 How do i thin metallic paints?, GW and Vallejo |
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 Dec 7 2011, 11:20 PM
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#1
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 'Ard Boy  Group: Freebooterz Posts: 862 Joined: 14-June 05 From: Acworth, GA, USA Member No.: 1,457  |
Ive been trying to thin metallic paints using water, but if i add too much it starts to separate oddly (Vallejo brass getting a purplish gray liquid on top. Ive also tried tamiya thinner which didnt really help much either.
-------------------- here's why my orks are blue. they have an intense hatred of historical recording of any kind which results in none of them knowing why they're blue. because of this, anytime anyone questions the origin of their skintone they waste no time adding the inquirer's head to their bosspole. no one will ever know why these orks are blue, as merely asking about it is a death wish. in the end there will be only 3 types of people left, the blue orks, those who don't want to know the history of the blue skin, and the dead.
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Dec 8 2011, 03:54 AM
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#2
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 Da Mole Group: Boyz Posts: 1,006 Joined: 29-July 04 From: At the center of my universe, near Nottingham Member No.: 613 |
I've had the problem myself.
The difficulty for GW paints is that the metalics are actually a suspension of solids in a two part oil / water emulsion. You have to make sure that the paint is very well mixed before you try thinning it with anything. This breaks up the emulsion and distributes the oil based and water parts over the metalic paint particles, instead of allowing the oliy part of the emulsion to rise to the surface. Once that is done I've found that you can thin with water provided you don't use more than around a 1:2 water to paint mix. -------------------- the voices in my head sound better as a choir
War isn't about who's right... war is about who's left... Sumus ubi Sumus |
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Dec 10 2011, 01:58 PM
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#3
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 Blue Thunda Ace  Group: Nobz Posts: 6,298 Joined: 6-July 03 From: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Member No.: 32 |
What eddie said, regular water is just You could try some matte or even gloss medium to thin it a bit as well. The hitch is that you can't thin too much or otherwise the metallic flakes will separate out too much. Mind you, I do tend to thin metallics a bit more than I do the regular paints.
-------------------- ______Agatheron
 \_______--Remember, long, uncontrolled bursts, and indiscriminate target selection. ____________________________/ http://chaplainsbrush.wordpress.com/ |
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Feb 8 2012, 03:05 PM
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#4
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 telescoping arm Group: Boyz Posts: 499 Joined: 23-January 05 From: Blackwater Park Member No.: 1,115 |
I use water. If it is too thin I just run my brush along paper towel to take most the water away.
Sometimes it just takes a couple layers of paint to build up what I am after. -------------------- |
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Jun 7 2012, 07:34 AM
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#5
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 Mushling Group: Grotz Posts: 31 Joined: 23-May 12 Member No.: 13,107 |
Fantastic Floor wax. It smooths the paint without spreading the metal pigment too thin. I also tend to mix airbrush silver with white for stuff like mother of pearl.
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Jun 13 2012, 10:55 AM
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#6
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 Stormboy Group: Boyz Posts: 1,284 Joined: 1-July 03 From: In Transit? Member No.: 10 |
Future or Fantastic would pretty much be like using a gloss varnish, or matte/gloss medium to thin. I've found that while thinning metallics can be a bit of a pain to get a large-ish batch, so it's probably better to just work in smaller batches of paint. Then again, I've had less problems with separation since I've started using a wet palette, although there's still a need to reintegrate the paint solution before applying to the model...
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