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whenever I paint a good model (like Vlad von carstein, may he rest in molten peace) I can' really seem to do the face on him (or any model to be honest, unless its skeletal or wight) as my paints are supplied too thick, even if I apply it with my fine detail brush as thinly as I can, and do the same with dwarf fleash and codex grey, the paint by now is so thick His features are all but blurred out, so I ask, how can I thin out my paints without sacrificing performance? and preferably... without having to go out of my way.

P.S what would be the UK equivilant to simple green?

Add water.

That's basically it. No complex measurements either, I usually just take a couple "brush fulls" of paint, smear it on a ceramic plate, then just dip the brush in some water and mix that with the paint. Clean off the brush [so you don't get paint in the ferrule] and then proceed as normal.

This is also nice as your brush will soak paint up better, allowing you to paint for longer per "load" before having to get more.

Try a bigger brush,fine points are only for fine detail
Flesh is a pretty transparent colour.If you use a bigger brush you'll
get better even layers than a fine point.
Water is the only solution,has anybody managed to get flesh to cover in
one coat?I don't think it's possible,even with tallarn flesh!
Codex grey as you mentioned,is a really thick colour so that may be where
the problem lies.

Yeah I mixed 1:1 paint/water and it was too runny and took like 4-5 coats for a good result. 2:1 or 3:1 paint to water works better.

For faces and really fine work, it's best to thin the paint to the point where you'll need at least 2 coats before you start seeing any colour appear. It is very time-consuming but worth it in the end.

Just tried this for the first time and boy am I impressed! I was always of the opinion that "if I thin it down, it's a wash - I want to cover the flat parts too!!", but after thinning the paint down about 2:5 or so (2 parts water to 5 parts paint) it goes on UNBELIEVABLY smoothly, there are no brush marks, and best of all it even dries quickly - which was my other fear...

In short, get a figure and give it a try, the results really are fantastic!

Of course, that was only on a basecoat, I haven't attempted to do detailing with watered down paints yet, that may well be a little more interesting

Viperion

When I need to thin paint down, I use a bottle cap, insert paint, and then add water until it looks rights. Best part is if you get carried away, just dump it out, its only a small cap full. Practice practice practice!

You can also use an extender or blending medium(available near the oil paints in most craft stores like Michaels and Hobby lobby). Don't get a gel kind unless you plan on doing large batches and using a flow improver or something as the gels are too thick unless diluted a bunch.

I have also found that a few drops from a cheap bottle of clear glaze works like water but keeps its shape better than water, and is just as transparent. The brand i use also acts like a limited extender and it takes a little longer to dry so you can attempt blending with minimal effort as well.

Meph