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Vallejo Model Air acrylic paint.

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  • Member since
    March 2013
Vallejo Model Air acrylic paint.
Posted by patrick206 on Sunday, October 19, 2014 2:47 PM
I have been using this paint for a little while, prior to that I was using Polly Scale, Tamiya and Model Master acrylics. To date I have had both good and terrible results with the Vallejo. I read reviews and saw video instructions, my inconsistent results have led me to just "play" with the paint. Vallejo instructs to just roll the bottles in your hands for mixing, that appears not at all sufficient to me. A recent job done with their light grey and one very small drop of their newest thinner, is still tacky after three days of dry time. I rolled and shook the bottle well, took the nozzle off the bottle by pushing it sideways, then I could get a fingernail under the base and lift the nozzle off. Using a long stir stick I scraped the bottom of the bottle, and there was a huge wad of unblended solids that had indeed not been mixed by the shaking. After stirring the paint until it was well blended I replaced the nozzle and cap, shook it well again, then tried the same batch of paint I had problems with and it behaved altogether differently, much better. It was just about like any of the other acrylics, quick to set up, and a normal fast dry time. I do really like the finish when Vallejo is sprayed, but I find the bottles do not serve well for proper preparation for use. Any paint will need an adequate stirring for thorough mixing, I suspect what happened in my problem was the paint was not sufficiently mixed by shaking the bottle. The paint that I added the single drop of thinner to was already extremely thin, by solid sediments settling in the bottom of the bottle and not mixing properly. If you are using it and experiencing problems, give that stir stick mixing method a try, works well for me. I always use stir sticks, then my Badger electric stirring mixer before using any paints from any manufacturers, might be best for me to decant the Vallejo and use a bigger glass bottle for blending it as well. Other than what I have described as a mixing problem with it, I do actually like the Vallejo quite well and will continue with it. Patrick
  • Member since
    September 2005
  • From: Illinois: Hive of Scum and Villany
Posted by Sprue-ce Goose on Sunday, October 19, 2014 3:37 PM

I have not yet used Vallejo paint but did purchase some Vallejo weathering system packs at the iHobby show  this year.

As the amount of paint in the weathering system packages is so limited, I intend to practice using paint in the larger containers purchased from Hobby Lobby.

That said, I find that Vallejo paint as purchased off the shelf seems to settle just as much or perhaps more than the Testors enamels that I am used to using.

I may very well try out some of the paint mixing ideas posted in the FSM "  Inexpensive paint shaker " thread:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/tools_techniques_and_reference_materials/f/23/t/162367.aspx

Tags: Vallejo
  • Member since
    August 2014
Posted by Adam148 on Tuesday, October 28, 2014 7:27 AM
I'm new to airbrushing and use vallejo paints. I'll open up some of my bottles and try the stir stick method. Thanks for the tip.
  • Member since
    August 2008
  • From: Fort Worth, Texas USA
Posted by J.Warnell on Wednesday, November 5, 2014 6:35 PM

I read somewhere that a good idea is to put a small ball bearing into the bottle. I would think that the best source for these ball bearings would be to get some steel shot for loading shotgun shells. I have not tried Vallejo paint, but I have been researching it, and will probably try it soon.

  • Member since
    December 2011
Posted by Chrisk-k on Wednesday, November 5, 2014 9:13 PM

Although I like Vallejo for paint-brushing, I hate their dropper bottles. Vallejo acrylics (especially Model Color) settle extremely easily and the dropper bottle makes it difficult to mix the contents. I transferred some often-used Vallejo paints to little Tamiya bottles and stir them with a Tamiya stick.

Iwata HP-CS | Iwata HP-CR | Iwata HP-M2 | H&S Evolution | Iwata Smart Jet + Sparmax Tank

  • Member since
    September 2013
  • From: San Antonio, Texas
Posted by Marcus McBean on Wednesday, November 5, 2014 10:05 PM

Lately the bottles that I have ordered the contents have become very thick with very little liquid.  I had to remove the pigments into  a spare jar, add some Vallejo thinner to rejuvenate the mix.  I hate the dropper bottles but love the paint, it goes on very well using a brush.

  • Member since
    August 2012
Posted by AndrewW on Thursday, November 6, 2014 12:16 PM

Personally, I find the thickness of the paint hinges on the color, i.e. the amount of pigment in the paint.  I find lighter colors require a lot less thinner than darker colors, maybe that's just me.  I personally like the dropper bottles for adding to my airbrush color cup, they're a lot easier to use than an open lipped jar.  Most of the time, for lighter colors, I use only a drop of thinner, for darker colors I mix almost one to one thinners.  I find their coverage very good.  

I dislike their primers quite a bit, so I've swapped over to AK Interactive white primer, I find it a good coverage and it stands up to remedial surface work.  I found the Vallejo primer to be like a layer of rubber, and I could not sand or file it at all, it also lifted quite easily if masked.

I both airbrush and hand brush the model air line, with no difficulty.  I've played a bit with their mediums for transparency, often with good results.  I also quite like their matte and satin varnishes.  I dislike acrylic glosses in general, I use lacquers.  I had to do a little work to track down their proper RLM 75, but I generally like their colors and find them reasonably accurate.  I've used this brand of paint for about 2 years now, and I'm pretty certain I'll stick with it.

Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne.


  • Member since
    July 2013
  • From: Chicago area
Posted by modelmaker66 on Saturday, November 8, 2014 12:49 AM

use a small hex nut in the Vallejo bottles as an agitator. It will improve the workability and results. When properly mixed up and thinned the paint is great!

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