Vallejo paints

[Uncarina]

Bill and Dave,

 

Thanks! I will give each a try.

 

Tom

[Guest Peterpools]

Tom

I also stripped every model paint known to mankind with Mr Color Leveling Thinner and so far haven't managed to ruin the plastic.

I stripped my first P-51 ... Alclad and Tamiya paint, over Alclad Black Primer down to bare plastic and my F-16: Mig Gray Primer ,Life Color, Model Air (Vallejo) and Tamiya paint to bare plastic. No signs of any damage to the plastic. Of course, I was careful not to get any on the clear parts.

I just used a Q-Tip dipped in the thinner and start rubbing. One messy job but is does work.

Peter

[Bill_S]

Testors also makes a product called ELO (Easy Lift Off) that removes paint from plastic. It's messy too.

[logical]

The Medea cleaner fluid seems to be working.

 

However the Insignia White I got is without doubt the worst paint I've ever used. It blocks up my airbrush as soon as I look at it. If I can get it onto the plastic it falls off even on primer. I gave up and went back to my Revell stuff.

[Guest Peterpools]

That really doesn't make any sense at all. Why wouod the insignia white be any different then the res of the colors in the Vallejo Model Air range?

Peter

[logical]

No idea Peter. I might get some vallejo thinner and try again on next project. Theach Harrier I'll carry on using the Insignia White I mixed for my Tomb.

[Jaym]

I had trouble with the insignia white as well. Clumped and blocked real quick. Dark colours worked fine.

[CANicoll]

I had trouble with the insignia white as well. Clumped and blocked real quick. Dark colours worked fine.

 

I've only used their Field Green and Silver and both have performed very well.  I spray right out of the bottle, and clean with water and Windex with no problems so far.  Am going to get their White this weekend so will report any issues. Hopefully next week.

[JMason5067]

I have used Vallejo Model Air, and Model color through my Paasche Talon, and Model Air through my Badger Krome for a few years now. I do my modeling from a small table in my living room, and the Wife wouldn't enjoy the fumes with solvent based paint. I always use Vallejo's thinner, flow improver, and airbrush cleaner. Their flow improver really works well at easing (but not eliminating) the pain of tip dry, and I have had no trouble with paint being left over after rinsing the brush with Vallejo's AB cleaner. Usually I will flush my brushes with acetone after a weekend of use, and both run as they did when new.

[themongoose]

I switched to Vallejo paints last year to eliminate the smell in the house. It has been a steep learning curve. As an aside I also experienced the issues with white found above, seemed it didn't like flow improver and was sensitive to thinner where sometimes it ran out of the brush and other times it spit. I got a practice plane before doing my 1/32 Thunderbird all in white. That is to say it has been a success, it just took awhile. From my experience painting cars I learned never to mix manufacturers of paints. Always stick to the brand name when learning a new paint system. That seems to eliminate the questions about what didn't play well with others, i.e. Why does this one look like crap and the other paint job didn't. Once you have the brand down then experiment a little at a time to see what goes well. For instance I bought the CreatX brand of cleaner and restorer as a generic replacement for the more expensive name brand cleaners. The cleaner works well, the restorer on the other hand causes the paint to turn into mayo so it must have some amount of alcohol in it.

So I hope this hels you some. Lots of paint advice and I know from experience it's hard to absorb it all and move forward but I know you'll like the results when you get the hang of it.

[R Palimaka]

It's always a bit of a science experiment switching paint brands and learning to use them with the brush and airbrush. I've decided to go to Vallejo after using it the last week or so and having really good success. We're fortunate here in that our local hobby shop has three huge racks of the different Vallejo lines, and the washes.

 

As an aside, I tried the Vallejo Model Colour to hand brush some small cockpit parts and assemblies. It went on like a dream! I painted it over surfaces primed with Tamiya primer, and it went on thin, no brush strokes and no lifting. It was like silk! Very happy with these paints.

 

This has been a good thread, I've learned some things as I get used to this stuff.

 

Richard

Edited June 15, 2017 by R Palimaka

[CANicoll]

I have struggled with tip-dry and splattering as well, but with some practice, patience, thinner and retarder I'm finding the paints much easier to use.  Kind of high-maintenance still compared to the Model Master Acryl I've used for so long, but the final product is really good.  I almost only spray them over a primer base and not only are they quick drying, but I don't have any lift problems when I'm masking.

 

I'm not fool-proof with them yet, but slowly getting a lot more consistent.

 

Chris

Edited June 15, 2017 by CANicoll

[Bruce_Crosby]

Hi Guys,

 

This is airbrush 101 without the 101! If you're using acrylics most airbrushes will need a 0.3 set up as a MINIMUM size, that's due to the pigment size. The lumps just get caught in the Venturi orifice caused by the needle inside the nozzle being very small.

