DIY Tamiya extra thin

[Jakko]

In an earlier discussion on this forum not too long ago, we were talking about the ingredients of Tamiya cement. Last week, because my bottle of it is running low, I did a bit more digging and found a material safety data sheet claiming it to be 50% butyl acetate and 50% acetone. So, I thought, what do those cost and where can I buy them? That turned out to have easy answers too, and I therefore decided to purchase a 100 ml bottle of each, plus a 10 ml pipette to more easily measure them Each of the bottles was under €3, so if this works as intended, I spent less than €6 for 200 ml while a bottle of Tamiya extra thin cement is around €7 for 40 ml. I’ll probably report my findings once I’ve mixed up a little batch and tested it.

Since I was at a web store selling solvents, I also added a litre bottle of isopropanol, for thinning acrylic paints for airbrushing, as a replacement for the windscreen wiper fluid I’ve been using for the last several years.

 

[Tim Marlow]

View attachment 416412

In an earlier discussion on this forum not too long ago, we were talking about the ingredients of Tamiya cement. Last week, because my bottle of it is running low, I did a bit more digging and found a material safety data sheet claiming it to be 50% butyl acetate and 50% acetone. So, I thought, what do those cost and where can I buy them? That turned out to have easy answers too, and I therefore decided to purchase a 100 ml bottle of each, plus a 10 ml pipette to more easily measure them Each of the bottles was under €3, so if this works as intended, I spent less than €6 for 200 ml while a bottle of Tamiya extra thin cement is around €7 for 40 ml. I’ll probably report my findings once I’ve mixed up a little batch and tested it.

Since I was at a web store selling solvents, I also added a litre bottle of isopropanol, for thinning acrylic paints for airbrushing, as a replacement for the windscreen wiper fluid I’ve been using for the last several years.

Interested to see how this pans out Jakko. Not sure I need 200mL of extra thin though.....

 

[adt70hk]

View attachment 416412

In an earlier discussion on this forum not too long ago, we were talking about the ingredients of Tamiya cement. Last week, because my bottle of it is running low, I did a bit more digging and found a material safety data sheet claiming it to be 50% butyl acetate and 50% acetone. So, I thought, what do those cost and where can I buy them? That turned out to have easy answers too, and I therefore decided to purchase a 100 ml bottle of each, plus a 10 ml pipette to more easily measure them Each of the bottles was under €3, so if this works as intended, I spent less than €6 for 200 ml while a bottle of Tamiya extra thin cement is around €7 for 40 ml. I’ll probably report my findings once I’ve mixed up a little batch and tested it.

Since I was at a web store selling solvents, I also added a litre bottle of isopropanol, for thinning acrylic paints for airbrushing, as a replacement for the windscreen wiper fluid I’ve been using for the last several years.

Please let us know how you get on.

Andrew

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Not sure I need 200mL of extra thin though.....

If you did, you could use their airbrush cleaner instead, which contains the same solvents in an almost identical ratio.

Cheaper than extra thin, though maybe not as fun as home brewing ones own.

 

[Jakko]

Interested to see how this pans out Jakko.

I did a quick test by mixing a brushfull of butyl acetate with a brushfull of acetone and trying to glue two bits of sprue together with it. This worked fine, as expected.

Not sure I need 200mL of extra thin though.....

Not within the next few weeks, I hope But it doesn’t eat any bread, as the saying here goes, so I figure it doesn’t matter if I can fill the bottle from it for the next five years or more. And it means I’ll have a supply of it any time, instead of having to pause building a model because the glue has run out. And I won’t need to throw out empty bottles. And maybe I can even think of some more pretend reasons if I try hard enough

Please let us know how you get on.

I will, I just need to actually use it for a bit first. All I did yesterday was put 20 ml into my ²∕₃ empty Tamiya bottle, I’ve not tried building models with it yet …

If you did, you could use their airbrush cleaner instead, which contains the same solvents in an almost identical ratio.

51% acetone to 49% butyl acetate, apparently (see point 3.2, on page 2 of the document). Yes, I can see that will make a huge difference

For those interested, here’s a long discussion about this.

 

[Jakko]

Did you ever experiment further, Jakko?

Good question, I said I’d come back to this, didn’t I? Yes, I’ve been happily using my home-made mixture since I bought it. I can’t really say how it compares to actual Tamiya Extra Thin because I only ever bought one bottle of that, which I then proceeded to re-fill as per the above, but as far as I can tell it behaves exactly the same. Which is what you’d expect, of course

 

[Jim R]

Hi Jakko
That is very interesting and certainly worth knowing.
Jim

 

[adt70hk]

Jakko

Forgot about this. Will definitely keep it kind for future use.

Have just bought a bottle of TET but tell give this a shot next time.

ATB.

Andrew

 

[David Lovell]

I suppose I can see it but why ,model hobbies do it for 3.35 you could probably find it for not much more with free postage on ebay plus a jar lasts for ever and a day plus you don't have to find a safe place to keep chemicals, I can appreciate your enthusiasm and curiosity but honestly at £3.35 a jar. Dave

 

[Jakko]

I suppose I can see it but why ,model hobbies do it for 3.35

It’s more like €6–7 for a bottle here, depending on where you buy it. At the current exchange rate, that's about £5.

a jar lasts for ever and a day

You must use a lot less glue than I do

you don't have to find a safe place to keep chemicals

Um … we’re talking about two well-capped bottles holding 100 ml each, not a warehouse full of chemicals. I keep them in a bin in my hobby room.

 

[prichrd1]

It does work - tried it after following the thread that Jakko put up.
Ordered butyl acetate - and - pinched wifey's nail varnish remover !!!!
Mixed them and tried them firstly to join some plastic pipe and then to fix together some kit parts.
Seems to dry faster than TET though.

Paul.

 

[JR]

Also useful as an accelerant , just saying.
TAXI