Vallejo Questions

Just an update on the larger bottles of thinner.....

Apparently the 200ml bottle has been available since late last year.

Had an e-mail from Alex Vallejo saying that he had an order for my supplier that he was going to contact them to see if they would be interested, as he didn't know they didn't have it.

I then got a call from my salesman, with his boss conferenced in, asking me about the conversation.

I told them that I just mentioned in passing to Alex (they seemed surprised that I had his ear), that a larger bottle of thinner would be nice. They had no idea there was one, and said they would bring it in, and asked how many I wanted. So, I have 12 bottles of 200ml thinner coming at some point. When I asked about price, I braced myself for impact, as the 32ml bottles are like $5.25, so I was expecting the 200ml to be pricey.

$12 retail.............

Obviously a case of being more expensive the less quantity you have in the bottle. 17ml is $3.50, 32ml is $5.25....makes sense.

$12 for 200ml, doesn't make sense.....but I will take it. I asked them 3 times if they were sure on the price.

Kind of amazed that I just influenced the buying power of a multi-million $ company! LOL Apparently they will carry it as a regular item now!!
 
Elm City Hobbies said:
Just an update on the larger bottles of thinner.....

Apparently the 200ml bottle has been available since late last year.

Had an e-mail from Alex Vallejo saying that he had an order for my supplier that he was going to contact them to see if they would be interested, as he didn't know they didn't have it.

I then got a call from my salesman, with his boss conferenced in, asking me about the conversation.

I told them that I just mentioned in passing to Alex (they seemed surprised that I had his ear), that a larger bottle of thinner would be nice. They had no idea there was one, and said they would bring it in, and asked how many I wanted. So, I have 12 bottles of 200ml thinner coming at some point. When I asked about price, I braced myself for impact, as the 32ml bottles are like $5.25, so I was expecting the 200ml to be pricey.

$12 retail.............

Obviously a case of being more expensive the less quantity you have in the bottle. 17ml is $3.50, 32ml is $5.25....makes sense.

$12 for 200ml, doesn't make sense.....but I will take it. I asked them 3 times if they were sure on the price.

Kind of amazed that I just influenced the buying power of a multi-million $ company! LOL Apparently they will carry it as a regular item now!!

Damn, save me a couple of bottle then! In fact, let me know if you'd give me a good price for multiple buy, lik 3 or 4 and I pre-order it. I'm going to see if I can find a bigger bottle here somewhere for the meantime. That's the only thing that irks me is this little bottle of thinner. I'm 1/3 done with mine already and that's why I was trying with water. lol

I don't want to give up yet. The next order though I will order some air to play with but I ain't going to give up figuring this out, It's a vendetta now! lol
 
Yeah, Alex told me they were released late in 2009....but neither of my 2 suppliers (Stevens International, and Squadron).

And the Canadian Supplier in Toronto doesn't have it either.

The Japanese.....they always get the new stuff first! And this wasn't made in Asia! LOL
 
DreamKnight said:
AKE said:
The odd thing I discovered with Vallejo and alcohol is it only works half the time and depends on the color. On some colors it mixes fine, with others it gels. I cannot remember which colors work, but I know orange turns into cottage cheese. That is why you two had different experiences.

ECH can verify but some paint are alcohol based and some are water based. I'm not sure which though. I read it somewhere while trying to figure out my problem. I've been watching your vids on some painting tips. I have to forgo getting artistic and just paint to play. Or at least base colors in and I can go back and be artistic. lol

I'm not talking about the alcohol metallics. I was referring to the Model Color line. I use to add rubbing alcohol, which worked fine, then I tried it with orange and got cottage cheese.
 
AKE said:
I'm not talking about the alcohol metallics. I was referring to the Model Color line. I use to add rubbing alcohol, which worked fine, then I tried it with orange and got cottage cheese.

Ah! Nevermind then :)
 
I have heard of this, but hesitant to try it out, as the cleaner is supposed to "eat" the paint, and make it easier to clean your airbrush.

Kinda like using Tamiya Lacquer thinner to thin Tamiya Acrylics....just doesn't make sense, but people have used it to great success.

That doesn't mean it won't work....might have to experiment!
 
Elm City Hobbies said:
I will definitely give it a try on the next one!!

