Liquitex matte spray paint review

[Hammers]

I have now purchased several of these 400ml rattle cans of matte waterbased spray and I must say I am very happy with the content and result.

1) they are cheap. at roughly 9 Euro they are much cheaper than Army Painter and, most certainly, Citadel equivalents
2) they paint dries perfectly matte if applied correctly (which is true for all sprays, i.e. that they need to be applied in thin layers)
3) it is water based and there is almost no odour
4) when the paint dries it is *very* durable, getting it on your hands means a good 15minutes of scrubbing the paint of your fingers
5) the paint can be purchased in a staggering one hundred different hues
6) from what I have discovered, quite a few retailers keep the whole range in stock locally
7) they are not explicitly primers, but as far as I can tell so far, they do that job well
8 ) as it is water based: drying time -> setting time

[Codsticker]

Sounds like amazing stuff. I shall have to sniff around for some...

[Hammers]

Sounds like amazing stuff. I shall have to sniff around for some...

The big selling points for me are price, color range and that they are odorless

[jon_1066]

I've used these for painting scenery (in particular a castle) but didn't consider them as a primer.  I assume it is the same range?  The Liquitex Professional spray paint?

[Mammoth miniatures]

It's also water based which means it can be applied to foam - so polystyrene or insulation foam scenery is perfectly safe with liquitex spray.

[Hammers]

I've used these for painting scenery (in particular a castle) but didn't consider them as a primer.  I assume it is the same range?  The Liquitex Professional spray paint?

That's the one.

[Hammers]

It's also water based which means it can be applied to foam - so polystyrene or insulation foam scenery is perfectly safe with liquitex spray.

Good point! I've got to try that.

How is it holding up to wear and tear? Pretty good, I bet. It's a bastard to get off your fingers!

[zemjw]

They also do a set of nozzles that offer different spray patterns - link

I thought I'd tried these cans, but can't find them. I do have a set of the nozzles, bought in the hope they would fit on humbrol cans. They did not 

I am in the market for some new cans, so I'll give them a try.

If you're looking for high odour cans, Montana Gold is your friend. I spray in the loft and the house stank for days after my one and only use of them 

[Hammers]

If you're looking for high odour cans, Montana Gold is your friend. I spray in the loft and the house stank for days after my one and only use of them 

Good to know as I was curious about that brand (as it is even cheaper). Does it come out a good matt finnish?

[Mammoth miniatures]

This has just reminded me - At the UAL freshers fair liquitex gave away free samples of their spray paint - little mini cans that you can put in your pocket. they were WAY nicer to use on small projects because you could actually move your hand around and get into tight areas without developing wrist cramp. I don't think they sell them , but if you only want to paint say a killteams worth of imperial fists, it's worth tracking them down.

[zemjw]

Good to know as I was curious about that brand (as it is even cheaper). Does it come out a good matt finnish?

It was pretty matt. I only used a dark grey on some Mantic deadzone scenery pieces. As I said, the smell was overpowering, and I seem to remember the smell lingered around the pieces for a long time afterwards (like weeks). It did leave the hard plastic with quite a rough surface, almost as if it was an etching primer.

Great Art has the Liquitex ones on sale just now, so I'll try and grab a couple of cans. My usual brand is Humbrol, but I've had some very odd reactions with the black primer and resin and metal recently (as in chunks of primer flaking off when I apply a base colour to it). I thought it might be a bad batch, but alternatives are always welcome.

[SteveBurt]

I’ve been using the Liqiuitex artist acrylics as an undercoat for years, but brushed on, not sprayed. Gives excellent adhesion and base for painting.
Much better than any hobby colours.

[Bloggard]

I’ve been using the Liqiuitex artist acrylics as an undercoat for years, but brushed on, not sprayed. Gives excellent adhesion and base for painting.
Much better than any hobby colours.

is this the 'heavy' or 'soft' formulation which you use, if it matters?

[Daeothar]

If you're looking for high odour cans, Montana Gold is your friend. I spray in the loft and the house stank for days after my one and only use of them 

Also, if this is the range of theirs you're referring to, it's specifically designed for graffiti work, so it has a huge pigment count. In fact it's so thick, you need to adjust your spraying techniques, or you risk completely overloading your minis.

Ask me how I know...

[SteveBurt]

is this the 'heavy' or 'soft' formulation which you use, if it matters?

I’ve used both. The ‘heavy’ one works better on plastics because there is no danger of it forming droplets. It just makes a nice slightly flexible base layer. The soft one is easier to brush on, and I use that for metals