Switch Theme:

Vallejo Airbrush Thinner & Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
»
Author Message
Advert


Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
  • No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
  • Times and dates in your local timezone.
  • Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
  • Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
  • Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.




Made in us
Fresh-Faced New User





Hey everyone, I have another beginner painting/airbrushing question that's hopefully pretty easy to answer. I see a lot of information about the differences between water, thinner, and flow improver when it comes to painting and airbrushing. I'm hoping to just concretely nail down a couple of concepts.

I have Vallejo Airbrush Thinner and Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver right now. I mostly understand the difference between the two on a conceptual level from some helpful videos and other posts. I am trying to put 2 and 2 together now.

My first main question when trying to utilize these additives is... No matter what, should the bulk of the thinning be done by water? Then the Vallejo Airbrush Thinner and Flow Improver are lightly added to the water-thinned paint?

Or does the Vallejo Airbrush Thinner replace using water as the thinning medium? Then the Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver is lightly added to the thinned paint?

Is there a very, very rough ratio of the three I should use? For example, use mostly water, a little thinner, and even less flow improver? If I know how to order the amounts from greatest-to-least, then I feel pretty comfortable experimenting with the exact ratios.

I also don't know how Vallejo Airbrush Thinner and Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver compare to other brands and mediums people are using, which has made it difficult to apply what I've been reading to what I have at my disposal.

I enjoy reading the guidance more experienced painters are providing to use newbies! Any tidbit helps!
   
Made in ca
Fireknife Shas'el






The main problem you're going to run into is that the ratios will vary depending on the paint you're using. For most stuff I'd use a 10:1:1:1 (thinner/flow imp/water) and see how that goes.

Just remember that water is the free part (well, almost free), but it does slow the drying time more than the other ingredients. If you want a quick drying air coat, use less water and more thinner, if it's not important, use more water.

What I've found the thinner is really useful for, though, is to put a drop in first before putting a thicker paint into the cup. You have to spray it out, but if you just put paint in the cup first, the stuff at the front isn't mixed with whatever thinner/flow improver/water you added and mixed in the cup, so that little bit of thinner in the front gets that thick stuff and helps to prevent clogging. I did a bunch of priming with Vajello black and had zero issues because of that little bit of thinner at the beginning.

   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut






Michigan

 John Prins wrote:
The main problem you're going to run into is that the ratios will vary depending on the paint you're using. For most stuff I'd use a 10:1:1:1 (thinner/flow imp/water) and see how that goes.

Just remember that water is the free part (well, almost free), but it does slow the drying time more than the other ingredients. If you want a quick drying air coat, use less water and more thinner, if it's not important, use more water.

What I've found the thinner is really useful for, though, is to put a drop in first before putting a thicker paint into the cup. You have to spray it out, but if you just put paint in the cup first, the stuff at the front isn't mixed with whatever thinner/flow improver/water you added and mixed in the cup, so that little bit of thinner in the front gets that thick stuff and helps to prevent clogging. I did a bunch of priming with Vajello black and had zero issues because of that little bit of thinner at the beginning.

+1 on the order of operations, here. It is seldom discussed, but what John has posted here can literally add years to an airbrush. (Ok maybe not LITERALLY, but I think you get the notion)

As far as you're actual question: The only medium I usually use is water, so I can't really answer for the other stuff mentioned. I do, however, use liquitex Slo-Dri when wet blending (thanks Sam Lenz)..works wonders for making the paint not only stay wet on your palette (recommend a wet palette, anyways, imo)..but also on the model; hence, wet blending. LOTS more working time. (Remember, though...that also means more DRYING TIME) -- Little off topic, but my $0.02.

BLAH BLAH....blah. 
   
Made in ca
Regular Dakkanaut






Vallejo airbrush thinner can be used as your sole thinner, but its not cheap. If you are thinning their super thick Model Color in order to airbrush it for instance, you might want to include some distilled water in you mix but it would not hurt (other than you wallet) to simplify things and just use the thinner. The main ingredient is Glycol Ether which cuts the paint beautifully, and will evaporate much faster than water (so shorter cure times).

The flow improver is really a drying retarder so be careful: a little goes a long way and using too much will result in a paint film which crackles when it (finally) dries. Per Vallejo, never more than a drop or two in a typical airbrush load.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/08/13 12:23:33


 
   
Made in us
Fresh-Faced New User





Ahhhhhh, thank you so much everyone for the clarifications!

Knowing that the thinner is (basically) performing the function of the water, as opposed to an additive like the flow improver, will really help me experiment on a per-paint basis. Definitely don't want to waste this stuff since it adds up!
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





Riverside, CA USA

You can make your own thinner from distilled water and Isopropyl alcohol. Some people add a little bit of glycerin or dish soap as a flow agent as well, or you can use actual flow improver/drying retardant

https://www.cybermodeler.com/tips/thinner.shtml


~Kalamadea (aka ember)
My image gallery 
   
Made in ca
Fresh-Faced New User




Next Level Painting on Youtube uses airbrush a lot and he recommends only using thinner with your primers and only using flow improver with base layers. Of course you still use water as well, and with primer even more, which is why the quicker drying action of the thinner is useful with the already slow drying primer.

The quicker drying is a serious downside while spraying because the paints already dry too quick and clog up the brush.

I use a cheap $40 brush and I'm getting amazing results once dialed in. Not easy dialing it in though and certainly easier with the iwata.
   
 
Forum Index » Painting & Modeling
Go to: