Decanting Gloss Lacquer from a Spray Can

[Guest]

Tamiya TS series. I want to use it in an airbrush (slightly thinned according to advice). What's the best/least messy way to do that?

Pointing the nozzle into a small hole in plastic sheet or piece of cardboard covering the collecting jar?

[eddiesolo]

I am wondering if you could source a small can of WD40 or similar that has a tube attachment. The tube fits into the nozzle of the can, if not then the original Tamiya nozzle might be able to be swapped over for the unused WD40 nozzle. Failing that, get a plastic syringe remove the plunger and direct the spray into the syringe part, the laquer will run out of the end into your bottle, hopefully, worth a try.

Si

[Guest]

I have done this in the past

First go outside puncture the can at the top with something pointed .Care is the optimum word .

Air will escape let it stand .

Now wait 5 hours to let the propellent to disperse

(If you interrupt this process it will begin to boil)

After the time had expired you can open the hole it bit more so you can pour the paint into ajar with a lid for storage

You now have perfect paint to put through your air brush

[eddiesolo]

Here you go Steve: http://www.tamiyausa.com/articles/decanting-tamiya-spray-301?category_id=8&type=article#.UxS60-N_vGA

Basically it is the same method I said in my early post, with the added part from Harry about leaving the paint to out-gas.

Si

[Guest]

For My fire engines i used car cellulose cans which i find cost effective.

[yak face]

Hi Steve , Ive done this quite a few times and this is what I did. Take a drinking straw , one of the big diameter ones from any fast food restaurant is best , cut it to about 4 inch then get a strip of masking tape about 3 inch long. Stick half the tape to the end of the straw , then position the open end over the nozzle of the spray can and wrap the other half around the back of the nozzle and stick to the other side of the straw. What you should now have is a 4 inch long pipe over the nozzle which you can stick in any little jar and spray away with a minimum of overspray (its always a good idea to put on a rubber glove as the small bit of backspray can sometimes colour the end of your spraying finger!) When youve got enough in your jar leave it uncapped overnight then its ok to just use straight in the airbrush. Personally Ive thinned decanted silver Aerosol with cellulose thinners Alclad style , but you have to be careful as it can be quite corrosive on unpainted plastic- a good coat of primer is essential . Hope this helps cheers tony

[The Migrant]

I use the same drinking straw method as Tony. I cover the open top of the jar with masking tape, and cut an 'x' into it with a scalpel through which I push the straw, then spray the aerosol; the masking tape prevents too much from escaping. Once the paint's in the jar it needs to de-gas, which can take several hours. You can accelerate this by carefully and very slowly stirring the jar with a paintbrush handle. As Harry says the contents will 'boil', and if you stir too vigorously it'll literally boil over the top of the jar and all over everything. But with a gentle stir every 20 minutes or so it should be ready to airbrush within a couple of hours. I generally thin it a little for airbrushing, using lacquer/cellulose thinners.

[stona]

One more for Tony/Mike's method though I haven't done it for years.....literally. I have made quite a mess doing it too

Cheers

Steve

[Ian M]

I'm tempted to try this just to see what happens if you stir it to vigorously....lol

Ian M

[Guest]

Although using the spraycan's nozzle and a straw method seems good because it's simple and direct, and uses the can more or less as it was designed to be used, I am attracted to Harry's poke-a-hole-in-the-can-and-wait-5 hours (at least) and then decant because it seems more controllable and less messy. I might change my mind but I will report results in a few days (if I'm still alive!).

[Guest]

MaKe sure the hole is pointing away from you.I use a pointed craft knife and insert just under the shoulder into the soft skin.

And like most processes in modelling time is our friend give it plenty and better things come.

As you raised the subject i went out into the garage and opened some red I used months ago

It was still runny and ready to use.

[Guest]

If I can impart another little tip ,before I started any spraying I obtained a plastic box big enough to go over my work. The kind found in the discount shops minus lid.

That is as soon as I finished spraying I covered up the painted work so as no dust could fall upon it.

And as I was using cellulose it goes with out saying ...outside

And obviously let time do it job.o_O

[Guest]

If I can impart another little tip ,before I started any spraying I obtained a plastic box big enough to go over my work. The kind found in the discount shops minus lid.That is as soon as I finished spraying I covered up the painted work so as no dust could fall upon it.

And as I was using cellulose it goes with out saying ...outside

And obviously let time do it job.o_O

Yes, dust and hairs are a nuisance. I will look for a box. Being cardboard, I wonder whether it might drop bits on to the paint. So the answer to that could be to coat the inside using household varnish!

I try to airbrush several parts at the same time, using the same paint, and laying them out on a board. I will need to find quite a big box, as you say from a supermarket.

[Guest]

I was referring to the plastic kind you can get very cheap, well worth the investment at any price really its much better than a cardboard one as its durable and ever lasting. And it does make all the difference as the model is protected for its duration underneath as we know things can go wrong.

If I may offer another tip with regard small parts that need spraying instead of just laying them down and hoping that the air doesn't blow them down the street .

I use bluetack or whitetack and generally use enough to hold it in positiion

[Guest]

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