For as long as I’ve used Mr. Color, I always wonder what the composition of its thinner is. After all, they are so dang pricey, and we all know paint manufacturers just love to repackage common chemicals and resell them for ridiculous prices (e.g. enamel thinner = mineral spirits, Tamiya X-20A = alcohol). But Mr. Color is different. True you can thin it with hardware store lacquer thinners, but it is actually hotter than Mr. Color’s, because the latter doesn’t melt styrene plastic that all model uses. Also it dries wayyyyy to fast and crazed my kits.
After a bit of browsing today, I found the chemical composition of Mr. Color sheet. To read off the pdf, it says 2-Pentanone, 4-hydroxy-4-methyl- + 2-Propanol + isobutyl alcohol + 2-Pentanone, 4-methyl + Ethanol, 2-butoxy-
Ummm, ok. Apparently 2-Pentanone is called MPK which is related to MEK, and that mixes up with alcohol is what Mr. color thinner is. May be I’ll try it when I’m short on the expensive stuff.
I think this is what you want…
https://www.amazon.com/Diacetone-Alcohol-1000ml-32oz-Bottle/dp/B00HUS9N58/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468308272&sr=8-1&keywords=Diacetone+Alcohol
Mix with 1:1 w/ 99% (electronics grade) isopropyl, and 1:10 of Retarder and 1:10 Flowaid, and top off with adding 20% distilled water. You may need to adjust.
Note: Tamiya X-20A is not just alcohol, it’s MSDS is very close to what Mr. Color is.
Whoa that’s some mixture! Thanks for the info, gotta give it a try later.