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So Im very new to model painting and painting in general, so i appolgise for my ignorance. but I've been trying to get to doing some fine detail painting and I'm having problems. I've got citadel paints a wet pallet and a wargamer insane detail brush. my problem is I cant seem to get paint to flow well from the tip and it seems to congeal into a blob further on the brush preventing me from painting with the tip and getting to details, or I have to start to pres with the brush making it lose the point spreading the paint out. I assume this has to do with not "watering down the paints to a less viscus state. I however am not really sure. So what should I do? If I do need to water the paint down how should I do it, do I pour some off on to the pallet and eye drop in water?

Hi. I am unfamiliar with the "insane detail" brush, but I assume that it has a very small tip. You have hit the problem on the head that the paint is drying before you have a chance to do anything with it. I have that problem all the time. I have a few tiny brushes that I use for hard to reach spots... they are really only good for one or two swipes at that detail before you need to rinse and reload.

1. You need the paint to be runny in order to get a nice line so that it flows off your brush. Often, I read that the viscosity should be "like milk". You can try water dropper... I usually just load some water into my brush (not so much that it is dripping) and swirl it into the edge of my paint to make part of it runnier... if it is too runny, add more paint from the "straight from the pot" part... if not runny enough... add more water.

2. You don't want to load the brush so much that it blobs on the brush - BUT - you don't want to just dip the tip in there either, then you run into the "paint dries before it goes on the model" problem. You MIGHT be able to mitigate this if your brush is damp before you load it, but this is only good for one swipe before you need to reload it. This is one of the major problems with very small brushes... they have a tiny well to hold moisture and they dry very easily. I've gone back to using brushes similar to size 1 for everything (actually a games and gears size 0, but those brushes have large wells)

Hope this helps!

Happy painting!

I don't know what the insane detail brush is like, but in general you're using a fine detail brush and trying to paint fine details, the paint drying on the brush becomes a bigger problem.

The most common approach is to just thin the paint a bit more, and that can potentially work. Also cleaning the brush frequently, basically every few brush strokes just rinsing it off to remove any partially dried paint.

However, when thinning for fine detail work I reach for my flow improver and drying retarder. As the names suggest, they help paint flow off the brush and slows down drying so you aren't getting claggy dried paint on the brush.

I use Vallejo flow improver...
http://metrohobbies.com.au/vallejo-airbrush-flow-improver-262-17ml.html?gclid=CIHCvoCNts8CFdcjvQodpQYMsA&gclsrc=aw.ds

Even though it says "airbrush" I find myself using it more for hairy brushing than airbrushing.

For a drying retarder I also use Vallejo, it is quite thick so you only need to use a small amount and add more thinner to compensate...
http://metrohobbies.com.au/vallejo-modelcolor-retarder-597-17ml-paint-acrylic.html

The Insane Detail brush is fairly small.

I have used the insane detail brush years ago and i don't like it. Don't let the size of the bristles fool you. to do fine detail you need a brush that has bristles that come to a fine point. The insane detail brush has this (sort of, they are made of cheaper mats so the bristles tend to spread), but it doesn't hold much paint or water.

I have the Army Painter Insane detail and I do not like it all. I don't know if it because it is too tiny or the brush is bad, but it does not hold the paint properly. I prefer the size 1 by Nevskaya Palitra which is the Russian variant of W&N. But even the sable brush when is too small cannot hold much paint.

Well for small details, like eyes or gems or the cog mechanicus symbol what would you all recommend? currently Im painting a squad of sicarian rust stalkers and the eyes are so small.

Much of the time you can get away with using a larger brush that has a good point. It's the point that determines how fine you can paint, it doesn't matter how big the body is. So if you use something like a #1 Kolinsky Sable brush that has a good point, you should be able to paint fine details.

BUT, I still prefer using a small brush for super-fine details. Even though the size of the point is no smaller, having a smaller body means you have a larger margin for error (if you use a big body brush and accidentally press 0.5mm further in to the model than you should, your fine line suddenly becomes a fat line, but if you're using a small brush, you're still ok).

SO, my recommendation is use a small body brush that is still made from Kolinsky sable (because they are hard wearing and have a good tip) and do what I said in my previous post, use a flow improver and/or a drying retarder to help the paint flow off the bristles and stop the paint drying in the brush.

I don't know whether or not Army Painter's brush is a good fine detail brush, I use a Raphael 8404 4/0, they also make a 6/0 but none of the art stores had any in stock when I bought it. I'm sure many other companies make good fine detail brushes, but the Raphael is one I can personally recommend.

For 99% of painting, I use a #1 or #2 Kolinsky Brush, and it's capable of painting fine details. But for those super fine details that come up 1% of the time like eyes, instrument panels, etc, I whip out my Raphael 8404 4/0.

Skink +1. Stick to the Raphael 8404 and Winsor and Newton Series 7. Fine point is most important. Myself, I use a size 0 and size 00. Prices have actually dropped in the last year (and I recommend the cheap sable nail brushes for other uses when they're 3 for under $2 : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007BLN17K/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3KTAZR4CEZKXN

Also wick the brush. Thin the paint with water (or, better yet, Army Painter washes), then tap the side of the brush of the brush on a paper towel. Removes excess liquid before painting.