Paint in Canada

nc1968

New Member
Joined
May 7, 2021
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Hey All

I'm sure this has been discussed before.

I live in Canada and I need to buy paint.

As a teenager in the 80s I bought most of my paint at my local box store.

I once had a nice collection of Humbrol paint that I was very proud off.

Flash forward 30 years and I'm wondering what and where I can buy paints?

I would like to start with brush painting.

What should I get and where is a good place to get it?

Any fellow Canadians out there the know a good online place to pick up decent paint?

Thanks
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I'm not a Canuck, but I could still give you some advice.

One is that if you're limiting yourself to paints you can buy in a brick-and-mortar shop, your search will be more difficult.
There are some good online vendors, like Sprue Brothers. Shipping might be more expensive now from abroad into Canada, but it's a tradeoff between availability and finding paints locally.

If you want to paint by hand, I also recommend water-based acrylics, for their ease of use. Vallejo Model Color is one brand, Andrea is another.

Also, if you're looking for local shops, look for fantasy wargame shops. The fantasy wargame brands, like Citadel, work just fine for any subject, not just elves or Space Marines. I paint figures by hand, and I can say that water-based acrylics make it very easy.

If you have craft stores nearby (like Michael's, which has stores in Canada as well as here), you can find brands like Americana, Apple Barrel, and Folk Art, all of which are water-based acrylics, and work very well. I use those brands, too.

You'll want to be able to thin your paints, too. Applying thin coats practically eliminates brush marks. Again, this is very easy with water-based acrylics. But even with other types of acrylics (eg, Tamiya) or enamels, thinning the paints for applying will help when you brush by hand.

If you go the water-based route, then I can also recommend using a wet palette. A wet palette is simply an air-tight container, a sponge, and permeable material which serves as the actual palette. You soak the sponge, let the permeable material soak up the water, then put a little bit of the paint on that material. It thins your paints to a nice consistency, and since the container is air-tight, a batch of colors you use will last for several sessions. There are commercial products available, like Masterson (available online or at art supply or arts-and-crafts stores), or Redgrass (I use Redgrass' small palette, myself). But you can make your own and try it out, before you decide to buy one. I made my first wet palette from a Chinese takeout container, a kitchen sponge, and brown packaging paper for the membrane. I really liked it, too, and would still be using it, but the lid eventually wore out and cracked around its edge. And the paper would wear out and I got fibers in my paint. So I bought the Redgress palette, which is of better manufacture than my homemade one.

I hope that might help you, with tips that are perhaps alternatives to what you might have in mind so far.

Best regards,
Brad
 
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