Definately.. I have to go find some vallejo airbrush cleaner... and a new bottle of thinner. lol
 
It sounds like Vallejo Model Air would be more along the lines of what you are looking for. Also, try thinning with windshield washer fluid. Sounds silly but it works. DO NOT try to use windex. It may seem like a suitable sub. for windshield washer fluid but it is not. The alcohol in the windex will break down the pigment in the paint. I hope this helpfull.
 
Actually, with Vallejo paints, as they are not alcohol based, if you aren't going to use Vallejo Thinner, (or a combination of the cleaner and thinner) then you are better off just using distilled water to thin it. Alcohol has been known to gel Vallejo. Not fun getting out of an airbrush when it does that.
 
I finished my first Models painted with Vallejo-Colours, today. Its time to share the first experiences with you.
At the end of my last Projects I must say, that Vallejos aint the High End Colours Ive expected.
I used the RLM-Box for 2 Messerschmitt 109s and a Fw 190 D-9. Cause they dry too fast (for my taste), I had to disassemble my airbrush each time after using them and clean it with a toothpick! The colours dryed very hard and I werent able to clean them with water unlike instruction manual tells me.
Cleaning the Airbrush with Revell Cleaner or !!Nitro-thinner!! failed!

They are well thinned for using with an Airbrush but cleaning is a Mess!
I ordered the special Vallejo Thinner, maybe that works better.

Next crap:
I used Tamiya Flat Clear (PS-55) to cover the Models. The Vallejo Colours start to buckling and bulging.
I will use clear Varnish next time, to see, what happens then.
 
So I'm clear. I can thin Vallejo with distilled water. -


Do I need to thin Vallejo matte varnish to airbrush it?
 
@Scott.....

You can use distilled water, it just performs better with either their thinner, airbrush cleaner, or windex.

Ask Chung, he has been using Windex to thin his Vallejo, I believe about 10:1 Windex to Paint to start and adjusting as necessary from there. Just plain blue windex.

Here is another....friend here in Fredericton, has actually been using Future, 2:1 with the Vallejo paint, splash of Vallejo thinner and says it works great. Might have to give it a try.

As far as their varnish, no, don't need to thin it. Doesn't matter if you have the Model Color, or the Model Air Varnish...same stuff, just a different label. If you do want to thin it....just a couple of drops would be all you need, as it is pretty much good to go out of the bottle.

@Chief...........

Depends on what you are using to thin them with. I assume if you had the RLM Box, that they were the Model Air colors?. I can't say I have ever had a problem with the paint drying (either the Model Air or Model Color) in the airbrush, or drying too fast for that matter.

I don't clean the airbrush with water, you generally need something a little stronger, their airbrush cleaner is recommended. I don't know about them drying in the airbrush rock hard. With the airbrush cleaner I have cleaned very easily paint that was dried on for days, came off no problem.

Tamiya PS-55 I believe is designed for spraying on Lexan RC bodies.

Quote from Tamiya's website:

This polycarbonate spray paint enables you to easily create your own beautiful matt finish by spraying onto the outside of the body. It features a lightweight and strong membrane which will not be penetrated by fuels for glow engine R/C cars.

It is supposed to go on the outside of a Lexan body (where as normally they are painted from the inside) so I would venture a guess that the PS55 would likely lift most paint, as it is not designed to go over paint, but the outside of a Lexan body.

Also depends on how long your paint has cured, with Vallejo no less than 24hrs to be cured depending on your atmospheric conditions. Longer if it is humid.
 
this paint sounds very much like createx to me,, acrylic polymer.that dries matt and is soft untill fully cured

if thats the case forget about thinning with water ,windex,..or grandmas recipe.Are we still in the steam age ?

get yourself a bottle of "acrylic airbrush medium" to thin with, you can find several brands at hobby lobby,michaels..ect....it's easy to find and try

future works because it's acrylic

thinning with water/windex/washer fluid/whatever/ will work to a degree but it also weakens the paint by stripping it of binder
(what allows the acrylic to cross-link , cure, and dry properly).these are not the acrylics of 15 years ago

acrylic airbrush medium solves that problem.it's basically acrylic paint without the pigment.(kinda like future)

if it works with createx ,,I'm betting it should work with these ..if not it's only a bottle of medium wasted
 
For someone who has not actually used the paint, that is VERY ASTUTE of you Rocket. You hit it right on the head!

