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Eurgh, it's hit me that I am constantly having to water my tallarn flesh down... what's the point in making a pigment that has to be so drastically watered down?

I mean, I think they actually design it to butcher brushes and details...

You should be thinning them anyway. The issue is not so much the pigments... which believe it or not GW does a fine job with, but the paint-pots themselves. Paint dries so fast in those darn things.

It's totally a pain, but entirely worth the effort to move all of your GW paints to dropper bottles. Reaper sells a 3 pack that even comes with agitators.

I'm not sure its so much the pigment thats causeing the problem, asit is the container the paitns are stored in. I have much better luck getting my paints to stay "fresh" in the dropper bottles then I do with the GW pots.

Sniped!

I like the GW paints a lot but yes, they do dry - you can put small amounts of water in the pots to keep the paints fresh. I do it every so often and mix it into the paints. Just remember to keep the amounts small.

I have to say that to date I havn't had a single problem with the GW pigments... Maybe its the UK climate keeping them from drying? lol

To OP: As you're talking about a foundation paint here I'm assuming that you haven't watered down the paint in the pot to the consistency you want, and are instead using it straight from the pot and then watering it down on your palette? If you've used some already, it might be worth adding some water directly to the pot, slowly, until it is at the right consistency. The new foundation paint pots don't tend to dry out as quickly as the black-top GW paints do.

They're actually replacing the paints with the black-tops with grey ones in the same style as the new foundation and wash pots. (So white for foundation and black for wash), and wonder of wonders, they've actually put the relevant colour as a painted section on the top for easy identification. Honestly impressed by this move.

Have a look, from the boys at Tabletop Gaming News:

Oh wow, that's awesome... yes it's a relatively old pot that's err... well I have no idea if it's normal but yes, it's all dry at the top but the paint itself has actually turned black... If you stir it about it returns to a tallarn colour but I dunno what's going on: I assume it's the water separating from the paint? It literally is jet black in the pot o.O

My Mechrite red is about as fine as one would expect except having an almost solid consistency, I'll have to try adding water. It also stinks horribly, but I figured that was the paint

Ahhh. The foundation paints will always seperate. It's to do with their pigment and medium not really bonding properly. While it lets you get a lot more pigment in there, so it doesn't end up with a transparent layer, it means you will have to shake up the pot or stir it every time you want to use it. You can use many things as an agitator to make this a bit easier. Someone was raving about using small lava beads, as these are very inert, won't rust (unlike pewter) and have a good weight to them, unlike plastic.

..How long have you had these paints? Foundation paints do smell a bit, but it sounds like the Mechrite Red needs watering down and returning to a reasonable consistency. Add water slowly, mixing regularly, until it's usable again. If it starts coming out with chunks, mix some more, or if it's a lost cause, I'd recommend binning it. Unfortunately you have to replace the lost water due to evaporation before it gets to a certain point or it will begin to clump and bits will dry out completely, and once that happens the bits are waterproof!

For the Tallarn Flesh, I'd scrape off any completely dry bits around the top, mix it up, and then add water, very carefully, to the mix until its at the right consistency, then add an agitator to the bottle. Each time you want to use it (it will have seperated, they ALWAYS seperate, the only reason I think your Mechrite Red hasn't is because its so thick), pick it up, shake until its the same colour throughout and then open it and check the consistency. If it needs thinning, add some water, close the lid and shake it again. This way you'll keep on top of it and the paint will remain better for longer. You also shouldn't need to water it down every time you open it this way .

Found the link to the News and Rumours thread on the new paints: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/297404.page#1616807

By the way, the foundation paints are MEANT to be thinned with water. In fact GW does recommend thinning ALL paints with water, but the foundations do specifically need it.

All paints, regardless of brand, need to be thinned.

Indeed - even non GW paints should be thinned prior to use, so I don;t have a problem with that.

I do find, however, that their paints do not adhere as well to the plastic as they should - they streak like mad and its hard to get a good coat. I always assumed that it was due to bad painting technique on my part though.

All of my GW paints are still old style bottles. Flip tops and bolter shells. Add water as needed and drop a medium sized ball bearing in each pot as a agitator so you can shake them up.

Foo1 wrote:Indeed - even non GW paints should be thinned prior to use, so I don;t have a problem with that.

I do find, however, that their paints do not adhere as well to the plastic as they should - they streak like mad and its hard to get a good coat. I always assumed that it was due to bad painting technique on my part though.

You are undercoating, right?

You young'uns and your new paints. Back in my day, GW made paint with flip-top lids that sealed tightly, and used some kind of emulsion that never dries out. (Except light colors like white and flesh tones, those have always been a problem.)

At various points they changed bottle design and formulas about a half dozen times, with the screw-on lids being the worst of the worst.

Their pigments are great, among the best IMO, but they seem to have a hard time settling on an emulsion/bottle combo that works as good as their earliest generation paint.

I have a number of bottles of GW paint from about 16 years ago that are still perfectly fine even though the lids are cracked and they were stored in an a hot garage, but nothing in between that survived the test of time. No idea what changed. Best I can suggest is to maintain your paints, store upside down if they have a good seal, shake them often and hard to keep liquids from separating, and always assume you have to thin them anyway when using.

Also, whichever style of bottle, screw-on or flip-top, always check the inside rim of the lid for paint that collects and dries, keeping the bottle from sealing tightly. Use a dental pick to pull the little plasticized rings of paint out.

Coat d'Arms still do those old GW paints, if you feel like a bout into nostalgia, Terraformer . I have a goblin green and a tanned flesh hanging around from that era though. They certainly lasted for much longer than my screw-top Jade Green, that became solid within a year or so, without even being opened very often. I'm hoping these new ones will have a better seal.

Tallarn flesh is a thickened paint for a reason.

mix dwarf and elf flesh if you want that colour.

ALL foundation paints are thick, and PS: they don't thicken quickly if you keep them in a good temprature [20-24 degrees celcius]