thinner vs reducer?

   / thinner vs reducer? #1  

blunosr

Bronze Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2010
Messages
86
Location
Northern BC, Canada
Tractor
Kubota MX5000, Ford 5000, Massey Ferguson 1080, Bobcat A300
Hi, I'm about to paint my FEL mount on my old Ford 5000, and I'm wondering what the difference is between paint thinner, and reducer?

What do you use to clean the parts before paint?

Thanks,
 
   / thinner vs reducer? #2  
Thinner is for gun cleaning and parts. Reducer is for your paint make-up.
 
   / thinner vs reducer? #3  
I was always told that thinner was used in laquers and reducer was used in enamals. They perform the same task, thinning or reducing the consistency of the base paint, but using the wrong one with your paint of choice will affect the finished paint job. Clean your paint guns with the same reducer or thinner you used to cut your paint.

For cleaning before painting I wash with soapy water, rinse with clear water, dry with clean rags, wipe down with mineral spirits, let air dry, wipe with a tack cloth, then paint.

Ken
 
   / thinner vs reducer? #4  
Up here, pretty well any solvent is often called "paint thinner", from varsol to gasoline....unless its water based paint.
We used to refer to "laqueur thinners" and "enamel reducer". Get them mixed up and your paint was ruined. That was back when we only had two types of auto paint...
 
   / thinner vs reducer? #5  
In some cases reducer is designed to react with the paint as well as reduce it. What ever paint you plan on using get the correct product that works with it.
 
   / thinner vs reducer? #6  
Actually for chemical makeup I believe they are essentially the same. I have used general paint thinner to use on my oil based enamels all the time instead of paying the higher priced mark-up for there reducer. Never once did I have an issue of the paint not sticking or having it orange peel on me. I've sprayed several trailers and a truck topper.

Also have done the same to reduce my primers with just general lacquer thinner since most primers are lacquer based.

Keep in mind that there are different types of enamels and primers. So if in doubt you might want to try spraying a piece of scrap metal first or just pay the few extra dollars and go with the recommended reducer.

It's a real P.I.T.A and frustration if you put a ton of time into a new paint job and than have it turn out bad just from trying to save a few bucks.
 
 
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