Its going grainy and its annoying me intensley

[dodge]

Hi Chaps,

I would like your advice please 

I have been painting my pulp figures american marines.

I have been painting their pants a sort of like creamy colour sort of off white.

I have noticed that the effect is quite grainy and chalky like you could just wipe it off.

Now I've got to the stage where I want my finish pre varnish to be a smooth as possible.

Any help and thoughts you may have on the subject will be gratefully received 

and i've got some us sailors which will be predominantly white, so i am assuming the same problem will ensue 

dodge

[Hammers]

Which brand of paint are you using and how old is the pot?

Hi Chaps,

I would like your advice please 

I have been painting my pulp figures american marines.

I have been painting their pants a sort of like creamy colour sort of off white.

I have noticed that the effect is quite grainy and chalky like you could just wipe it off.

Now I've got to the stage where I want my finish pre varnish to be a smooth as possible.

Any help and thoughts you may have on the subject will be gratefully received 

and i've got some us sailors which will be predominantly white, so i am assuming the same problem will ensue 

dodge

[dodge]

hey hammers

 actually a mix of gw bleached bone and ivory vallejo model colour , a few months old is all on both

is it because I'm mixing two different paint makes do you think?

dodge

[Malebolgia]

For whitish colors I prefer P3 colors as they don't go chalky easily. I usually work over either a Foundation Astronomicon Grey or over a Vallejo Model Colour Deck Tan basecoat. You can shade this with some thinned Citadel Badab Black Wash or Devlan Mud Wash (the easy way), or by adding black and/or brown to the mix.
Highlight with P3 Menoth White Higlight or P3 Morrow White. Examples:

http://paintoholic.nl/images/alexia.jpg (the sleeves)
http://paintoholic.nl/images/brynda.jpg
http://paintoholic.nl/images/adventurer1.jpg
http://paintoholic.nl/images/adventurer2.jpg
http://paintoholic.nl/images/prof.jpg

[Hammers]

is it because I'm mixing two different paint makes do you think?

dodge

Possibly but I don't think so. I know you shouldn't mix Tamiya with most other acrylic brands because it will clog something horrible. (I've just learnt that Tamyia should be diluted with denatured alcohol, not just plain water). Well, the paints are new enough. Acrylics will age, i have noticed that especially Vallejo Model Color doesn't last forever. They change the formula slightly over the years so this may not always be true. Anyway, when acrylics age coagulates will form and can cause the applied paint to look grainy. But that shouldn't be the issue here.

Palin white will often come out looking chalky. I save plain white, even for clean white uniforms, for the very brightest hilites.

[dodge]

Possibly but I don't think so. I know you shouldn't mix Tamiya with most other acrylic brands because it will clog something horrible. (I've just learnt that Tamyia should be diluted with denatured alcohol, not just plain water). Well, the paints are new enough. Acrylics will age, i have noticed that especially Vallejo Model Color doesn't last forever. They change the formula slightly over the years so this may not always be true. Anyway, when acrylics age coagulates will form and can cause the applied paint to look grainy. But that shouldn't be the issue here.

Palin white will often come out looking chalky. I save plain white, even for clean white uniforms, for the very brightest hilites.

I also dilute with water and not accrylic extender, does that make a difference?

off to buy some vallejo from a local model store on thurs so I will buy some more of the same and have a look see

I'm still thinking about how to do the white uniform, like plynkes ideas he posted a few weeks back

cheers for the help 

dodge

[Calimero]

I had the same problem but I thought that it was due to dust on the figures (they were left in the painting queue for a long time, sleeping on the shelves) or simply because the paint was too thick… I resolved this by dusting off the figures and add water to the paint I used (both Vallejo’s and GW)

[Bugsda]

A lot of white paint goes like that, try Miniature Paint's No 5 White, it's smoother. I use it if I want a brilliant white highlight.

You could always bury it under a few layers of varnish, it won't be so noticeable.

[dodge]

thanks very much for you input,

i'll check those types of paint etc.. out

and let you know how I get on.

dodge