From crafters to fine artists, creatives across disciplines have embraced acrylic paint for its adaptable consistency, quick-drying finish, and non-toxic water-based formula. As acrylic painting surged in popularity over the past half-century, so did the market for specialized mediums and tools – including essential thinners and cleaners.
Commercial acrylic thinners and airbrush cleaners from art brands provide quality results yet come with premium price tags that add up. Avid painters making constant mix adjustments or artists maintaining numerous airbrushes face sizable thinning and cleaning supply expenses annually.
Luckily, with some basic ingredients and containers on hand, homemade substitutes can be whipped up that rival store-bought options at a fraction of the cost. This enables full control over custom blends tailored to individual needs.
This simple yet comprehensive guide will explore:
- Creating homemade acrylic thinners
- Concocting DIY airbrush cleaners
- Usage and storage tips
- The verdict: DIY vs. commercial
- Additional handy resources
Equipped with key formulas and best practices, both new and experienced acrylic artists can unlock the flexibility and affordability of Do-It-Yourself solutions. Let‘s review recommended mixtures for crafting quality thinners and cleaners rivaling costly specialized products on the market.
A Brief History of Acrylic Paint
Modern acrylic painting originated in the 1950s with chemists experimenting on water-based acrylic polymer formulas for increased flexibility and fast drying capacity compared to oil or latex options. By the 1960s, fine artists adopted these enhanced acrylics after the pioneering launch of Liquitex – the first artist-quality acrylic color line.
Over the following decades, major brands like Golden Artist Colors continued improving acrylics with better lightfastness, consistency, and workability. By the 1990s, acrylics secured their status as vital painting mediums. Better technical understanding also led to specialty acrylic mediums and additives. These allowed artists to deliberately modify viscosity, flow, drying rate, and finish sheen.
Acrylic thinning liquids and airbrush cleaners emerged to satisfy growing thinning, blending, and spray application demands. While quality commercial formulas effectively serve these functions, homemade versions provide comparable results at fraction of the cost.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Homemade Acrylic Thinners
A good acrylic thinner evenly blends paint colors, increases transparency, and extends drying time for blending wet layers. Commercial thinners contain key additives to dilute thick paint while slowing moisture evaporation.
Base Thinner
The simplest homemade thinner contains two vital components:
- Water – acts as primary thinning solvent
- Retarder – delays acrylic drying
Base Thinner
- 1 part water
- 1 part retarder
Recommended Procedure:
- Gather materials
- Distilled water (or filtered)
- Acrylic retarder medium
- Mixing container
- Measure out equal parts water and retarder
- Thoroughly mix together
- Funnel into storage dispenser
- Label container
This basic combination works for general thinning needs. For enhanced properties, include additional ingredients like alcohol, airbrush thinner mediums, flow improvers, glycerin, or acrylic polymer emulsions.
Small test batches allow gauging effectiveness at customized ratios tailored to individual acrylic colors and painting styles.
"I tweak my homemade acrylic thinners all the time. Adding a few drops more of this and that until finding my perfect consistency and drying time for how I like to work wet-on-wet.” – Sarah R., Acrylic Artist
Enhanced Mixture
Once comfortable with the two base components, try adding modifiers for improved flow and spray application:
- Rubbing alcohol – reduces surface tension
- Airbrush thinner – lightens body
- Glycerin – lubricates airbrush innards
Enhanced Acrylic Thinner
- 1 cup distilled water
- 1⁄4 cup isopropyl alcohol
- 1⁄4 cup airbrush thinner
- 1 tsp glycerin
Follow the same steps as the base recipe while incrementally integrating additives to monitor results. Maintain thorough stirring and consistent proportions for reproducibility.
Commercial-quality acrylic thinners run $8-$20 per 8 oz. Batch concocting elimination recurring expense. Distilled water, alcohols, and acrylic mediums are easily obtainable from grocery, hardware, and art stores for a few dollars. Reuse or recycle clean containers for affordable long-term savings.
Specialized Solutions
Once comfortable blending basic thinner solutions, get creative with specialty ingredients that produce custom acrylic blends for particular techniques:
- Flow Improver – smoother blending
- Drying Accelerator – faster detail work
- Matting Paste – flat non-glossy finishes
- Textural Powder – gritty mixed media
Endless combinations exist! Curious minds and patient testing are rewarded with cost-efficient thinners suiting distinctive artistic goals.
Concocting Homemade Airbrush Cleaners
While acrylics conveniently clean up with water when wet, dried residues can accumulate and disrupt smooth spray control. Unlike brush cleaning, airbrushes have tiny components and precise openings vulnerable to clogging. Commercial cleaners quickly clear passages, but cost $5+ per 2-4 oz. Proper ongoing maintenance would burn through bottles monthly.
Thankfully, DIY cleaners safely dissolve and flush stubborn acrylics using common cleaning agents costing a few dollars annually:
Straightforward Formula
This simple cleaner cuts acrylic binders so pigments wash away:
- 1 cup isopropyl alcohol
- 1 cup distilled water
Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol is an effective solvent, but leaves residue. 190+ proof ethyl (drinking) alcohol evaporates completely clean. Though costlier upfront, its concentrated strength allows extreme dilution with water to lower usage costs.
