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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.

<blockquote data-quote="sunsanvil" data-source="post: 16111" data-attributes="member: 2206">For someone who has not actually used the paint, that is VERY ASTUTE of you Rocket.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; The popularity of these concoctions probably accounts at least in part for the paint&#039;s (IMO) wrongfully bestowed reputation of not adhering well, &quot;needing&quot; an alkyd primer etc.I started using Vallejo ModelColor many years ago and for the first model I thinned with water.&nbsp; Indeed even when cured I could easily scrape it off with a fingernail!Then I got on to Vallejo&#039;s own special thinner which as you might guess is NOT a thinner in the classic sense, does not contain solvent, etc.&nbsp; It is in fact water-thin pigment-less acrylic (I believe also void of the texture ingredients which the traditional mediums have).&nbsp; Put a couple drops in your pallet and the next morning you&#039;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 &quot;dry&quot;), 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 &quot;correct&quot; consistency for airbrushing will feel a little thicker than what you may be used to.&nbsp; It is by nature a heavier medium.&nbsp; The answer is NOT to try and thin further, rather all you need to do is turn up the pressure a little.&nbsp; 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).&nbsp; For the varnishes I use 25-30psi!&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; 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&#039;s a completely different process from airbrushing.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="sunsanvil, post: 16111, member: 2206"] 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) [i]wrongfully[/i] 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 [i]increase[/i] 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. [/QUOTE]

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