Using Green Stuff World Paint.

S

scalebuilderchad

Active Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2023
Messages
169
I really want to give Green Stuff World paint a go. It is affordable and they have tons of different colors, metal finishes, inks, and paints they call "filters."

The paints are acrylic.

I looked all over their website and I can't find what type of acrylic they are, or what I can think them with.

I want to try these paints, but I'd hate to buy GSW Thinner when I likely have what I need already.

So what can I use to thin these paints?
 
Jim62 said:
It appears from what I read on their website they are water based but you can e-mail them at [email protected]
Click to expand...
I emailed them nearly a week ago and no reply. So I was hoping to find answers elsewhere.

I read water-based for one paint line. Then then MAX lineup doesn't say that. Just says acrylic. So I'm not sure.

So here, let me change the question to make it more about the paint and not about the brand......

I already know I can thin acrylic paints that are NOT water-based with other chemicals like the Mr Leveling Thinner I love.

Can I thin water -based acrylics with those same thinners? Or do I have to use water?
 
It depends on the resin .
The OH group in alcohols will set off polymerization in certain acrylic resins .
Those that are defined as true water base - usually .
One way to find out !
Acquire a bottle and test .
 
urumomo said:
It depends on the resin .
The OH group in alcohols will set off polymerization in certain acrylic resins .
Those that are defined as true water base - usually .
One way to find out !
Acquire a bottle and test .
Click to expand...
I actually have a bottle of their paint. I forgot when I bought it.

If they don't reply soon, I guess I'll have to start testing.

The bottle says water-based. But you never know. haha
 
ohbejuan said:
I bought some of their "shifters" just for fun. The label on these paints says "NON Toxic waterbased paint. No Latex"
View attachment 108354
View attachment 108355
Click to expand...
Yeah, I see that it says water-based. I actually found a bottle that I already had.

Have you tried thinning it? Can you use water?

See, I ask because Green Stuff World sell a thinner for those paints. And it isn't water. Which is why I ask what you can thin it with. I don't want to buy their thinner if I can use water, or one of the many thinners I already have.
 
I also think it is easier for a small company to export and import waterbased stuff. I know in a few small cases, some toxic materials can create hurdles. I think it is Tamiya's polishing compound that can't be imported to the USA because of some regulation. Anyway, the only point I am making is... maybe waterbased is just easier? Just speculation
 
The thinner is going to be mostly water with propylene glycol , for longer open time , and probably a tiny amount of ammonia as a surfactant .
Same as Vallejo's AB thinner .

Put a blob of the paint on some scrap and mix in some isopropyl alcohol , or the thinner you want to use --- it will turn to snot if it isn't compatible with alcohol thinners .
 
Last edited:
urumomo said:
The thinner is going to be mostly water with propylene glycol , for longer open time , and probably a tiny amount of ammonia as a surfactant .
Same as Vallejo's AB thinner .

Put a blob of the paint on some scrap and mix in some isopropyl alcohol , or the thinner you want to use --- it will turn to snot if it isn't compatible with alcohol thinners .
Click to expand...
Speaking of Vallejo.

I want to airbrush some of that stuff. Same questions. Can I think it with water? Or what can I use that I might already have? I don't really want to have a million different thinners.
 
Water alone is fine .
The glycol is mainly to reduce dry-tip , but depending on the environment it's also there for proper leveling .
 
scalebuilderchad said:
Speaking of Vallejo.

I want to airbrush some of that stuff. Same questions. Can I think it with water? Or what can I use that I might already have? I don't really want to have a million different thinners.
Click to expand...
Water is fine. I use a bit of Vallejo’s flow improver. I put two drops in before the paint and it does a good job of preventing dry tip.
 
scalebuilderchad said:
Speaking of Vallejo.

I want to airbrush some of that stuff. Same questions. Can I think it with water? Or what can I use that I might already have? I don't really want to have a million different thinners.
Click to expand...
Which Vallejo paint?

Their Model Air line of paint is formulated for airbrushing, and they have a number of items in the Model Air range, specifically to maximize success in airbrushing. Those are adjunct products like thinner, retarder, etc, etc.

Their Model Color line of paint is formulated for brushing by hand, and is popular with figure painters for that reason.

This is not to say that you can't use Model Air for hand-brushing, and can't airbrush Model Color. There are those who do one or the other or both. It's just to note that you may tend to get optimum results if you airbrush Model Air, and use the other Model Air products.

Personally, I have not used Model Air. I have other paints that I already had when I started airbrushing, and they work just fine for me. Tamiya's acrylic paints, Model Master (discontinued, but I have a stash) and Testor enamels, which I thin and shoot very easily with mineral spirits, and Mr Hobby and Gunze-Sangyo lacquers, enamels and acrylics.

I do use Vallejo Model Color for hand-painting figures. I use a wet palette and water to thin it, and it works just fine. Some will say to use distilled water, but I use plain ol' tap water, and I'm happy with my results.

As far as having a lot of different thinners goes, I hear you and sympathize. I don't like to have a lot of different proprietary thinners and paints, either. I do use Tamiya's own proprietary acrylic thinner, X-20A, with their acrylic line of paints (the X/XF series), because after trial and error, I found I get my best results using their thinner with their paints. That's as far as I've gone. All of the other paints in my paintbox can be thinned with water, generic mineral spirits, generic lacquer thinner.

For airbrushing, Tamiya acrylics thin well for me with generic lacquer thinner, too.

And I like to use a wet palette with my water-based acrylics. It helps ensure a consistent.....consistency :D, and with the palette closed, I can keep a batch of colors from one session to the next. The drawback is that I can only use water-based paints with it. But that's all right for me.

Hope all that can be of use to you!

Best regards,
Brad
 
I have Tamiya Acrylic thinner, but I rarely use it. Because I thin their acrylic paints with Mr Leveling Thinner.

And I have Tamiya Lacquer Thinner which I use to thin lacquer paints as needed. And actually I have been refilling that bottle with hardware store lacquer thinner, so really it is cheap lacquer thinner now.

I also have some enamel thinner, it's a no name brand.

And I have some alcohol, I think it is 70%.

After reading the posts in here, and some more stuff online it sounds more and more like GSW and Vallejo are very similar chemistry. So I bought some GSW paints, and some of their retarder / flow improver. Even their website hints that you can use their retarder / flow improver with Vallejo.

I believe my Vallejo paints are the brush on ones.
 
Last edited:
I finally got a reply from Green Stuff World.

Thin with water. Add retarder if you want to airbrush. Retarder thins the paint a little, but some water might still be needed.
 
I have mix I use. On a 17ml bottle I mix flow improver with about 10 drops of retarder. I think it works?
 

Similar threads

O
ATOM Paint Reference
Replies
8
Views
182
ohbejuan
O
S
I need to add texture to paint.
Replies
9
Views
50
scalebuilderchad
S
Sprue42
Paint shakers, which one?
Replies
15
Views
516
GaryG64
GaryG64
N
Airbrush paint coverage question
Replies
4
Views
344
BlackSheepTwoOneFour
BlackSheepTwoOneFour
J
Closest Paint Match to Oldsmobile's Platinum Poly (2059)
Replies
13
Views
127
BlackSheepTwoOneFour
BlackSheepTwoOneFour

Latest posts

Back
Top