Procedure:
- Mix ingredients
- Funnel into spray bottles or jars
- Scrub airbrush parts
- Rinse under running water
- Wipe and dry assembled airbrush
Foaming Cleaner
For heavy soiling, degreasing agents like liquid dish soap boost cleaning strength:
- 1 cup warm distilled water
- 1 tbsp liquid dish soap
The gentle bubbly formula lifts stubborn stains from tiny crevices. Dispense from a foam spray bottle for easy application while scrubbing with soft brushes. Rinse thoroughly after soaking.
Advanced users can also create specialized cleaners, like automotive brake cleaner for extreme fouling or rapid drying for between color changes. Customize cleansing power as needed.
Pro Tips for Handling DIY Solutions
When concocting homemade acrylic thinners and airbrush cleaners, utilize these studio best practices:
Always Use Distilled Water
Tap water contains mineral and chemical contaminants causing airbrush clogging and paint chemistry interference.
Shake Well Before Each Use
Ingredients separate over time. Thorough mixing ensures consistent ratios.
Use Funnels for Easy Filling
Prevent spilling into small openings. Funnels allow smoother pouring.
Label Containers Completely
Include recipe, date mixed, and intended use. This prevents confusion if tweaking multiple tester batches.
Store in Dark Bottles
Light degrades acrylic emulsions over time. Store thinners and cleaners in darkness for longevity.
Wipe Airbrushes Dry After Cleaning
Remaining moisture loosens paint adhesion causing flaking. Wipe externals dry and spray briefly to clear interior passages.
Compare Test Batches Side-by-Side
When adjusting mixtures, line up multiple iterations to directly compare effectiveness.
As techniques improve, homemade acrylic thinners and cleaners eventually surpass commercial quality and consistency while retaining artistic customization freedoms.
The Verdict: DIY vs Store-Bought Solutions
Concocting Do-It-Yourself acrylic painting solutions requires initial legwork researching recipes and testing batches, but quickly leads to long-term savings and flexibility advantages.
DIY Pros
🏷️ Drastic Cost Savings
Recurring commercial expenses disappear. Ingredients bought in bulk minimize per-use costs.
🧪 Customization Options
Tweak mixtures precisely for individualized preferences across paint brands, artistic style, and spraying needs.
🌿 Less Exposure to Harsh Chemicals
Control strength of cleansing agents. Commercial formulas often utilize harsh solvents. Gentler homemade cleaners minimize skin, lung, and environmental impact without sacrificing cleaning muscle.
🛠️ Encourages Airbrush Maintenance
Brewing DIY cleaner motivates performing recommended back-to-basics airbrush cleanings for sustained performance.
DIY Cons
⌛ Trial & Error Development
Testing various ingredient ratios takes effort and patience until personalized perfection. Maintain adjustment notes.
🚚 Ingredient Gathering
Collecting materials from various stores initially inconveniences versus single cans of commercial products. But containers last months to years for net positive.
🧪 Measuring & Mixing
Level of effort compounds for multiple recipe iterations. But procedure quickly becomes second nature.
Speaking with artists who have adopted DIY thinning and cleaning practices reveals enthusiastic savings and creative freedom. Once base recipes are mastered through documented experimentation, reproducing successful batches is simple using precise measurements. Artists spend more time creating and less money re-upping supplies.
Expert Insights on Homemade vs Commercial
"I‘ll never go back to store-bought thinners and cleaners. My homebrew flows flawlessly and cleans literally twice as good. It leaves zero residue."
Todd W. – Airbrush Illustrator & Instructor
"Making my own enables perfectly adapting consistency, transparency, and drying time to my layered pouring techniques in the studio."
Sarah R. – Fluid Acrylic Artist
"Compared gallon for gallon, my DIY airbrush cleaner costs a tenth of name brand stuff. And I can adjust alcohol strength to keep my airbrushes pristine indefinitely.”
Dan G. – Scale Modeler
These perspectives represent the passionate feedback within niche painting communities. Not only are home mixtures more affordable, they promote better understanding of product compositions tailored intentionally rather than settling for generic one-size-fits all commercial products. Mastery inspires pride and liberation to create.
Additional Handy Resources
For those seeking to dive deeper into formulating custom acrylic solutions, consult these helpful references:
Acrylic Retarders Guide – Golden Artist Colors
Overview of various retarder mediums for slowing acrylic drying times.
Airbrush Cleaner Formula Experiments – Dan’s Hobby Superstore
Testing notes on alcohol dilutions, additive effectiveness, drying times
DIY Airbrush Paint Thinner Recipes – Airgun Depot Paintball Gear
Community discussion on thinning mixtures for airbrush compatibility
Advanced Airbrush Cleaning Tutorial – The Prop Shop
Deep cleaning methods for extremely fouled airbrushes
Equipped with key understanding of base mixtures, additives, and best practices, acrylic artists can unlock substantial cost savings, customization freedoms, and performance gains through homemade thinners and cleaners – all while establishing gratifying self-sufficiency.
Confidently concoct your personalized solutions rivaling costly commercial alternatives. Reinvest savings into more painting supplies or artistic adventures instead! Wishing happy thrifting and creating.