"Using craft paints in place of pricey acrylics" Topic

So who all paints using DecoArt or similar craft paints (PLAID, Apple Barrel, etc) in place of expensive GW, Vallejo or other similar paints?

I've mostly used craft paints for terrain, and found my first batches of figures years back done using craft paints left a powdery finish after drybrushing. Of course, I can now paint a heck of a lot better.

I find myself scaling back in size in my gaming (20mm, 15mm and even some stuff done in 6mm) and wonder if craft paints will be just as good on the smaller scale stuff? I mean after all, only Paul from the Mercenary Brush or Eric from Pigmented Miniatures can pull off a Dalimore look in 6mm. To me it's not that important.

-B6

Could work if you put in the time and can discriminate accurately. It is a bit trial and error but the savings could be worth it.

B6,

They should work just fine. I've used craft paints almost exclusively for years. They are definitely worth it. Thats what I use for my 15mm and 25/28mm stuff. I've had some color separation issues with the odd bottle but at around a buck a bottle it's cheap to replace. Lets face it, anytime you can buy 3 to 5 2 oz bottles of paint for the price of a 1 oz bottle of "hobby paint" how can you go wrong? It's also a lot easier to find craft paints than the specific hobby brands like Vallejo or GW. Finding spcific colors can be a bit of a challenge at times though.

I've used mostly Delta Ceramcoat now for at least 10 years and they work fine. For metallics I use Vallejo mostly.

I've had decent success too, although they need to be thinned a bit to avoid obscuring fine details.

Definitely worth a buck or less a bottle, especially since the bottle holds more than 1/4 of an ounce, like some of the others out there.

"although they need to be thinned a bit to avoid obscuring fine details"

Top Gun Ace, when thinning out, do you get a bit of whitish residue on the edges of where you apply dark colors? If so, how have you overcome this?

CC

About charts:

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CC

With regards to the whitish edge when thinning, I used to get that when using our very hard water to thin. Now, with a water softener or using bottled water, it is a thing of the past.

But I had that same problem with all paints. Due to the lack of hobby stores (they have all gone under where I live)I have been using whatever walmart sells, mostly Ceramcoat, but some folk art. The price is right, and I have yet to have any trouble with them. For metallics I use some GW paints I have had around for a while from the last hobby shop to go under.

I started using Apple Barrel and Delta Ceramcoat last year, for the convenience of acrylics without the cost of GW paints. These items were painted using mostly or entirely those two brands:

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While I don't use Delta Ceramcoat exclusively (I use a few RP, GW, Vallejo and other paints) however, I use Delta paints extensively and almost everything I paint has a significant percentage of it painted with Ceramcoat.

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Javelin 98, which "cheap" craft paint(s) did you use to get those bright red colors on your robots? My craft paint red always come out a bit dull.

I've used craft paints my entire mini painting life.

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…. I think they work just fine. I don't use craft paint metallics … they are very poor. I use GW metallics and inks. I am planning on going to Liquitex (??) as the pigment colour is much better giving brighter colour which is the only thing I find that craft paint lack. Otherwise they are very easy to work with.

Richard,

Most of the craft Reds are translucent. You have to undercoat with white to allow the red to "pop out."

Jim

I use craft paints (mostly Americana and Ceramcoat) for almost everything except washes (GW and Reaper inks) and metallics (Reaper). The pigments aren't always as strong as, say, Vallejo paints, but undercoating properly will compensate.

I think they're actually *better* for drybrushing than "pro" paints are, although you have to be careful or they can look chalky.

Rich

All of the cheap paints work fine – so long as you thin them appropriately for the surface area you are covering. Using them straight out of the bottle is asking for trouble unless you are careful. They tend to be thicker than "hobby" paint, but thin down with acrylic thinner quite nicely. They also tend to have a larger pigment (not as finely ground) as "hobby" paints and most of the cheap craft paints do not have any liquid pigment in them.

Many of the newer "hobby" paints use liquid pigments so they cover better without being thick and they use newer binders than the craft paints so the pigment doesn't separate.

As HUNDVIG SAID: I find the craft paints work well for dry-brushing better than any of the hobby paints too. They tend to leave pigment on the high areas without bleeding into the recesses since they don't have any liquid pigments in them.

My Dad and I have used them for years and years. I recently got a deal on a complete set of Reaper Pro Paints and I like them – but I still have many of the craft paints because they work so well! Craft paint reds and yellows tend to cover better than any of the "hobby" paints with the exception of the old "Ki-Rin Yellow/Gold" from Polly S. That is the best yellow paint I have ever seen!

Ki-Rin Yellow/Gold" from Polly S. That is the best yellow paint I have ever seen!

Couldn't agree more. Still have a couple of pots I'm nursing along.

Wow, thanks for the replies guys. Seems craft paints has quite a following. Jav, those pics look amazing. Nice work indeed.

-B6

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All of my painted miniatures were done with "craft" paints.

CC