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Hi,

I've tried 4 times today to get an extremely thinned down Vallejo Model Color (German Field Grey WWII) to work through my 0.3mm airbrush and it clogged every time and I had to give it a full cleaning. Super annoying. I thinned it about 50-50 with acrylic airbrush thinner.

Vallejo's Air range is great but I don't really want to go through this again. Does anyone have similar experiences with the non-air colors from Vallejo or am I just unlucky with this pot?

Thanks!

I don't know about airbrush but from personal experience there are one or two Vallejo paints that do not work at all! Got this colour called silver grey and regardless with what I do with it I have never managed to get it to work! Metallics I have nightmares about...

Not with that particular color but I had the same problem with a Minitaire Color last weekend. The Snow White works like a charm. The Skull white is thick, tends to dry real fast leaving crust-like residus and tends to just jam the airbrush. Happened twice and I just gave up on that color for the moment.

Perhaps try some retarder? Or that depends on where the clog is.

Yes, some Vallejo model colours just don't work well in an airbrush due to pigment size (their model air range uses smaller pigment particulates).

 chromedog wrote:
Yes, some Vallejo model colours just don't work well in an airbrush due to pigment size (their model air range uses smaller pigment particulates).

Thanks - That's what I thought. The tip would always clog with "pigment stones". I'll just stick to the Air range.

Or, if a larger needle/nozzle is available for your airbrush, you can try that.

With most of my thinned Citadel paints, I prefer a Paasche 0.66mm (or whatever their size 3 is). It's a little tough to work with overthinned paints, and sometimes it's easy to underthin a paint, so just using a fat nozzle solves many problems. Plus, even with some paint drying on the tip, it still works ok.

Although you didn't mention what size needle you were using ...

In a Sotar2020 for instance, yes, the pigments will give you issues (it's really a fine detail airbrush - it's good, but not an all-comer). This is why the pros often have several in different sizes - because what works at one size isn't necessarily true of the others.

From Vallejo website FAQ:

1.5. Can I apply Model Color or Game Color with an airbrush if I dilute them with water or a thinner?

Yes, but [...] some colors in Game and Model Color are not suitable for being dispersed in the air