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I am kinda new to the painting thing and have got myself some paints. People say that it is a good idea to thin paints with water, and thats what this thread is about. In other words, please recomend a good paint to water ratio for using with the citadel paints.

Btw, some people... dislike the citadel paints. If all you want to do is remark on there... ability, please dont post anything.

The only paints I use are GW ones so I'm not going to rag on them.

It's hard to put a ratio on it as some paints need more than others.

The best advice I can give is that if you paint from the cap, dip your brush into your water and then wipe it on the edge of the cap 2 - 3 times. Mix it really well and then try painting with this. If It's still too thick add some more water.

Your paint to water ratio will depend on the paint in the pot. Some are much thinner than others, and even then some of the same colour are thinner than others depending on the paint batch.

Bartius has a good idea of a place to start. More advice is to use a wet palette it can also help with keeping your paints liquid.

Also lastly, just remember you want your paints to go on smooth without leaving brush strokes or obscuring detail, that is the best advice we can give you.

Ive found that diping the brush in water then wiping it 2ish times gets rid of a good amount of water that mixis with the paint i get out of the tab.


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What exactly is a wet palette and where would i be able to find one?

I use a brush with wide bristles to catch alot of water, paint, or whatever I dip it into. I always go with a 1:1 ratio and then I amd constantly dipping my brush in water to keep everything running smoothly onto my model.

A wet palate is pretty much what you imagine it to be. A palate to paint from that is moist, allowing you to thin your paint easily.

There's a great tutorial on B&C here.

Also, DO NOT PAINT FROM THE CAP, your paints will dry out far far quicker than if you use a palate.

Just wing it. I mix water in them after they've got a little less than 1/4 of their paint remaining, and fill it up to the usual level where a brand new pot would be.

However, I've had both good and bad results. I tried thinning down some ALREADY thinned down paint, and I got something exactly like a wash (which was very good! Heavier than badab, and easier to paint too!)

But.. I thinned down some bleach Bone...Which turned out horribly. It didn't lose it's sticky texture at all...


Don't thin down a brand new pot. It can't work unless you remove at LEAST half of the paint, which is a pain.

In other words, just guess and make a good judgement. Thinning down white, black, red and brown were some of the best thing I've ever done, and they've enhanced my painting immensliy.

Yeah about 50:50 dude. I generally thin it until it looks "right". It's hard to explain, but older paints sometimes need a bit more. I try to get it ever-so-slightly thicker than milk. That's by best advice on that. Milky.

i am a wicked, evil pot-painter (i dip my brushes straight into the paint pot)

As for thinning the paints, first thing i do with a brand new pot of normal paint (ie, not Metallic or Foundation colors) is put water up to basically the brim.. this has been quite successful in getting the right amount of water and paint. As an aside, i DO NOT thin down skull white.. it has enough issues with anorexia as it is.

ClosetRoller wrote:
Also, DO NOT PAINT FROM THE CAP, your paints will dry out far far quicker than if you use a palate.

I've never had issues with this. If the paint thickens you can add water. Easy

a simple wet palette is to place a small square of kitchen towel in a tray, probably 2 to 4 layers thick (depending on thickness of towel) then pour wayer on to it until paper is soaked but not drowned then place a piece of grease proof paper on it. you can then add small amounts of paint onto the paper and water will come through as you rub your brush on. it helps control the water/paint ratio and keeps your paint from drying out for longer on a palette while closing your paint pots so they dont dry out.

Cool. Thanks for the tips guys.

Really its mostly about experience, rather then being able to give you straight amounts. Try adding small increments of water and seeing how it affects the paint on your model.

And for the record, I dont think GW paint is bad as far as paint is concerned. Its just overpriced. It gets the job done quite nicely.

