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.

Hey people, first post here, hope there be more in the future

So i recently bought some paints from vallejo, ultramarine, dark green, and bleached bone (the equivalent).
Now the problem is, a few shakes and the ultramarine mixed with water gave a perfect coat, the bleached one didnt mix aswell with water and the green didnt cover at all even without water...
But i found a solution, or in the end two solutions, i bought stainless steel nuts M5 size and put in the bottles, a few shakes later the bleached bone was perfect, took some shakes before you could hear the nut rattle in the bottle, the green one however, no matter how hard i shock it, the nut was silent...
But then my friend had a collection of power tools, and a black &decker "sand mouse" with i held the bottle against and turned it on for 20 secs and then when i shook the bottle againt, i heard the nut rattle in it!

Now the question is: has anyone else had the same experience with non-gw paints?
What brands do you use? How do you like to thin your paints?

I have a bunch of vallejo that I have been using. Only thing I have had an issue with is their metallics don't seem to cover well. Not sure if my mixture isn't good but without and water they are too thick. With the smallest amount of water they run and cover horribly.

If anyone has any advice on their metallics as well that would be great!

If water is too watery, try some flow improver instead.

Munga wrote:
If water is too watery, try some flow improver instead.

the flow improver for the airbrush? does that make any different when mixing in a pallete?

Munga wrote:
If water is too watery, try some flow improver instead.

I actually do use liquitex flow aide. I really like the stuff.

G'day mate! I Vallejo/Citadel/Testors/P3/Humbrel/Tamiya etc etc doesn't make a difference their will ALWAYS be bad batches. Could have been sitting on the shelf long time. Could be anything. But you did the right thing and added a object inside.

Have you tried doing wet pallet? You would be surprised how well you can get the paint flowing My only way of doing painting now apart from some areas which require Air Brush!

Also my dad bought this for his models :

http://robart.com/products/hobby-paint-shaker-electric-100-240v
http://www.bnamodelworld.com/trumpeter-models-tr-09920-paint-mixer

 Bradles wrote:
G'day mate! I Vallejo/Citadel/Testors/P3/Humbrel/Tamiya etc etc doesn't make a difference their will ALWAYS be bad batches. Could have been sitting on the shelf long time. Could be anything. But you did the right thing and added a object inside.

I agree with this completely. I've had bad pots of every brand I've bought a significant amount of pots from. That's I buy almost all of my paint from local hobby shops, and only ones who will exchange bad ones without hassle. It's another reason that I always tell people to pick a brand of paint that they have easy access to, if possible.

One thing to keep in mind, not only with Vallejo paints -- not all colors are formulated in the same way. Some are more chalky, some separate more, some cover better, et cetera. It's one of the reasons I'm a big proponent of trying different paints from different companies and deciding for yourself which ones work well for you.

Personally, I find that most GW paints separate less than most Vallejo non-airbrush paints after being left alone on the shelf for an extended time. Keep in mind too, that you don't have any idea how long the VMC/VGC paint has been on the shelf. It's possible that the bottle Gory Red or Sea Grey has been there untouched for 10 years.

 Bradles wrote:
G'day mate! I Vallejo/Citadel/Testors/P3/Humbrel/Tamiya etc etc doesn't make a difference their will ALWAYS be bad batches. Could have been sitting on the shelf long time. Could be anything. But you did the right thing and added a object inside.

Have you tried doing wet pallet? You would be surprised how well you can get the paint flowing My only way of doing painting now apart from some areas which require Air Brush!

Also my dad bought this for his models :

http://robart.com/products/hobby-paint-shaker-electric-100-240v
http://www.bnamodelworld.com/trumpeter-models-tr-09920-paint-mixer

Did you make your own wetpallet?

I do the "Nut trick" with my Vallejo Liquid metal paints. much faster mixing .

K.