If one wants to airbrush ModelColor, or wants to extend the color of ModelAIR (which is otherwise ready-to-airbrush right out of the bottle), it is exactly as you say: although soluble in water/Windex/even their own alcohol based airbrush cleaner, all will leave you with acrylic polymers which are spread too thin and you end up with a weak paint film. The popularity of these concoctions probably accounts at least in part for the paint's (IMO) wrongfully bestowed reputation of not adhering well, "needing" an alkyd primer etc.

I started using Vallejo ModelColor many years ago and for the first model I thinned with water. Indeed even when cured I could easily scrape it off with a fingernail!

Then I got on to Vallejo's own special thinner which as you might guess is NOT a thinner in the classic sense, does not contain solvent, etc. It is in fact water-thin pigment-less acrylic (I believe also void of the texture ingredients which the traditional mediums have). Put a couple drops in your pallet and the next morning you'll have a rock hard, cloudy blob! I NEVER use a primer and, as long as it is given time to cure (as oppose to just "dry"), have never had any adhesion issues.

Its worth stressing here that these paints work differently from the solvent based paints, even alcohol based acrylics, in that whether it is ModelAIR strait or ModelColor thinned, the "correct" consistency for airbrushing will feel a little thicker than what you may be used to. It is by nature a heavier medium. The answer is NOT to try and thin further, rather all you need to do is turn up the pressure a little. I do most of my base coating at ~25psi and detail work which traditionally might call for ~15psi or less I do at 18-20 (you can still get VERY fine lines with this paint at that pressure with a steady trigger finger). For the varnishes I use 25-30psi! Somewhat counter-intuitively, using too low a pressure will actually increase the instance of tip-dry with this paint.

Now, that said, it is a little different when thinning for hand-painting special effects etc. Once a base coat is down and you want to start building up subtle shading effects and such, water is in fact the preferred choice but as I say that's a completely different process from airbrushing.
 
Awesome information here. Thank you all for posting this.

As you know I have a ton of Tamiya but I'm starting to realize that since Scott carries Vallejo it's time to start changing over. I have a few colors and I'm going to use them on my next paint job...which will happen very soon.
 
I should have mentioned in my post , (as sunsanvil has), don't be afraid to turn up that pressure.
I have seen people run these acrylic polymers at 45 psi and achieve amazing detail
I know that Svee runs his at these pressures and achieves crazy detail..ofcourse he thins his paint 50/50 due to the type of work he does .. but even at that ratio he still runs atleast 35 psi.
http://www.youtube.com/user/svee#p/u/26/9cZIIoMLAJ8
 
Elm City Hobbies said:
@Chief...........

Depends on what you are using to thin them with. I assume if you had the RLM Box, that they were the Model Air colors?. I can't say I have ever had a problem with the paint drying (either the Model Air or Model Color) in the airbrush, or drying too fast for that matter.

>> Youre right. RLM-Box is a part of the Model Air series.

Elm City Hobbies said:
I don't clean the airbrush with water, you generally need something a little stronger, their airbrush cleaner is recommended. I don't know about them drying in the airbrush rock hard. With the airbrush cleaner I have cleaned very easily paint that was dried on for days, came off no problem.

>> It was the first time for me to use the Model Air Colours and I did, what their User manual said... "Führer befiehl, wir folgen" - principe, haha! Maybe the contact with water raise that quick drying effect.
I ordered the Vallejo Cleaner at Saturday. I will try it to see how it works.

Elm City Hobbies said:
Tamiya PS-55 I believe is designed for spraying on Lexan RC bodies.
It is supposed to go on the outside of a Lexan body (where as normally they are painted from the inside) so I would venture a guess that the PS55 would likely lift most paint, as it is not designed to go over paint, but the outside of a Lexan body.

>> thats correct. PS 55 made for Polycarbonate bodys. I use it very often, because the flat clear layer is brilliant! It feels like gum and its very scratch-resistant. I never had any problems with Model-Master-, Revell Enamel- or Tamiya Colours. Cause the Vallejo Colours had 6 days to cure, I think they jars with PS-55...
 
RocketSilo said:
I should have mentioned in my post , (as sunsanvil has), don't be afraid to turn up that pressure.
I have seen people run these acrylic polymers at 45 psi and achieve amazing detail

Or down even. 8)

I spray Vallejo at 12 psi and love the control I have.

You can watch a video of me painting on my youtube channel and the paint slowly appears on the vehicle as opposed to a flood of color on the first pass. You also see absolutely no clouds of over spray of any kind flying around in the air either.

Experiment to find what's best for you.
 

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