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Made in us
Last Remaining Whole C'Tan






Pleasant Valley, Iowa

Hello all,

I have had incredible challenges finding a good white paint:

Ceramite White: chalky consistency, poor coverage. Even multiple thin coats not good.

Corax White: The pot I got was the consistency of half-mixed plaster of paris or oatmeal. I don't know if I got a bad pot or that's just how it is. I added a ton of medium to it to try and reconstitute it a little but it's much too thick.

Vallejo Dead White: Same as Ceramite White: chalky, uneven consistency.

P3 Morrow White: my current go-to. Good opacity but it is very, very thick and I need to carefully thin with medium every time.


Is there a brand of white that gives good opacity and coverage without being either clumpy goo, or the consistency of Elmer's glue? Is this just the way it is with hobby white? I really don't have these issues with any other colors.

Thanks!


 lord_blackfang wrote:
Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.

 Flinty wrote:
The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
 
   
Made in ca
Speed Drybrushing





t.dot

That's the nature of white, unfortunately. White pigments tend to be a little coarser than others, AND combined with being very translucent by nature, means that you need to have lots of good, thin, consistent coats to get a smooth finish.

Chalkiness/clumping can happen when the paint is diluted enough that the pigments separate from the paint medium and clump together, drying into little piles rather than evenly over a surface. This can happen with any color and is largely as a result of poor painting technique; it just so happens that white, with larger than normal paint pigments, is very susceptible to this. Because we have to apply lots of layers to get good coverage, poor technique compiled over time just exacerbates the issue.

You avoid this by ensuring that your application of the paint is smooth, that you're not over-saturating an area with the paint (and not over-diluting) and allowing it to pool.

Clumping can happen if you blob the paint on too thickly or don't dilute enough. Then you're just globbing paint on in dollops and it's going to dry in those dollops. You avoid this by not doing that.

My go-to whites are Vallejo and AK White, and I can still run into chalkiness or clumping issues if I overdilute or allow the paint to pool on the surface repeatedly in my layers.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/12/15 16:02:53


   
Made in us
Last Remaining Whole C'Tan






Pleasant Valley, Iowa

I found a great resource here:

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/776389.page

and I am going to try this:

 Suzuteo wrote:
My white is:
4 parts VMC Ivory
1 part VMC Sky Grey
1 part medium of choice


but open to other ideas. Also, going to try doing a search before creating a new thread next time.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.

 Flinty wrote:
The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
 
   
Made in us
Haemonculi Flesh Apprentice






I thin Ivory with white ink.

I really like the monument paint line.

   
Made in us
Ship's Officer





Dallas, TX

white paints are just fine, the problem is your painting methods, you have to build up in thin layers from grey-white, or bone/khaki-white; your desired white should be the last layer or highlight.
   
Made in us
Rogue Daemonhunter fueled by Chaos






Toledo, OH

I've been using Pro Acryl Ivory as the base for all of my whites, and it's been the best white I've used. I haven't tried the straight white yet.
   
Made in us
Last Remaining Whole C'Tan






Pleasant Valley, Iowa

Thanks for the suggestions. I've ordered some Ivory (both VMC and Pro Acryl), so excited about trying it. Straight white was out of stock so I too will not have tried it

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/12/15 17:51:13


 lord_blackfang wrote:
Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.

 Flinty wrote:
The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
 
   
Made in ru
Daemonic Dreadnought





Eye of Terror

I, too, have difficulty finding a white paint that fulfills my expectations. The popular ones are either too thick or too translucent.

I bought a large bottle of generic white acrylic paint from Michaels (brand name is Nicole, they are out of NJ.) Mixed it with Tamiya X-20 and Liquitex Flow Aid to get very thin, opaque coverage. Have about 4 small 1 ox bottles pre-mixed, been about a year and am still using the original mix.

The main issue with this mix is surface tension, it adheres well but occasionally ends up running the length of a crack or panel line. It's solidly opaque, however - can get something like ink blots on paper. And thin, I use it in the airbrush and on a palette.

Hope this helps.

   
Made in us
Last Remaining Whole C'Tan






Pleasant Valley, Iowa

Thanks - I can try that sooner than the other ones because we have a Michaels here (and I already have airbrush thinner and flow aid).


 lord_blackfang wrote:
Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.

 Flinty wrote:
The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
 
   
Made in ru
Daemonic Dreadnought





Eye of Terror

 Ouze wrote:
Thanks - I can try that sooner than the other ones because we have a Michaels here (and I already have airbrush thinner and flow aid).



Let me know how it goes. Took a fair amount of fiddling with the mix to get it right, best to have some eyedropper bottles for storing the stuff once you get it.

I do thin it a little more for airbrush work, but mostly use it right out of the bottle.

   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





Check out some videos of people using FW white ink on YouTube. As it’s an ink it comes thin enough for layering and goes on well.
   
Made in us
Last Remaining Whole C'Tan






Pleasant Valley, Iowa

That is a neat idea I had never heard of. I have used inks for shading or tinting a white basecoat but never as a paint.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.

 Flinty wrote:
The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
 
   
Made in gb
Thane of Dol Guldur





Bodt

Vallejo game colour ivory is a pretty decent white. It's very slightly off white but I use it for pretty much all white.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 Ouze wrote:
That is a neat idea I had never heard of. I have used inks for shading or tinting a white basecoat but never as a paint.


