| Daft as it sounds a good rule of thumb is the right cleaner for the right paint.
Acrylic paint can actually be washed off with water but you are quite correct in saying that Tamiya thinners is better. That is a very good example to prove to yourself that the right stuff is worth it. As an experiment put some Tamiya acrylic paint on a brush, wipe it off then wash it with water. You will be quite happy it is clean enough then dip the brush in Tamiya thinners and see how much more paint you can get out of the brush.
Generally I use the manufacturers thinners for thier own paints although, of course for certain paints such as enamels basic white spirit is basically as good.
You will also find that some manufacturers make thinners and cleaner which may sound a bit daft but the two are differrent. It is importnat for thinners that the rate of evaporation of the thinners is the same as that of the paint otherwise the paint density will vary with time as one evaporates faster than the other. Cleaner on the other hand is an aggresive a solvent as can be made to remove all the paint from the brush so it should not be used as a thinners.
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“Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack, Butting through the Channel in the mad March days" |