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hi all,

please bare in mind that I am completely new to this . So I've been reading topic after topic on thinning paints and that it should be "milky" now... I never ever get there. I wanted to use vallejo paints, but sadly enough those were sold out at my local store. So I'm using GW paints. The guy at the store told me to use a Vallejo thinner medium (70.524) and replace the water with that. He said it would be better... Now I can basically use as much of that stuff as I want it seems the paint stays thick... I've tried 1:1 (paint/thinner) 1:2 / 1:3.. I never get it milky...
So I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong...

I've tried the "thinned" paint on left over things from model kits and it just wont work...I constantly have brushstrokes, thin layer on one part, thick patches next to it...

thanks for the help

Try this thread http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/436432.page

It covers the same issue, hope it helps

"Milky" is really only applicable to airbrushing, I would think that 1 to 2 drops of thinner medium would be fine for normal painting on a mini.

Ashton

thank you for the help both!

I've been checking some more youtube vids on thinning paints and see how people do it. Well I dont know what's going on. But could it be that there is something wrong with my paint? What they show is they thin the pain till it flows nicely, they paint a line and the paint flows. Now I'm working with a pot of regal blue from GW and vallejo thinner. I take 1 drop of paint and a drop of thinner. I mix them and paint a line and the paint stays perfectly still. I add another drop of vallejo thinner, redo the process and that line still stays still... I even tried adding a third drop... by now when I make the line the paint basically starts becomming transparent, I can see through it, but it still doesnt flow. I've tested all those on some spare models I've got and the results are basically always the same too. only in lighter degrees. the paint stays perfectly in 1 spot until I move it with the brush which then creates brushstrokes when I do move it... and dries so fast I get lines/places with dark spots of paint with next to them light areas with brushstrokes
I have no idea what's going on. Since I'm only beginning I'm asuming I'm doing something wrong, but I really cant see what...

Well, you don't really need the thinner to get thinned down paint, you can still be just as effective with water.

Also, I'm not too sure what you mean by the paint "flowing" on the surface. You don't want the paint to flow if you're doing thin layers. Also, how much of this thinned down paint are you applying? You shouldn't have much on your brush. Having a good brush can also help with properly applying thin layers. You shouldn't be moving paint around on the model if you're using a layering technique.

ok I'm adding a few shots of what the results are right now :( please dont laugh cause I'm already pretty ashamed I gotta show these failures after seeing the other miniatures here. But I do want to learn how to do this good. So this is what it looks like after the first coat (after priming, the priming) I suspect you experienced guys can pretty much instantly see the problems like that

Common mistake. Vallejo thinner is a pure acrylic medium that 'thins' by changing the ratio of pigment to medium. It doesn't really thin (consistency) as much as you might think it would.

Just add water to the mix until the surface tension has broken and the paint levels on the surface, and you'll be good to go.
If you wanna get more complicated you can start adding flo-aid to help disperse the pigment more evenly too (which combined with a drop of water will solve your streaky problem), but tbh you're better off initially just solely adding small amounts of water to your paint until you learn to manage that effectively.
It doesn't take much, just enough to for the paint to level out smooth when applied, but no so much that it runs everywhere.

I'd recommend going back to basics before adding unnecessary additives to the mix, basically.

I would suggest making your own wet pallette. Get a plastic tupperwear container and place a piece of folded paper towel in the bottom so it goes to the edges. Run a splash of water over the paper towel and let it soak for a second or two and then drain the extra water. Place a single layer of wax paper over top of the towel. When I use GW paint, I put two drops of paint and one drop water and it thins fine for brushwork. The moisture of the paper towel soaks through the wax paper and keeps the paint from drying out while you work. The end result is you are using a nicely thinned paint.

You can also thin with windex which is much cheaper than Vallejo thinner.

It's your first time, you shouldn't be ashamed at all! The best thing is at least you're trying it and attempting to improve, there's a lot of people here that can definitely help you out (like Orki up there)!
And like Orki says, it's always good to start out basic. Having the best stuff out there or using some fancy ways to thin paints will not automatically make you a good painter. You wont' ever improve without trying.

From the looks of your pictures, I'm guessing you might be putting on too much paint. Get your paints thinned down, dip your brush in the paint, then wipe some of it off on a paper towel or something. You don't want paint sticking on the brush, the thinned paint should be sitting in the brush hairs. You shouldn't have so much on there that you're pushing around the paint you laid down. Also, with thinned paints, you'll need to lay down several layers before you get a good color showing.

You can thin with plain water or a 50/50 mix of windex and water. I only use the windex mix to thin paints for airbrush.

My advice is to not worry about your paint thinning ratio. Dip your brush in water, blot off the excess with a paper towel, get paint on the brush and start brushing it onto the model. If your paint is going on too thick you can dip into the water again, blot it off, and go right back to the model to introduce a little more moisture to the still-wet paint on the model.

Out of curiosity, why did you prime white? IMO a black primer is better for painting blues. A white prime is not incorrect but I do advocate always priming black if you're a beginner.

ok guys thank you for the info!

like suggested I'm going back to the basics, I'm quitting the vallejo thinner for now and I'm going to experiment with pure water instead. Since I can get my hands on large amounts of osmosis water, should I use that or regular tap water? And I'll definitely try using less paint. As for the white primer, I just followed the advice the guy at the store gave me. He said to go for white so I did basically. But if everyone says black is better for beginners I'll switch
Is regal blue a difficult color to work with in general as a beginner? if it is I might just switch to another since I'm just testing and trying right now. I do have bloodred and chaos black lying around aswell.
again thanks for the help everyone!
time to go experiment again

Magic Wash.

http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

Near the top, I'm assuming that's the German flag (I know my European history is poor).

Then see this: http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

Can also be used as a sealant (some use it straight off but that will give it an immense gloss)

It already looks like milk and add paint so instead of the transparency associated with water, you get an opaque backing giving it a richer colour.

You can try black or white, it doesn't really matter except for the way the colors may stand out on a black or a white basecoat (I prefer a white or grey). Black can go good with giving a more darker tone to your colors which goes well with the theme of WH40k. Black can also be a bit more forgiving on showing small mistakes which white may make more pronounced. Choose whichever you prefer. Since you want to improve your painting, stick with what you have which is your white primer. As you can already see from your pictures, it's very easy to see on white the mistakes you did, which you can work to improve.