Yes to thinning and yes to cleaning with liquid reamer. However, thin with Precision air drying thinners if you can still get it. It doesn’t smell as bad as enamel thinners. The paint will also flow better and will go on more evenly.
For brushing, I used to just thin to taste….I always used humbrol thinners for thinning humbrols or precision paints. I never used to stir the paint for thinning though. I found it best to take the undiluted pigment out of the tin and dilute it on a palette. That way the enamels last forever and don’t thicken in the tin.
For cleaning a hairy stick I’ve always used white spirit to solvate the paint, then undiluted washing up liquid to emulsify the solvated paint. I always rinse under running cold water, sometimes using washing up liquid again to get the brush really clean. Don’t use brush soap, it doesn’t work well with the enamel solvent.
However, there are a couple of caveat to be aware of…..
Enamels are very hard on brushes so don’t use your best ones unless you have nothing else. The paint readily migrated to the ferrule, so quickly destroying the point of all brush types.
The bristles of non synthetic brushes quickly become brittle and lose their snap. Eventually they break.
They take at least overnight to dry and harden properly, and even then can be reactivated (accidentally or otherwise) by a brush damp with thinners.
They are toxic so spraying them necessitates proper PPE and good ventilation.
They are very pungent, so are not family friendly.
The only thing they do better than acrylics is that they are better for dry brushing. The longer drying time means they don’t dry on the brush like acrylics.
To be absolutely honest Bob, I think they are a past technology and wouldn’t go back to them myself. I still have a lot of tinlet’s, but haven’t opened one for years.
