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A relatively quick question - when using GW or P3 paints, how much should i thin them? I usually just paint without thinning anything, because when i did try to thin i ended up with everything leaking anywhere, and in the end decided just to go for standard thickness coats. Problem with that is when i make 2nd/3rd coats, it begins to get "wavy" if that makes sense.

Any suggestions/tips?

A milk like consistency is the best way I can put it.

Hm... D you know any good paint thinning guides (i.e. how much to thin etc)? I tried googling but they all seem to say different stuff, not sure who to trust

as much as you can without diluting the colour too much.

Sounds like you had too much paint on the brush when you tried before.
There should only be a minimal amount of paint in the brush, its a common mistake.
Its more akin to water colour painting than you realise; you dont want pools of paint, just lots of really thin layers.

Wipe off excess on a paper towel untill it flows in a clean line out of the brush before you apply it to a model.

The problem is you can't really give ratios as paints might dry out slightly in the pots over time & may even have a different consistency than others in the same range.
It's practice with trail & error - you'll get the hang of it if you keep at it.

Paint is never thinned too much. But your brush can be overloaded.

What about large surfaces? Im talking vehicles etc?

Same deal.
Thin even coats, many of. Use a bigger brush, and still pay attention to not overloading it. (when we say thin, we mean so thin that you can hardly tell the difference, but it builds up after a few coats. let dry properly between each one too)

Better yet spray it. Spray is the thinnest most even coating you can hope to achieve right now.
Airbrush beats spray cans on that aspect too due to its ultra low working pressure.

 Minus wrote:
Paint is never thinned too much. But your brush can be overloaded.

It's true... sort of. If using plain water, it is possible to thin to the point that the pigment drops out of suspension and clumps, leaving chalky patches instead of an even, subtle tinting, but you certainly can paint with what looks like tinted water, if you're so inclined. It will take ages to build up any degree of opacity and brush loading becomes increasingly important as the viscosity drops, but it's possible.

Most beginners, at least, are simply looking for a way to smooth out their coats and avoid clogging details. For basecoating, thinning as little as possible to achieve a smooth finish makes the most sense, as thicker paint means higher opacity, which means fewer coats and ultimately less time and effort spent. More subtle glazing effects will obviously require more dilution. Unfortunately, earlier posters are quite right in saying that "eventually, you'll just get it" is about as close to a definitive answer as can be given. You really do just have to play around with it, mixing thicker and thinner paint, seeing how it flows, comparing relative opacity, learning to adjust your brush loading... On that topic, though, I do have one bit of more concrete advice that really helped me, starting out.

As mentioned, rigid ratios don't really work well for thinning - it's more about developing a feel for it than memorizing various compositions. To help you practice, I suggest adding a few drops of water onto your palette (you are using a palette, right? ) near, but not touching, your blob of paint. From there, you can pull each into a central pool for mixing, adjusting the balance on the fly by adding more water or paint, as needed. The ability to bounce back and forth with sub-brushload tweaks to the mix, as well as the total inability to "count drops" will really help get you into the right frame of mind. After a bit of playing, you start to develop a sense of how paint "feels" when it's at a proper consistency. Not too long after that, it'll be second nature.

boom baby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtiQPAhU20c

It's really hard to give ratios when we're talking about very small amounts of paint and water. Plus ratios would be different depending on the color, even if they are of the same brand. They would also be different depending on the effect you want: is it a basecoat, an opaque layer, a semi-transparent one or a glaze?

The only advice I can give you is that thin it with as little water as possible then just add small amounts of water until you get the consistency you want.