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.

I'm trying to thin my paints down so i dont obsure the detail and also to get a smoother color transsion but everytime i try to thin past 1:1 an in some cases when its 1:1 it just kind turns into a wash that runs all over the place even when i wipe my brush of on a towel or my hand it still dosnt want to stay were i put it. the models have been properly washed and primed. Am i doing something wrong. If it helps i mostly us Vallejo model color with a bit of GW paints of and on.

4 posts down the list... http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/504561.page

Use a wet palette, there are lots of tutorials on the internet. If you need a quick one then get some sort of container, fold up some napkin/paper towel/whatever you want to use, put it in the container, add some water, pour out the excess, and you have a wet palette. It thins your paints nicely and keeps them available for longer use.

I do have a wet pallete and I've been exparamenting here and there. I can't seem to get the paint to respawned the way I see it on tutorials. I'm not sure if there using additives like matt medium or flow aid. I don't have those products yet. I'm currently just using paint and distilled water. Usually 1:1 or in the case of yellows or reds 3:1. It doesn't seem as thin as it does on the tutorials I'm watching though. If I try to thin it past 1:1 it starts turning into a wash and running all over the place or the coverage is patchy and not smooth. I'me trying for very thin so that I can practice building the highlights gradually from dark to lightest.

You need to have a little bit of water in your wet palette, just enough so that it doesn't make your paints a wash, but that they're thin. If you want very thin, then you'll probably have to use mediums and flow aids, because water will not help you. You could also buy an actual wet palette as well.

Expect thin and potentially patchy coverage when thinning 1:1, let alone diluting beyond that point. Dilute paints always require multiple coats for full, even coverage - even "foundation" or "heavy" versions with higher pigmentation.

The only real issue you seem to be having is with paint not staying where you put it. Additives can help you, here, but they shouldn't be considered necessary. You say you're wiping your brush off before going to the model, but how much paint remains in the bristles? There's a certain "critical mass" necessary for paint to be able to pool and run, and it sounds like you're still overloading your brush for your current level of dilution. Even pure water will stay where you put it, if the brush is merely damp.

Try loading your brush even more lightly and wicking away nearly all of the paint - you won't need to scrub, just use some paper towel and let capillary action do its thing. It may look like all of the paint is gone and your bristles are merely stained, but there is still paint hidden in the belly - lay a few strokes down and you'll see color transfer to your model. This is the only way I've been able to apply highly dilute paint to areas with high texture and sharp edges; on larger surfaces, a bit of running is less of an issue, so you can go right to the model after lightly loading your brush, then simply spread the paint around until it's sufficiently thinly distributed to be unable to pool.