Thinning Vallejo for Airbrushing

[Dave C]

I have been using an airbrush medium from Liquitex to thin down Vallejo model colour. It works well but it dose dry with a glossy sheen on the model. Recently I airbrushed some Pz iv with the base coat 'middlestone' but had to spray them with a matt varnish before brush painting the camo pattern (My airbrush skills don't extent to doing camo, especially in 15mm! )

So guys, is my experience common? I'd be interested to hear how you approach thinning down Vallejo for airbrushing and the results you get.

[Svennn]

I only ever use the hard to get hold of stuff a lot of people call water.  I would never consider myself an airbrush expert and only use it occasionally on larger pieces so have never felt the need to spend on mediums especially as I have never encountered your sheen problems.

[Mitch K]

Airbrushing in my experience tends to give a smoother, more satin-ish finish than applying the same paint by brush. I've used Liquitex airbrush medium a lot and not had this problem, but I tend to finish everything with a coat of matt anyway.

I've found that using too much water when airbrushing can tend to break up the medium. It then doesn't apply well, gives a rough, broken finish that doesn't resist handling at all well and is awful to work over.

Free advice, worth exactly what you paid for it!

[Fitz]

My experience has been directly opposite — I've found I generally get a smoother, more matte finish from airbrushing than from hand-brushing, especially with acrylic matte varnishes. The paint needs to go on in several light coats for best results.

I always use Vallejo's own airbrushing thinner with Vallejo paints. I did look around for alternatives, but found nothing that worked as well, and the thinner isn't all that expensive when bought in bulk.

The best paint I've found for airbrushing is Tamiya acrylic, thinned either with Tamiya's thinner or with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). Its spirit base dries very quickly, so there's no waiting between coats, and the resulting surface is very smooth and dead matte.

[Mitch K]

My experience has been directly opposite — I've found I generally get a smoother, more matte finish from airbrushing than from hand-brushing, especially with acrylic matte varnishes. The paint needs to go on in several light coats for best results.

The last bit is always the case! Interesting how the matt/gloss thing works, isn't it?

The best paint I've found for airbrushing is Tamiya acrylic, thinned either with Tamiya's thinner or with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). Its spirit base dries very quickly, so there's no waiting between coats, and the resulting surface is very smooth and dead matte.

This. They're absolutely mustard when sprayed.

[Phil Robinson]

Plain old water here, although I did read in an old modelling mag that windscreen wash was good, never had the guts to try it though

[Grizzly]

I've tended to use rubbing alcohol to thin Vallejo paints. About 1/3 paint, 2/3 alcohol. I've done it over black, grey, and white primers. It gives a very matte finish, but takes about 3 coats of paint to give good coverage. This is using a Badger 360. I can do 8-12 15mm base coated tanks with a single bottle of paint and alcohol this way.

I've also been able to use Delta or Americana craft paints in the same brush using water to thin the paint. It was a 1/4 to 3/4 ratio of paint to water I think.

[Commander Vyper]

You could also look at vallejo air? Use it straight out of the bottle.

[zemjw]

I have been doing this very thing the last three days

These were my first attempt with Vallejo, having previously used Tamiya. While Tayima are brilliant for airbrushing, I find them dreadful for normal brushwork.

Anyway, I've been using Ultimate Airbrush Thinner. The recommendation I found said to thin with about 70% thinner - thinning ratios. It's worked fine and has dried very matt

I've also been using Vallejo Air straight from the bottle, and it has worked without any thinning required.

[fastolfrus]

I was going to suggest using Vallejo Air range too - the local branch of Boyes usually has the full range in stock, so we get spoilt for choice.