problems with vallejo model colours..

[fredwinu]

i recently bourght my first couple of model colours, i didnt buy the thinner as i have my own. i was using tamiya color acrylic thinner which worked fine with all my GW paints, i applied it to the vallejo and it solidofied it like a cheap spry paint thats ben rushed... any suggestion as to why it didnt work, do i need to buy the vallejo thinner ( which i dont want to as i have plenty of the tamiya stuff already..) and any explantion as to why its happening...

fred.

 

[Fizl]

Just use water.

If I remember rightly, the Tamiya thinner has some alcohol in it? The only model colour paints that need a special thinner are their alcohol based metallics -you can guess what that needs to thin it.

If you want to add anything else to the water to help it appear even etc, there are a number of artists additives that can be used, and I\'m sure their advocates will turn up. The only one I use is a bit of retarder, but thats because I am so slooooooow when I paint

Shaz

 

[fredwinu]

i think it contains iso-propanol, but i want to know why it works with Gw but not vallejo, i mean arn\'t they similar in structer,just that vallejo uses better \'conponents\' and more pigment?

 

[Modderrhu]

Yep, just water. For all the reasons that Fizl mentioned.

Originally posted by Fizl
... there are a number of artists additives that can be used, and I\'m sure their advocates will turn up.

Acrylic paint media are actually... guess? Acrylic! Not water. Thinning too much with just water can make the paint dry inconsistantly due to the different densities/viscosities of the acrylic medium and the water. To fix this, add acrylic and water. The cheapest way, by far, is to use an acrylic floor polish. Future Floor Wax is the standard, and goes by the name of Kleer in the UK, I believe. Now thin the paints with a mix of 1:4 of floor polish and water.

So to you, Sharon!

As to why the alcohol would affect Vallejo more than GW, I suspect that the Vallejo acrylic media are separating from the alcohol more than the GW media. Different viscosities and densities between paint brands will make that sort of difference. Just like the paint media will separate from water more easily than an acrylic thinner.

 

[Fizl]

Originally posted by Modderrhu


So to you, Sharon!

back!! With an extra

Not saying not an advocate (if I knew why on earth people added these things I would consider it if I thought it would make my painting vagually better lol), but I knew someone with a good answer would come along

Shaz

 

[airhead]

the Tamaya stuff in the clear glass pots is formulated to work on Lexan car bodies. It has some different additive and carriers in it than most of our paints. Thus, it needs to be thinned with Tamaya thinner.

Most of the paints we use (GW, Reaper, Vellajo, Apple Barrel) are water based and can be reduced with plain water. A bit of retarder or flow aid helps if your style needs it. Additional carrier (latex)may be required if you go very thin (airbrush media, glaze media, Future, etc.)

As to why your GW paints didn\'t react with the Tamaya thinner, I have no clue, but the Vellajo media obviously did have a chemical reaction with the alcohol in the Tamaya thinner.

Bottom line, save the Tamaya thinner for the Tamaya paints (and I\'d use separate brushes too).

 

[Spacemunkie]

Originally posted by Modderrhu
Acrylic paint media are actually... guess? Acrylic! Not water. Thinning too much with just water can make the paint dry inconsistantly due to the different densities/viscosities of the acrylic medium and the water....

Pffft. Never used anything other than water in over 20 years, and my paint always worked fine....

And another top tip with Tamiya paint - DON\'T LICK YER BRUSH!!!! :|~

 

[james sequeira]

i havnt been able to get hold of any vallejo thinner yet but water works perfectly fine

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by fredwinu
i think it contains iso-propanol, but i want to know why it works with Gw but not vallejo, i mean arn\'t they similar in structer...

Because they\'re different kinds of paint.

You might like to try W&N\'s Watercolour Blending Medium; it\'s supposed to work very nicely to help blends and transitions with VMC.

As far as the need for things other than water...
I haven\'t used additives as a rule when painting with acrylic for the last 15 years. A lot of the perceived problems with over-thinning stem from what manufacturers tell us and they are trying to get us to buy medium I think we should never forget.

But the simple fact is that paints vary - for a start most acrylic hobby paints are actually vinyls, not acrylics - so what works for one brand might not be the best thing for another even though they are superficially similar.

Here\'s a simple rule of thumb: try thinning just with water, if it doesn\'t work properly then look at an additive or alternative.

Einion

 

[fredwinu]

i dont like thinning with water as it drys to quickly and makes the colour lighter when added.... when i use GW paints, the tamyia thinner doesnt affect the colour and keeps it thin, i\'ll look arround for that W&N stuff...

 

[airhead]

Originally posted by fredwinu
i dont like thinning with water as it...makes the colour lighter when added....

Plain water should not make the color lighter. Most paint actually dries darker than its liquid color.

 

[generulpoleaxe]

@fredwinu, you need to be using a %60-%40 part mix of paint to water with the model colour.

it takes a little while to get used to it when you have been using gw paint for a while.