Lacquer thinner

[Michael P. Lemieux]

Hello
Question, is there any difference in lacquer thinner from Behlen or high quality lacquer thinner from your local hardware store? Thanks guys,
Michael

[Greg Mirken]

Lacquer thinners are mixtures of solvents, and there is variation from brand to brand just like lacquer formulations. If you switch brands you may find different flowout or blushing characteristics. Behlen's quality-control is likely to be superior since they supply the pro market.

[Howard Klepper]

yeah, there is. Hardware store stuff contains more vehicle and less solvent, because it's cheaper to make it that way. Thinning with hardware store stuff can cause "cotton blush," I thin with Behlens and use hardware store for cleanup.

[Paul Hostetter]

A trick I learned years ago was to use acrylic lacquer thinner for nitro lacquer, particularly the slow formula. No blushing, far superior to any other lacquer thinner I'd ever used. I buy the cheap hardware store stuff for general cleaning, but only use the acrylic with the nitro lacquer that will get applied to instruments.

[Michael P. Lemieux]

Hey Paul,

Thanks for the info everybody, very helpful. Everybody have a Merry Christmas.

Michael