Where did I go wrong?

[Guest]

I have been using Tamiya paints for some time now and decided to give Vallejo a go. I masked off a Dornier Do 17 as my plastic guinea pig., fired up the AB and...disaster. I thinned it as usual with Tamiya thinners and worked on 12-15 psi. The AB clogged up after a very short time. I cleaned it out and added another two drops of thinner from the pipette. This time it was streaky, patchy and runny. Clearly too thin. It is that critical where another two drops take it from too thick to too thin? Should I even thin it at all? Any ideas where I went wrong? All suggestions gratefully received.

Keith

[Guest]

Is it Modelcolour or Modelair that you're using Keith? The latter is pre-thinned & can be sprayed directly from the bottle, although some people do thin it a little.

My feeling would be that mixing Tamiya thinner with the Vallejo is the cause. Contrary to popular belief, Tamiya acrylics are alcohol based, not water based so there might be a chemical reaction going on.

Try using water or their own brand thinner to thin the Vallejo & see how that works.

Cheers

Patrick

[Guest]

Patrick is spot on, the alcohol in Tamiya thinners turns Vallejo paint into sticky mud

I thin Vallejo with de-ionised water from Halfords, or their airbrush cleaner

[Guest]

Morning Keith

Best I have always found is to use all the things that go with a product from the same manufacturer. They have been tested & designed for each other. Paint on paint, varnish thinners & cleaner.

Vallejo uses a water based thinner with a water based acrylic resin as the basis of their paints & their thinners. As said a "few" times before, must now be boring, if it is model air I thin about 40 to 50%. The colours differ some need more thinning. But the most important depends on the spec of the Air Brush size of nozzle. Best thing is practice before submitting the model to possible purgatory.

Cleaning as well. Found paint sticking around the cup, for instance, even after 3 or 4 minutes will not be removed by water. But a dash of Vallejo Brush Cleaner on a tissue removes it in milli seconds.

Like Andy I have used the cleaner as a thinner & it worked well. Most important. Always wipe the nozzle of the paint bottle & also the thinners as there can be a build up of what must be the acrylic resin.

Laurie

[Guest]

Thanks, guys.

Patrick, it is Model Air paint I was using. I knew it could be used neat but I like my paint a little thinner so I can build up layers. I used it once before on a spare part, thinned with water and got the same result. Thin, runny paint that you can blow away with the AB.

Andy, I might go with the Halfords water idea. I only have a few Model Air paints anyway. I liked the bottle going straight into the AB, rather than decanting from a Tamiya jar, which can be messy if you have an accident.

Laurie, I'm a bit paranoid with my AB cleaning after forgetting to clean it out not long after I got it. I had been using it, the phone rang, its a long call, you can guess the rest. Looks like I may have to invest in some Vallejo thinners. I have a few spare drop tanks to experiment with.

Thanks for your replies. Hopefully my next paint job will not turn out like the rally version of the Do17!

Keith

[BarryW]

I would also support the use of Vallejo thinners. It works well.

[Guest]

Well, thats settled then. Vallejo thinners it is. I need some more paints anyway so it seems an opportune time to put an order in. Incidentally, I tried the Model Air paints again with just a drop or two of water and its made a complete difference already. No clogging up or blowing away. I'll definitely use the thinners in future though. Thanks again gents for your helpful answers.

Keith