What is the difference between lacquer and paint thinner?

Lacquer thinner evaporates quicker. It is cleaner or leaves less of a film than paint thinner. Lacquer thinner will thin most solvent based paint but paint thinner shouldn't be used to thin Lacquer. Lacquer dries from the surface painted out and enammal dries from the surface of the paint down to the surface painted. Using the wrong thinner affects how the paint dries and may affect the final finish.