Help with Vallejo paints...

[montythefirst]

Hi

guys first off hope you had a great christmas day.

now onto business, I have used a few vallejo colours over the years with varying results I finally decided to bite the bullet and invest in a good range of them which I am progressively doing, however when I was painting today I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of pigment left on the surface when drying.

how can I avoid this, all the paints I have bought have glass bead agitators in and I also have a paint shaker all be it home made which I use before painting am not shaking enough too much I just don't know?

help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Joe55]

I'm not quite getting what you are trying to say. Are you talking about the surface that you are painting? Is the pigment separating from the binder? Is this happening to certain colors? Perhaps a photo may help.

Joe

 

[montythefirst]

sorry, what I mean is I am getting small lumps on the surface after the paint has dried which I assume are pigment

 

[Joe55]

Ok, I'm assuming these are tiny lumps right? I have had this happen to me as well with only a very few of my paints that are rather old. However, I usually notice these little nodules when I'm thinning them on the pallet, in which case I simply push them out of the paint 'puddle' with a brush. I also give the loaded brush a quick glance and inspect for any of those pesky things before putting paint to figure. In my experience its only a little nuisance and I deal with it. If there is a lot and it becomes troublesome, I just throw it away. I reckon you could always strain the paint into another bottle through your woman's old nylons or such.

The only other advice I could give is to keep the bottles tightly closed. I live in the southwestern United States and it is hot and dry here, so for me that is very important.

Perhaps someone else will chime in some other thoughts on this.

Hope this helps.

Joe

 

[Ferris]

From the limited info I'd say the paint is either not mixed well enough, or not thinned enough. Thrid options is that paticular paint has gone off, but as you just got them, that would be odd.
In my experience there are quite some differences between different Vallejo paints. Some are hard to mix, with sticky pigment, such as Prussian Blue or dark reds. So far better mixing and finding the right dilution has worked for me though.

What you could also try is mix in some Tamiya matte medium, X-21. It not only dulls the paint, but also makes it flow better.

Cheers,
Adrian

 

[Alex]

As Adrian said, Prussian blue will do that ONLY if you don't mix it well

And let me tell you, you will have to mix it will

These days, I use what is called a Vortex Mixer. Look up for one used on eBay.. and you'll be able to shake to perfection any Vallejo bottle in less than 45 seconds

Alex

 

[MarquisMini]

I think one of the things that makes a difference when you watered them is the use of distilled water.
Make sure you shake that bottle up for quite few seconds.
I hope it helps

 

[montythefirst]

thanks for the suggestions and tips will try see how i go

 

[montythefirst]

I was thinking of investing in a Robart Paint shaker anybody used one, as i live in Uk would be a difficult buy for me so don't want to payout if unnecessary

 

[Fransab]

I've never had any problem with them, apart than a satin finish in some of them, that I solve adding a drop of Tamiya flat base. And I have very old paints, only in some few moments I add Vallejo disolvent on it. (Sorry for my English)

Francisco

 

[samson]

Hi just a few thoughts are you using av thinners to thin the av paints with ?also if you are airbrushing you could be to close to the parts being painted. Or air presure could be to high which could making orange peel or the little bumps just some thoughts.also try rolling the jar of paint between both hands then shake

 

[montythefirst]

Hi just a few thoughts are you using av thinners to thin the av paints with ?also if you are airbrushing you could be to close to the parts being painted. Or air presure could be to high which could making orange peel or the little bumps just some thoughts.also try rolling the jar of paint between both hands then shake

have you had better luck thinning with vallejo thinners then?

 

[samson]

Couldn't get them to spray at all then I was told to use only av thinners. Thought the hobby shop was trying to make a few bucks went home and tried it and they sprayed great. Haven't had a problem. since but I am using a old testors airbrush the tips may a little larger than a better airbrush