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So I'm hearing mixed things about Tamiya's thinner. I bought a big thing of it but what I found on forums and websites seem to conflict with each other. Some say it's not good to use with GW paints and some are saying it's one of the best! I planned on using this to thin both for brushwork and airbrush use. Thoughts?

I went through 2 bottles without issues. I'm using it to thin down vallejo air colors.

The standard Citadel paints are very thick and particles are not as fine, I don't like using them for airbrushing no matter how thinned down.

Noctem wrote:
So I'm hearing mixed things about Tamiya's thinner. I bought a big thing of it but what I found on forums and websites seem to conflict with each other. Some say it's not good to use with GW paints and some are saying it's one of the best! I planned on using this to thin both for brushwork and airbrush use. Thoughts?

It depends on the particular paint. For some paints it's fine, the old Blazing Orange for example. For others, it's a disaster waiting to happen, the old Solar Macharius Orange. When mixed with the latter, the pigment condenses into a slimy lump, which obviously doesn't go through airbrushes well.

For thinning citadel paints water works fine.

For thinning to a wash or glaze consistency lahmian medium works best.

For thinning for airbrush work vallejo airbrush thinner is best.

X20A works with tamiya paints for airbrushing.

So if I'm only going to be using GW paints I may have made a mistake in buying this X20-A? I have some Lamina Medium, it's just very expensive, I think. I'll look at Vallejo airbrush thinner!

X20A is an alcohol based thinner. SOME Vallejo and Citadel paints turn to jelly when they're mixed with it, others are fine.

Personally I have a bottle of X20A and I never use it. I use Vallejo thinner for Citadel and Vallejo paints and I use Gunze self levelling lacquer thinners for Tamiya acrylics.

I occasionally use X20A to remove small spots of paint (mistakes and such) by dampening a brush very lightly in the thinner and brushing it over the paint I want to remove. But it's a gamble, sometimes it soaks in too far and strips the underlying paint too.

X20A isn't bad per say, it's just not as good as the lacquer thinner for Tamiya paints and not as good as the Vallejo thinner for Vallejo and Citadel paints... at least in my opinion and experience, YMMV.

Whatever you do, if you find a paint pot which needs thinning to stop it drying out on your shelf, DO NOT ADD X20A!. I did & the paint set :( I now just add water. Still use X20a for airbrushing though.

I find that X20A is good for Tamiya acrylics and not much else.

I typically use Liquitex airbrush medium or just water for thinning when I am airbrushing.

Well i just purchased it as i got the retarder a while ago will be testing it on the gw ones i do have before painting. Thanks for this thread