Zero paints/thinners & delivery to California

[robertgreen94]

Howdy all, I need some technical advice on Zero Paints, particulary in regards to shipping to the US and thinner/cleaners.

So Santa was nice to me and I ended up with the FXX and SMS detail set, as well as the Tamiya Porsche 934 Jagermister 1/12. Ok it was the wife, and not Santa, she must be after a new handbag.
So the paint the store suggested, for the Jagermeister, TS-31 Bright Orange. In looking at this, I think they are slightly off. So I decided to go with Zero paints. Color match is not an issue, but the thinner and clear coats are. Have people in general had success in having the paint and/or thinners and/or 2k clear shipped to the US, specifically CA. I will be using the Hiroboy website, obviously. Is there something that I can get in the US that will replace the thinner. Hiroboy's web site, running on a mac of course, states its similar to Alclad thinner, so can I really use Alclad thinner to clean the airbrush.
Given the recent issues with air travel, they may be some scrutiny to liquids being air-mailed, so I will have to presume worse case, it does not get here. This would be no fault of Hiroboy, just DHS which are about as much use as the NHS.

thanks

[stevenoble]

You don't have to use the specific Zero thinners. Any base coat thinners will work the same as the Zero thinners. Most auto paint supply stores carry base coat thinners. I buy a larger 5 litre can of base coat thinners here in the UK and it thins the Zero paints beautifully. For cleaning you can use the same base coat thinners, but if you do a lot of spraying it can be costly as the base coat thinners are usually more expensive. So I just buy a 5 litre can of cheap regular cellulose thinners/gun wash. Again most auto paint stores will carry this product. It works out very cost effective. If you can get the paints and the 2k clear delivered to you in the US it is worth it, they really are top notch products...

[robertgreen94]

Thanks for the suggestion on the base coat thinner. I will have to pop down to NAPA and see what the have. With such a large model having the right color, especially since it's so prominent, I wanted to make sure it looked
good.

[star21]

You shouldn't have a problem getting to your location. I've made several recent orders and haven't had any problems. He ships it in approved containers (glass) and also its shrink wrapped sealed. The only downside is the shipping cost, as the flat-rate postage is determined by weight.

You may also want to try Scale Finshes. They may have the colors you need. Unfortunately their website is not as easy to use or aesthetic than HB's but its still functional and you can always shoot an e-mail.

[Froride1]

Originally Posted by robertgreen94

Thanks for the suggestion on the base coat thinner. I will have to pop down to NAPA and see what the have. With such a large model having the right color, especially since it's so prominent, I wanted to make sure it looked
good.

You shouldn't have any problems getting Zero paint, prethinned clear or 2k clear. I have ordered and received all three in the last year. I'm in Cupertino not that far from you. I don't know about the thinner, I haven't ordered any. I tried my local Napa, in San Jose, that is also a auto paint supplier and six months ago he said he had anything I needed. But a couple days ago he said everything is highly regulated and said he doesn't sell any type of Lacquer paint or thinner. He basically gave me the brush-off. He said I should go to Santa Cruz for lacquer because Santa Cruz County has less regulation. Anyway, let us know how you do a local paint store. I may need to take a little drive to get thinner.

[nakadds]

I've ordered the zero paint thinner and had no problem with shipping to Cal. But with all the changes in regulations I wouldn't be surprise if they ban in the future. I haven't used too much of the thinner because the paint sprays really nice as is. Zero paint use to come in plastic container and would slowly evaporate over time. I've lost a whole bottle of 1k clear due to evaporation. They now come in glass bottle so should last much longer. You have to be careful with thinning zero paints because too much thinner will melt the plastic-->happened to me just the other day.

[Froride1]

Originally Posted by nakadds

I've ordered the zero paint thinner and had no problem with shipping to Cal. But with all the changes in regulations I wouldn't be surprise if they ban in the future. I haven't used too much of the thinner because the paint sprays really nice as is. Zero paint use to come in plastic container and would slowly evaporate over time. I've lost a whole bottle of 1k clear due to evaporation. They now come in glass bottle so should last much longer. You have to be careful with thinning zero paints because too much thinner will melt the plastic-->happened to me just the other day.

I have paint in the old plastic bottles and some of the thinner has evaporated. Enough is gone to make it not spray well. I need to add a little thinner to make it spray like it should.

If you still have the bottle of 1K you can add thinner to bring it back. The thinner evaporates not the actual paint.

[stevenoble]

I have lots in the old plastic bottles and the thinner has evaporated. When Hiroboy first launched the Zero paints I bought a fair few for all the projects I have lined up for the future. Now they are in the glass bottles they don't evaporate at all. I have some Nissan Penzoil yellow for over a year now and it's still full to the top in the glass bottle. Moving to the glass bottles was a good idea...

[hiergehts]

Another place to get the 'cheap' lacquer thinner is at Lowe's or Home Depot. I use Klean-Strip from Lowe's for general clean up including my airbrush, bottles, etc. I've also used it to thin paints a few times and it works fine for that. Cost is about $7.25/quart where I am.

HTH

[Froride1]

Originally Posted by hiergehts

Another place to get the 'cheap' lacquer thinner is at Lowe's or Home Depot. I use Klean-Strip from Lowe's for general clean up including my airbrush, bottles, etc. I've also used it to thin paints a few times and it works fine for that. Cost is about $7.25/quart where I am.

HTH

Good to hear, I have a can I use mostly for cleanup. I'll give it a try, I only need a little.