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Bit of a random question, but should I be thinning foundation paints or is that just defeating the purpose? I usually thin my paints 1:1 with water and do several light coats, but I haven't worked much with foundation colors. Do the same rules apply?

Oh absolutely yes... the GW painting articles seem to be missing right now for some reason... but generally even GW recommends you thin (all) of their paints, especially the foundations.

I don't know about 1:1, but they most definitely need to be watered down. In fact I heard if you don't water them down at all, a kitten is killed.

Thinning your probably the best advice you'll ever get - provided you take it, of course!

I always thin them.

interesting. isn't thinning going to dilute (no pun intended) the effectiveness of the foundation color's ability to cover well? or are you supposed to do multiple coats of thinned foundation just like you'd do any other color? should I thin 1:1 like usual or use a more paint-heavy ratio?

Thinning it just a bit will not dilute the colors as with regular GW paint.

Every paint should be thinned as soon as you get them. When I buy a new paint, the first thing I do is transfer them to dropper bottles(for GW and P3's) add 5 drops of Slow Dry additive, and at least 10 drops of 10:1 water/flo-aid mix. I also add an 8mm volcano rock bead to agitate the paint when shaking them up to mix better. This is done for every single paint I own.

I then decide whether or not to thin more once I have some paint on my palette as some times I want it super thin( mainly for white paint or washes) and some times I want it a little thicker(metallics and foundations). But all paints straight off the shelf are too thick for my taste.

Another means of thinning paint without getting it all runny is to use 3:1 matte medium to water/flo aid mix. This helps maintain the matte finish and keeps the paint from just running all over the place or pooling.

Theres no hard rules for thinning, certainly no ratios you can apply to everything. Only real way is to feel as you paint, add a little water to your paint, if it feels too watery, add a spot more paint, not thin enough, add a spot more water.

Each paint is a different thickness to start with, and they change over time as they dry out. So while a brand new pot of foundation paint might only need a wet brush, a pot thats a few months old might need a lot more.

I think thinning as little as you need to is the best way for non display painters to paint. If after your finished your not happy with how smooth it is, you know to thin a little more next time

Joe Mama wrote: In fact I heard if you don't water them down at all, a kitten is killed.

I dont thin my foundations.... However; I hate cats.

I thin them just enough so that they flatten out when painted. Sometimes dipping just the tip of the brush on water is enough.

I never thin foundation paints. Feel bad about the kittens, though

You people must have some bad brush stroke lines on your models. Foundations are incredibly thick off the shelf.

I thin most if not all of my paints with the exception of metallics, should I also thin them? I for some reason reading somewhere that you shouldn't thin any metallics.

Metallics can be thinned just fine. The problems come if you thin them too much which is a nightmare as matte medium won't really fix it due to the metallic flakes being too diluted.

For metallics, it's best to thin them on the palette and not in the pot or bottle, so that if you over thin, it's only a drop or two of paint and you can fix it by adding more paint to the mix.

Foundations are extremely thick. Thin them a bit, but don't make them watery, as that defeats the point. You don't want them to feel grainy, but you want high coverage.

Personally, I don't thin my paints. I think I get pretty decent results, but I have to admit I don't do pro quality work. (Then again, I have neither the time nor desire to do pro-quality paint jobs.) For a table-top quality paint job, I don't think it's necessary. That being said, my recommendation would be to use the foundation (undiluted) on a model, and then try it on a different model, but this time thin it down on a palette first. If you think that the thinned-down version looks just fine, then rock on. If not, don't worry about it.

Thin your foundation paints. Even with multiple coats it makes things faster. Thin them down, get yourself a big brush and wack them on with gay abandon. It'll probably take 2-3 coats to get the lot, but since your just wacking it on (no need to worry about clumps, or getting it to flow in to corners) it takes seconds.

Foundations have a denser pigment than the non-foundation paints, therefore an equally thinned foundation will still have denser pigment than a standard paint.

I thin everything, much more than I used to first time around, and it definitely makes a difference.

Also, wet palettes can really help too, extending the drying time and also making it easier to get the texture you want from the paint.

azreal13 wrote:Foundations have a denser pigment[ation] than the non-foundation paints, therefore an equally thinned foundation will still have denser pigment[ation] than a standard paint.

This (with my minor correction - it's not the pigment used, it's how much of it, but I get what you were saying). Foundations are still acrylic paints and behave as such - thin them as little as necessary to get good flow and a smooth finish. It's not a matter of "defeating the purpose" - they'll still cover faster than regular paints thinned to the same consistency, you're simply guaranteeing yourself a smooth finish, at the cost of an extra coat or two. If you want translucency for special effects, they'll require more thinning than usual (possibly enough that additional mediums would be required to maintain paint-like characteristics, as opposed to them turning into "tinted water"), so I'd try to use normal paints for that. As always, how much thinning they require to reach a good working state varies and different painting tasks require different dilutions, so I tend to thin on the palette exclusively (barring a few drops of water to keep paints from going gooey in the pot), whether I'm using Foundations, regular GW pots, Vallejo, or even craft paints.

Acually, my statement didn't need correcting, it was perfectly valid as it was, but at least we both agree!

I would definitely thin the paints. I remember I used to not Thin the paints and now I do. What a huge difference doing that does. Always thin your paints.

I find that all paints need to be thinned, the ratio of paint to water will vary depending on which paint you're using.

Thin untill the paint is smooth.

to follow up, I tried thinning my foundation color (knarloc green, in this case) with three different thinners:

water
10:1 water/flow-aid
3:1 matt medium to water/flow-aid (mixed at 10:1)

I mixed each of these roughly 1:1 with the knarloc. the water and the water/flow-aid mixes seemed pretty comparable with the water/flow-aid mix feeling slightly thicker, but still applying very smooth. the matt medium mix I just don't understand, though. it was thick on the palette, thick on the brush and thick on the model; there didn't seem to be anything thin about it! I've seen this mix recommended in a couple places, so I must be missing something... can anyone enlighten me?

The matte medium mix thins less than the straight water/flo-aid mix, giving you a thicker mix(but still thin compared to the original) than thinner.

I dont like thinning paints, its also why I paint so fast.
The only time I thin my paint is when I feel that the water has evaporated too much.