"vallejo paints newbie question" Topic

Will be using Vallejo for the first time in the next few months. Saw on their website that they are too thick to use right from the bottle. It recommended 1:1 ratio of water to paint for base coat and then higher ratios for highlighting etc.

Is the 1:1 standard for those of you who use Vallejos all the time? The one illustration using US uniform recommended doing 3 coats for the base coat!

As always, thanks for any help or advice. Am working in 20mm

Yes, always add some water to thin. Good range of paints 17ml in a bottle. As you get used to the range you might find the need to thin further,but that comes with using the paints over time.

Thin them with your paint brush, dipping as you paint.

I use Vallejo neat as I'm almost always using them as an opaque coat and not a transparent one. Diluted I would say that the intention was to build up transparent layers over a lighter undercoat – not a technique I use much on 2-10mm figures.

I have used them on 20mm WW2 figures and found that most uniform colours covered reasonably well (over my grey primer) but a 2nd coat was all that was needed for full opacity.

Best idea is to try it out undiluted on one figure and see how it works for you. If it proves too thick for your methods and preferences then dilute it until it works the way you want it to.

Everybody ends up with their own 'best' way of doing things, it is a common fallacy that there is only one 'best' way of doing something like painting figures.

To be honest I'm not sure what ration I use, I add enough thinner until the paint easily flows from the brush. However, I use an acrylic thinner or at least distilled water as opposed to plain water. I want to thin the paint not dilute it. I really like the game colors but they are fantasy (named) paints but the game colors already come thinned though I still add some thinner. Just find a consistency that flows easily and not so thick you can see brush strokes until u find a consistency that works for you. You can always do more coats but you can't remove one. You might try a game color black since black is black to get a feel for how thin to get your paint.

Duane

I also do what John the OFM does.

I sometimes use VJ thinner medium but to be honest I generally thin with tap water. I paint over a white undercoat and I love using VJ as you can thin it so much and still get good coverage.

I mix almost all my own colours and thin as required. I say just experiment with them and see how you like to use them. As has been written no right or wrong in all of this just what you like the most. I keep changing how I paint as I like to mess about and find new options.

However, I do think the models need to be well degreased and primed – I use a proper primer not just paint. VJ is weak paint, especially when thinned with water and it won't stand much handling but good priming and protective varnishing will ensure the paint doesn't rub off.

Different Vallejo paints have varying thicknesses so there's no "standard" thinning ratio.

Some say to thin the paint to the thickness of milk. That may be too thin unless your strategy is to build up color by applying more than one coat.

But I can say that I have started thinning Vallejo paint as standard practice with much better results.

Schogun is correct--the different model colors have differing viscosities, and also differ in the amount of shaking required. As others have noted, how much you thin the paint is up to you and your style of painting. With higher levels of painting, I believe you'll find that controlling the paint flow is a key element.

Different Vallejo paints have varying thicknesses so there's no "standard" thinning ratio.

Ditto

Also, depends how well you shake them and how old they are (some evaporation or having used more dilute stuff when you didn't fully shake another time)

Tap water is fine. I recommend distilled water just because it can be more consistent and flow aid (reduces surface tension)

I am learning that it is a matter of getting the paint to flow off the brush onto the model – so some trial and error is needed

Lastly how thick you want the paint depends on your painting style. Lots of the online tutorials are for "show painters" rather than wargame painters. They will use 2-3 coats of base coat to get a perfect smooth even look, then lots of dilute layers to get blended highlights and shadows.

So for ww2 uniforms, a single base coat that is thick enough to cover will be great.

Good luck

John

Boy, you guys sure like to make things complicated.

A wet palette is also very useful so the paint diesn't dry and thicken.

David

I have pointed this out earlier, so perhaps you already know: the SAME company ( Acrylicos Vallejo) also produces larger bottles (60ml instead of 17ml), called Arte Deco. With 180 different colours of the same quality (although of course more general, so no German Field Grey and such) a great combination which (of course) also is far cheaper than the small bottles.
For reducing surface tension of tap water you can also simply use tap water with a drop of soap, BTW.

I use straight from the bottle, for 20mm WW2. If I thin with water, I use and eye dropper for accurate measurement.
One drop of water or more to however many drops of paint.

to quote a much younger co-worker before I retired..

You Guys Rock! :-)

thanks a ton for all your help!

Happy Holidays to you all!

Sam

Happy holidays! Just to complicate things, I use the P3 wet palette, and dip the brush in Vallejo thinner ad I go. That stuff is great and works very well with every brand of paint I use.

the wet palette will solve a lot of problems, you can thin the paint directly by applying a bit pressure with the brush then the paint gets thinner, otherwise I am not a fan of Vallejo and would recommend Coat d'Armes

anybody wanting to track down the larger bottles in the UK…
link