Thursday 20 February 2014

Vallejo's new thinner formula

While browsing the racks in my not-so-local hobbyshop, I discovered the Vallejo airbrush thinner has a new formula (for over a year now). It's transparent now, where the previous version was milky-white, and smells more like their airbrush cleaner.

I asked the store clerk if they knew what exactly had changed about it, but that conversation went like this :
  • (Me) Hi, do you know what's "new" about this "new formula"?
  • It's a little better.
  • (Me) Okay, but the previous was milky white, so is anything fundamentally changed?
  • It's always been transparent.
  • (Me) I have a bottle with the white version at home.
  • It's never been white.
  • (Me) Ow-kay. Thanks!
  • You're welcome! 
  • (Me) /facepalm
I decided to purchase a bottle to see what could be different about it.


Both bottles are marked as 71.161 and say they're to be used for thinning Model Air. I've been thinning Model Color (for brushpainting) with it as well, as I prefer to thin paint with an appropriate thinner and not just water. Thinning with water tends to destroy the adhesive property of paint.

The old (white) version does not change the colour of the paint in any way, but if you leave a puddle of the pure product to dry, it will produce a matt white-ish layer.

The new version appears to be "thinner" (pun intended) than the previous, making it actually - for me - better and easier to work with. Since switching to the new version, I've not had issues with paint consistency or occasional clogging. Cleaning the airbrush seems easier as well. I still use the dedicated "Airbrush Cleaner" (71.199) for this, but it would seem less is needed to get the brush clean.

Even though the new thinner smells a bit like the cleaner, it is not the same product (maybe a "softer" version or missing a key "cleaner" ingredient? I'm no chemist) because the cleaner actually breaks down the paint. I recommend against using the cleaner as a thinner, even though  many modellers seem to swear by it for thinning Model Color for brushpainting.

Anyway, for me this new formula makes airbrushing easier.

1 comment:

  1. What a helpfull conversation... Like buying a computer and all you get is: "It's a blue one?" :D

    ReplyDelete