 

There are ways round this. First off polish the needle with Tamiya compound. I've done this on all of my airbrushes and the difference is amazing. It takes out the fine radial lines made by manufacturing and the taper is like glass rather than sandpaper. When you reassemble the airbrush put some Iwata or Badger lube on the needle, while you're at it put a drop on all threads and into the trigger and feel the difference. I've done this on Iwata, H&S, Badger Krome and various cheap Chinese clones. The later go from crude to really useful in about five minutes. I've also done it on friends' airbrushes and carried out before and after tests with them and the results are amazing. Can't do it on the Azteks, those teeny weeny little needles are too small for my fat fingers! Having said that, the original KODAK Aztek I got years ago before they were sold off to Testors has just been rebuilt and it performs as well as any of the other airbrushes I've got (I think it's 11 or 12 so far, all fitted with quick release couplings)

 

Use a retarder and flow aid, or if you're on a budget get some glycerin. A drop or two will fix most flow problems. Paint takes a few seconds longer to dry but give it a blast with just air from the airbrush or a hairdryer if you're in a rush.

 

Try a different paint. I'm sold on MMP's new acrylic which has a much finer pigment. 10 drops of paint, a couple of drops of thinner and a couple of drops of their additive and it's good to go. I did comparative tests only yesterday with H&S Infinity with 0.15, Badger Krome with their 0.21 and a brand spanking new, out of the box GSi Creos PS-770 with the 0.18 (got it on Thursday!) and they all sprayed beautifully. Right down to the best lines I've ever done. The paint itself doesn't dry at all in the cup or on the tip, seems like it needs to go through air to activate. Dead smooth finish and it covers easily. As far as I can tell it's the only modelling acrylic you can reliably put through nozzles this fine, day in, day out, with the new Vallejo Metalics (in the larger 30ml bottles) coming in a very close second.

 

Don't use the wrong airbrush for the wrong job. Keep the expensive fine liners for fine lines. For primers and base coats get a £15 Chinese airbrush with 0.3 or larger nozzle, work on the needle as above. Then you can whack on big colour coats in minutes. Like painting a wall with a roller rather than a 2" paint brush. For large models (that's us Guys, it's in the name) I use a GSi Creos PS-290 which has a fan spray and it is nothing short of fantastic.

 

If you can't do any of the above, get Mr Color Thinners or Levelling thinners and they will clear practically ANY blockage.

 

If that doesn't work get some Mr Tool Cleaner. This is VERY strong stuff and will take old dried paint off just about anything. It will take the fillings out of your teeth, your money out of the bank and run off with your wife, it's that aggressive and nasty.

 

Hope this has been useful. I've spent many a happy hour over many years playing with airbrushes, lots of different types from cheap to very expensive. There isn't a good all round, kill everything stone dead airbrush in my experience. I like all of mine but it's horses for courses. The nearest to perfect (I can hear you howling at me now!) I've tried is the Badger Krome. Great everyday performance, great price, good balance and feel in the hand.

 

Regards,

 

Bruce Crosby

[CANicoll]

Bruce, good advice and I'm working in that direction - using my Iwata HP-C for primer and larger area coverage and my Infinity CR Plus for fine detail work.  I'm hearing great things about the MRP paints (I think you meant MRP?) from Peterpools but having a hard time finding them - and have a more than a bit invested in Vallejo so for the time being am being careful with the chemistry side of the mix and working carefully.

 

Thanks for the extensive notes!

Chris

[Bruce_Crosby]

Hi Chris,

 

No, not MRP! I've got those as well and they are terrific but chemically they are similar to Mr Color which is lacquer based and smelly as anything. I mean MMP, which is Mission Models Paint, based in Salt Lake City. Currently they have a range of Armour paints but are working on aircraft colours for imminent release. When I first tried the paint I contacted them to say how impressed I was with the concept and asked if they had planned for aircraft. Jon's prompt reply enclosed a photo of a half painted 109 in a spray booth, unfortunately not for distribution, so sorry, no photo here. So as I've got a gazillion 109's, 190's and Ta-152's to paint I'm actually a very happy bunny.

 

I can tell you the paint is good, goes on thin, smooth eggshell finish, no graininess whatsoever, more like a lacquer than acrylic. It's not as thin as MRP but way better than the rest of the acrylic gang out there. Most of my immediate modelling circle are Armour modellers and they are all having a go with it and getting good results too.

 

Hope this has cleared a few things up!

 

Regards,

 

Bruce Crosby