If you got a decent off white base layer, you could mix the ink in gradually until you're layering pure ink. I've never used white but I use purple lake and florescent pink on my emperor's children. I find you need to mix them into a regular base paint first to establish a good base layer.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/12/15 23:08:48


Heresy World Eaters/Emperors Children

Instagram: nagrakali_love_songs 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Longtime Dakkanaut





I use Golden Fluid Acrylic Titanium White. It's an artist acrylic brand thinned down already and slightly thicker then your average miniature paint.
   
Made in us
Last Remaining Whole C'Tan






Pleasant Valley, Iowa

Awesome - that's another one I see all the time at local places.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.

 Flinty wrote:
The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




Annandale, VA

Personally, my solution is to avoid brushing on pure white as much as possible.

If I'm doing a technique that requires washing (or Contrast) from white, I'll use my airbrush to establish the basecoat with VMA White. Been meaning to try white ink for this purpose as I've heard good things.

If I'm painting an area that should actually look white, I'll use an off-white (typically VMC Grey White or VMC Ivory), and then reserve actual white for just the brightest highlight. The off-whites cover better than pure white and leave room for further highlighting while still reading as 'white'.

In general I don't often run into cases where I need to layer pure white across any substantial area.

   
Made in us
Rogue Daemonhunter fueled by Chaos






Toledo, OH

I'll second using an off-white that you like, and then do final highlights with a thinner pure white. I do like the Warcolours white, but that's a tough one to order a single pot.

I've played with artists whites in the past, and they cover pretty well.
   
Made in ca
Fireknife Shas'el






Is this white enough?





If so, in both cases this is Vajello Ghost Grey (for the marines, Dead White is used as edge highlights).


   
Made in us
[DCM]
Longtime Dakkanaut





 Ouze wrote:
Awesome - that's another one I see all the time at local places.


Another thing you can do to get rid of chalky-ness is use a drop or two of a matt varnish medium when thinning the paint. Reaper sells one in a dropper, but you can get it in big bottles for a lot cheaper. It's something I always do when glazing whites or bright skin.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/12/16 20:22:42


 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





Has anyone mentioned apothecary white contrast paint yet
   
Made in ca
Fireknife Shas'el






mrFickle wrote:
Has anyone mentioned apothecary white contrast paint yet


I use it, but you need a white basecoat to shade it with, so you're painting white regardless.

   
Made in ca
Regular Dakkanaut





Oh Canada!

Createx Airbrush Opaque White.
Covers really well for a white, really thin and handles like a dream. Picked up a bottle off the discount rack ages and ages ago, and I never looked back. I prefer it over P3's Morrow White, which is thicker and a little less opaque.
   
Made in us
Stealthy Space Wolves Scout





Folkvang

Mix your acrylic paint with acrylic white ink and you'll be happy. It's a cool trick that will always work.

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Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





 Freya wrote:
Mix your acrylic paint with acrylic white ink and you'll be happy. It's a cool trick that will always work.


Think with ink, interesting…..
   
Made in us
Stealthy Space Wolves Scout





Folkvang

Ink is the most useful painting tool and I say that despite my love of oil paints. Thinning paint with ink works well with whites and metallic paints. Both are helpful tricks.

Find me on Reddit
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Find me on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/ariartcorner
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Made in us
Last Remaining Whole C'Tan






Pleasant Valley, Iowa

I have a lot of great advice here, and I've bought a bunch of products based on these recommendations. I am definitely going to follow up here with what I found in terms of results, but the holidays being what they are, it might be a week or two.

Even before any of that stuff shows up, I found using Vallejo Ghost Grey and then doing Dead White as an edge highly immediately improved my situation. I don't know how I have been painting for this long without asking this before (well, I guess I just never painted a lot of white prior to these Sisters).

Thank you all again.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.

 Flinty wrote:
The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
 
   
Made in ca
Regular Dakkanaut





Oh Canada!

Glad you found something that works for you!

For posterity and anyone else who's playing along at home, Vallejo's Arctic White 72.002 is another thumbs down - good opacity, but chalky and streaky. Would not recommend. Better than Corax but that's not saying much...
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






Whenever I need something to be white, I just use the White Vallejo Airbrush Primer. That stuff has awesome coverage, no matter if applied by brush or airbrush.

   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





 Stephanius wrote:
Whenever I need something to be white, I just use the White Vallejo Airbrush Primer. That stuff has awesome coverage, no matter if applied by brush or airbrush.


I bought some of this and found that it didn’t apply by brush very well as it was so thin. Unless you mean using it as a white layer?
   
Made in us
Nasty Nob




Crescent City Fl..

I use a couple different white paints. a few Vallejo and folk art. But I use these in combination with Createx transparent white.
I Love the transparent white. So may good uses.

I'm adding a picture of one in my combination of white paints. "
believe this was a base layer of grey, probably apple barrel country grey, which is a bit lighter than the old codex grey GW used to have. After that it's a few thin coats of Vallejo model-color White and lastly The Createx Transparent white.
Unfortunately I didn't let the bottom coats dry enough before adding the next few so it isn't as smooth as it should be. I did have chunky white paint from the bottle with the Vallejo which I did thin down with water and probably Acrylic thinner medium, what ever the name of that product actually is.

At the time I had no idea what was causing the textured look the paint made when it dried but after asking around this was the majority consensus.


This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/12/20 16:13:12


Sigh, Yet another doomed attempt by man to bridge the gap between the material and spiritual worlds 
   
 
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