floquil and Scalecoat and cleaning air guns etc, at 8 +/- for 32 oz can [ Lowes ] it works fine for me. Back in the day Scalecoat was my go to paint for brass and many plastics [ KTM plastruck kits ]

@Ron045 posted:

This was done with all Tru Color.

wow.! Great looking loco, does the Tru-Color take masking well without peeling?

@hibar posted:

I have been using Xylene for a number of years now for thining Floquil and Scalecoat and cleaning air guns etc, at 8 +/- for 32 oz can [ Lowes ] it works fine for me. Back in the day Scalecoat was my go to paint for brass and many plastics [ KTM plastruck kits ]

Floquil Dio Sol was mostly xylenes but Tru Color is a different animal. I use lacquer thinner on non critical stuff like painting trucks but best finish is obtained with TruColor thinner.

Ratios will depend on your airbrush. Mine likes 50-50.

Pete

@Brother_Love posted:

wow.! Great looking loco, does the Tru-Color take masking well without peeling?

No.  I did this three times.  Cure, cure and let it cure some more.  I applied the Tamiya tape to my shirt and peeled it off to remove a lot of the glue.  Third time was the charm.

Tru-Color curing time for safe masking:

Can you put some time factor on that? 2 days? 4 days? What?

Thanks.

Andre

@laming posted:

Tru-Color curing time for safe masking:

Can you put some time factor on that? 2 days? 4 days? What?

Thanks.

Andre

To be safe and avoid further rework, I was letting everything sit for 48 hours.  Not sure if that is the right number, I just did not want to do it a fourth time.

On this job the silver paint sat two weeks.  Not because I wanted it to sit for two weeks, but other summer stuff got in the way.  The line was pretty darn good and no pull up of paint.  The stripes on the pilot sat 48.  Again... Just because I wanted it to stick and not have to do it again.

Thanks Ron.

I give several days for my vintage Floquil to cure before masking, so if/when the time comes to switch to Tru-Color, sounds as if nothing needs to change.

Andre

I did some painting this afternoon with Tru-Color.  I am very pleased!  I thinned it 80/20 with TC thinner and it left a nice semi-gloss finish for decals.  The coverage was good and finish smooth.  My only problem was it was trying to dry too quick but it was 101 here today.  I added a drop or two more  thinner and started applying paint a little faster…..problem solved.  With high heat and low humidity today I believe I could have applied decals 15 minutes after painting, but I didn’t.

Glad it's working out for you Malcolm. I've been painting every day this week and I'm liking it over Scalecoat - IMO easier to use and control, but that may just be because my painting style lends itself to quick thin coats.

I just masked the first model I'm doing with Tru-Color with more than one color, after letting the first color dry for a few weeks. Let's see if my opinion changes when I pull the tape off.

~Chris

Success on my masking job - no peeling of the red layer underneath. I used Tamiya masking tape. The lines are nice and crisp, and no paint bulge on the masking line with Tru-Color like I would sometimes get with Scalecoat.

For those who have used decals on Tru-Color, what are you using for clear coat? I have a bottle of the Tru-Color flat, and wondering if anyone has had a negative experience using it over decals. My fear is the acetone-like thinner eating some of the decal away.

Also, has anyone used the Tamiya flat over Tru-Color? I typically run a light pass of it as the very last layer on a paint or weathering job when I want to get a really good flat finish.

~Chris

I pretty much use only solvent paint and never had it eat the decals. Tru Color, Floquil, Rustoleum, Scalecoat, Krylon clears. Tru color and Floquil thinned with lacquer thinner, no problem with decals.

Pete