Mix your paint on any kind of pallet first. you can add water if too thick and you can add paint if its too thin. you want it thin enough that it flows a little so you dont see brush strokes (it takes a couple of layers to get full coverage), but not so thin that it flows into crevises where you dont want paint to be. just a little experiance, the pallet makes it easier to experamint.

i tend to find that if you thin the gw mettalics they are a bit scabby be careful with that

Brother Bartius wrote:

ClosetRoller wrote:
Also, DO NOT PAINT FROM THE CAP, your paints will dry out far far quicker than if you use a palate.

I've never had issues with this. If the paint thickens you can add water. Easy

Hurr-durr. I completely agree. I could never understand why people tell me 'don't paint from the lid'. If my paints get too thick, throw some water in them. done. If they spill out of the lid? I really don't care that much if they do.

Also, to someone above: I urge to you to thin down your skull white. The results are amazing really. I'd never even consider using skull white unless it's thinned down.

GW's new pots are infuriating. Not only can I not paint from the tab in the lid, but it seems like the new pots make even more of a mess of the paint! The edge of the paint pot is constantly drenched in paint. I wish these new pots would go die

painting from the cap is fine, unless you are painting like 1500 pts of stuff in one go thrs no problem, especially if you close a paint after your finished using it (bitter experience....)

always close the lid...always

mhm

I have one white Fire warrior. that is the closest thing to finished i have.

dang.... good luck with that

Samus_aran115 wrote:

Brother Bartius wrote:

ClosetRoller wrote:
Also, DO NOT PAINT FROM THE CAP, your paints will dry out far far quicker than if you use a palate.

I've never had issues with this. If the paint thickens you can add water. Easy

Hurr-durr.

Hurr-durr yourself. Paint dries. Acrylic paint dries quickly. If you have the lid open, paint dries. When paint dries it changes its chemical properties, adding water does not change it back.

ClosetRoller wrote:When paint dries it changes it's chemical properties, adding water does not change it back.

In a nutshell, this. Water can be used to try and get some more use out of an ancient pot of paint that has lost too much fluid, but it won't be the same final result as when the paint was fresh. Comparing an old jellied up paint mixed with water to a new pot shows a big difference in how it covers and feels to use. Adding water to an entire pot is really a last case scenario not something to be used as a normal upkeep step. If you like painting from the lid because of how annoying having to keep the brush topped up is, just make a quick wet pallete and put a blob of paint on it. Same effect, but saves your paint pot.

I've got a couple of the new style pots of GW paint. So far i've found the paint only wants a touch of water. Have they changed the consistancy or is it just because they are new.

Actually don't answer that...i don't care.

My new Vallejo paints arrived at the weekend and I intend to only buy them from now on.

In answer to the OP, tbh there's been loads of times I've applied paint to mini and thought - oh nuts that's too thick (add more water), oh nuts that's too thin (add more paint)

Then ended up with a little bowl of paint which ended up going down the sink.

I guess in a year's time i'll be able to get the consistency right first time, but until then I'll keep wasting paint.

I imagine it happens alot, but practice makes perfect.

ClosetRoller wrote:

Samus_aran115 wrote:

Brother Bartius wrote:

ClosetRoller wrote:
Also, DO NOT PAINT FROM THE CAP, your paints will dry out far far quicker than if you use a palate.

I've never had issues with this. If the paint thickens you can add water. Easy

Hurr-durr.

Hurr-durr yourself. Paint dries. Acrylic paint dries quickly. If you have the lid open, paint dries. When paint dries it changes its chemical properties, adding water does not change it back.

Hurr-durr. It's a 3.75$ portion of paint. I could care less about it. If it was 20$, maybe I'd care more.

I always keep a paint jar of regular GW paint at its regular consistency, and another of the same colour, but thinned down to a 3/4 water, paint.

......close the lid?

Brotheralexos wrote:I always keep a paint jar of regular GW paint at its regular consistency, and another of the same colour, but thinned down to a 3/4 water, paint.

Yeah, I do that too. I've got a couple different chaos blacks and Skull Whites.

Thinned down chaos black is the greatest paint I've ever used. It just falls right into the cracks of what you're painting. It's a dream.