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I know that maybe this thread does not belong in here, but I am kind of paranoid. My Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver just arrived - purchased it on ebay. The bottle was leaking, but not because it was damaged - the cap was loosened. I am not going to ask for a refund, but what actually worries me that it smells exactly like Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner and I wonder if something shady was not made before they posted this. I am not at home atm and I cannot use the flow improver, but can someone let me know if they should smell the same?

They have a similar chemical cleaner-ish smell -- they must share some chemical. I don't think there's any point in replacing one for the other, as neither is significantly more expensive than the other, IIRC. In fact, I think I paid less for my flow improver than airbrush cleaner, though that's a little hard to tell, as 1 of the larger bottles of flow improver lasts forever (so, I bought it a very long time ago), while a bottle of airbrush cleaner doesn't last long at all.

They do have a similar smell to them, my flow improver smells stronger than my cleaner does though, might just be the bottle it's in though.

I think they must both use the same oily surfactant to break the surface tension of the paint.

I have never tried interchanging one for the other though, I use the cleaner for cleaning my airbrush and I mostly use the flow improver for hairy brush painting. The improver can definitely act as a paint stripper but I don't know if it does it as well as the actual cleaner does.

Maybe they're the same and I never noticed Would have to test.

Thanks guys! I am yet to use the bottle and it seems that the improver is a bit oilier than the cleaner. In another forum I see people recommending Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner as an actual thinner to Lifecolor Acrylics (I hate them thou, they clog my brush instantly no matter how I thin them)

I think the cleaner might have actually come out before the thinner did, I seem to recall a tutorial made by Vallejo themselves where they used the cleaner as a thinner.

I've tried using the cleaner as a thinner and for certain paints it works better, but overall I prefer using the thinner for thinning and the cleaner for cleaning.

Both the cleaner and the thinner (dont own the flow improver) smell like a cleaning solution that we use at my work place. I beleive its propylene glycol (or some other glycol ether) which is a very common additive and has quite a distinct smell.