Thinning Vallejo model air paints?

Frank, I use distilled water and have had good results. Every color is different as to the amount you use. We have their thinner here know but I have not used it yet.

I still have not got around to find the missing parts your looking for. I have been coverd up here at work.

Thad

Thanks Thad!  I'll give that a try.  Do you use the water for clean-up as well?

PM inbound!

I have been using these paints for just over a year.  I find that they paint very well out of the bottle if you keep your pressure between 20-25psi.  I find they are great for general coverage but will require practice if you are doing camouflage schemes.  They dry fast so you will have to keep you airbrush tip clean.  I keep some water in a palette and I clean my airbrush tip every 1-2 minutes.  For spraying these I will use my Iwata CR as the needle and tip size is larger.  I definitely don't use my Iwata HP-CS as they are more of a hassle.  For finer camouflage schemes I would suggest using Tamayia or Gunz as they are alcohol based and you can really thin these paints without worrying about tip drying problems.  For general use and coverage they are great.  For very fine work stick with Tamayia or Gunz.  I use Windex to clean with.  I spray 1 or 2 squirts into my airbrush reservoir and use an old paintbrush to clean the residue out.  I will then disassemble my airbrush and clean the needle.  You need to make sure you clean your brush very well with these paints because once they dry it is hard to get your needle out of the brush if you don't

 Rob

I use distilled water, but I agree with Rob that the paint doesn't require much thinning & can be used out of the bottle for general broad coverage.  Thinning the paint & using lower pressure increases the tip dry problem, which drives me nuts when trying to do fine camo patterns or mottle.

Regards,  Rick

Thanks guys for the assist!  I am going toplay around with these techniques this weekend.

I've been doing a slight mod of 3:1 water to paint.

For the airbrush, useable amount;

3 drops of model color.
6 drops of water (distilled).
3 drops of Vallejo thinner.
1 Drop of retarder.

The thinner is more than water BUT the downside is that it is white. Hence lightens the colors. In this ratio though it is OK. Sprays amazingly through my Iwata hpch.

Tip1: Don't buy the Vallejo 17ml thinner bottles. Just buy the artist 524 500ml thinner for a few bucks more and you have enough for a few years!