Since there are no models or modelling supplies here in Egypt, I wanted to ask about regular things I can get that would work with models.

Primer: Regular primer that is used for real cars??

Mineral spirits: Regular rubbing alcohol??

Enamel thinner: Regular terpentine??

What can I use to strip paint if I can't get this oven cleaner stuff??

Regular spray paint (Fort car and motorcycle models)??

Hope you can help me out.

hello hisham. about your questins, yes you can use auto primmer and that must mean you have a auto supply store near by. if so then you can buy this stuff called SIMPLE GREEN. this stuff strips off paint. just soak you kit in it for a few days then wash it. and it wont harm you model too. rubbing alochol is ok to thin acrylic paint. i use it to thin when i airbrush. it alo helps to dry the paint faster. rubbing alochol in not god for enamels. good luck
joe

Marhaba....keefalakh Hisham.

I'm in Riyadh and we have one Airfix/Humbrol supplier but stocks are inconsistent so I sometimes I have to seek alternatives too.

Turps or Turpintine substitute are OK for thinning enamels and cleaning brushes.

Also ladies nail boards are good substitutes for sanding sticks. They have two sides, one side medium and the other fine. They are a lot cheaper too.

And for filler you can mix styrene cement or superglue and talcum powder to a paste.

If you have an Art materials shop, you might find matt fixative used for sealing pastels and charcoal sketches. This may be a substitute for dull-coat or Humbrol matt varnish. Maybe someone can verify this.

Good luck

Cheers
Peter

Marhaba right back at ya. Thanks for the Arabic greeting. Made me feel less of a stranger. We do have good art supply stores here. The problem is knowing what works.. and for what. The guys who work in those stores usually don't really know a lot about what they sell. I gues I'll just have to experiment with a lot of stuff to see what I can replace with what. Thanks for the input. Peace be with you bro.

you can get sand paper up to 1200 grit (very fine) at shops which sell spare car parts and its much cheaper than buying it form a specialist model shop its around 80p for a large sheet here

Hisham
I use mineral spirits for thinning enamels
& brush cleaning, and to thin a wash

I use Future/Klear for gloss coating and decal prep

I'm in the USA so I get a lot mail order, and havent had to overcome what your up against.

I wish you well and see if any Internet retailers will ship to you.

Welcome to Armorama, I hope you find what you need to enjoy your hobby.
Peace be to you as well

Another thing for stripping paint is brake fluid, since you can get that in every autoparts store then it will be easier to get

DRAGONSLAIN, thanks for the brake fluid idea. I can easily get that here, and it's cheap. So, I would just emmerse the model/figure in it for sometime and then just wash it off?

oven cleaner also does the job and is cheap should be easy to pick up from most supermarkets

Hisham
you usually immerse and rinse
(I also use an old toothbrush to work into the details during the immersion and rinse)
havent had trouble with it harming the plastic
but have never walked off and left my parts very long either.

I usually do this outdoors as well, so I dont have to inhale any fumes also