gunze super clear II #184

[appleseed]

just bought two of these 40ml bottles at $8.50 each. to my surprise, they react with mr thinner!! i thought i just got a bad bottle so i opened the other one and same thing! after being very pissed off and irritated for ten minutes, i noticed a label on the top hidden underneath the price tag. i suspect it is a warning of some sort but my guess is that there is a specific thinner i need to use for this guy. there's a mr*** something or rather there but it is in japanese and the wording does not match with the japanese wording on my mr thinner bottle. anyone have any experience with this specific product and what to thin in with? i have have a guess that it may be the mr leveling thinner that is needed for this lacquer since gunze does not make many variations of their thinners (and why would they right?). would anyone like to shed some light on this matter for me? thanks in advance!

a.

[RallyRaider]

What do you mean by "react"? I've orderd some Gunze paints and was planning to use just plain old automotive lacquer thinner. That has worked okay for their surfacers so far. Will have to see how it goes when the paints arrive.

Maybe the 'Super' part of the name is signifigant?

[srlxy]

I have been using that with no problem at all...

I thinned the gloss with mr colour levelling thinner then spray through my air brush and it works fine!
By the way, whats your base coat?(Before spraying gloss)

[appleseed]

i found the answer talking with an online merchant.

as it turns out, the larger 40mL super clear II is only compatible with mr leveling thinner and not the mr thinner. the label i was referrring to was acutally a warning label to use only mr leveling thinner. if you use the regular mr thinner with this specific clear lacquer, the result would be a cloudy gel... thus my term 'reaction'... not good news. however, i was told that you can get away with adding mr retarder mild to mr thinner to use with this. i'm awaiting a response from the merchant as to the mix ratio of mr thinner to mr retarder mild to use with this lacquer.

phil, as far as using automotive lacquers for thinning the paint, i'm sure it would work but i find that automotive lacquers are a bit strong for this paint. i've had paint jobs ruined when i misted colors thinned in automotive lacquers onto another color coat (for a second or third coat). what happens is that you'll see tiny tiny rings which ruins the finish. the gunze thinners are not as strong and i would recommend them over automotive lacquer thinner.

just for reference, what brand of automotive thinner do you use?

a.

[appleseed]

srlxy, the reaction occured when thinning the paint so i wasn't even going to think about spraying this through my airbrush. the whole kit was colored with gunze lacquers.

a.

[Chain]

Thats the same problem I had a couple of months ago and I posted it here to find the solution.

If I am not mistaken, there are 3 types of Gunze paints:
REFER TO PIC: left to right:
Mr Hobby Aqueuos, water base, Mr Hobby lacquer and Mr MetalColour.
Both the lacquer and metal comes in bottles with the same type of caps that makes it easier for you to unscrew.

Aqueous, you can use Tamiya's acrylic thinner and Mr Hobby leveling thinner.

But the other 2, you can only use Mr Hobby leveling thinner.

If you use other thinners you will find that the moment you drop some thinner in, the paint in the bottles gather together in a lump, quite a funny reaction and you cant use the paint. I wasted 1 bottle that way. Didnt know til then.

When cleaning, NEVER EVER USE WATER to clean your airbrush if you use lacquer and metal colour.

I might be wrong but if I remember correctly, I had a very difficult time cleaning my airbrush.

Oh btw, you can tell that its lacquer cos the smell from it is very smelly.

[Chain]

Allow me to add some tips when using Gunze lacquers.

Always use only Mr Hobby leveling thinner and never others if you need to thin it.

If you use airbrush with the paint, make sure the paint is diluted enough, you have to judge for yourself.

When cleaning the airbrush after using the lacquer paints, pour away the excess paints and pour in a fresh amount of leveling thinner into your gravity cup or if your airbrush allows you to fit a bottle, fit a bottle of fresh leveling thinner and spray out the excess paints.
Spray out and backflow the thinner to and fro your nozzle. Do this a couple of times to get rid of the excess paints. You will be able to see your bottle or cup becoming cloudy.
Pour them away and DONT USE water. Just leave the airbrush to dry by itself.
Having a little thinner in the airbrush will not hurt it.

Basically I fine that the leveling thinner is still the best thinner to use for waterbase, enamels, lacquer and metalcolours. So having a little left in the airbrush will be ok for your next spray job.

Just make sure you do a pre-spray each time you put in a new paint. This should be standard procedure for all spray jobs.

When I first started using Gunze I was very afraid of it after what happen. But now after some tests, I have no problems with it at all.

Acrylics arent that good for polishing.
Enamels arent fully recommended for airbrush as some have pointed out.
So I have turned to lacquers for both small and large part brushing.
Saves me the trouble of switching to a different brand each time.

Hope this helps.

[RallyRaider]

If only you could read Japanese! Happy to hear you solved your problem.

I've ordered some Mr Retarder too so will have to play with it when the paints arrive. Sorry to say I don't know the exact brand of thinner I'm using, I just go down to the Auto store and buy whatever is cheapest! As long as it's got lots of nasty stuff like Methel Ethel Keytones and Acetones in it, then it's good enough for me! Hopefully it will work for Mr Color too. Probably depends on what type of paint you use for priming, colouring and clear coating. I make it a rule to always use the same brand for each job.

Will let you know how I go.

[RallyRaider]

Originally posted by Chain

Enamels arent fully recommended for airbrush as some have pointed out.

Funny I've been spraying enamels for ages and never had any trouble. Don't use anything special for thinners either, just mineral turpentine. Maybe it depends on the brand? I usually use Testor's Model Masters and have just recently started using Tamiya.

They can't match a good laquer for a smooth, thin, shiny finish on the body though.