Do you have to use thinner and retarder with vallejo paints

[Tavish]

Hello! I heard that vellajos acrylics were pre thinned.I was wondering if this is true and if I would need to retard it to, thanks!  

[Paintandwrenches]

Do you mean for an airbrush or just to brush on? I thin Vallejo Model Color acrylic for the airbrush but I brush it on as is. I may thin it just a little bit depending on what I'm painting but generally I don't. Vallejo Model Air can go straight into an airbrush. If you're talking about brushing it on it's sort of like there is no set rule to it. If you're trying to use it and you feel like it's too thick then thin it down some until it's how you like it. A lot of it comes down to what you're painting on and what you're using as far as a brush or whatever and a lot of it just comes down to the personal preference. The Model Air paints are not real good for brushing. They're way too thin. The best thing to do is experiment on something that doesn't matter and figure out how you like it.

Edited June 21, 2020 by Paintandwrenches

[Casey]

Try this first, please. There is a lot of helpful information posted her eon the forum, just a Google search away:

 

http://www.maschinenkrueger.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23:vallejo-model-paints&catid=18:tools-and-supplies&Itemid=22

Edited June 21, 2020 by Casey

[Tavish]

33 minutes ago, Paintandwrenches said:

Do you mean for an airbrush or just to brush on? I thin Vallejo Model Color acrylic for the airbrush but I brush it on as is. I may thin it just a little bit depending on what I'm painting but generally I don't. Vallejo Model Air can go straight into an airbrush. If you're talking about brushing it on it's sort of like there is no set rule to it. If you're trying to use it and you feel like it's too thick then thin it down some until it's how you like it. A lot of it comes down to what you're painting on and what you're using as far as a brush or whatever and a lot of it just comes down to the personal preference. The Model Air paints are not real good for brushing. They're way too thin. The best thing to do is experiment on something that doesn't matter and figure out how you like it.

Thanks for the response! Do you use retarder? And also I will be brushing it on.

[Paintandwrenches]

No, just thinner medium. I'm never using enough at once or having it sit in a tray or on a pallet long enough to need retarder. If you're painting miniatures or something and your have a whole bunch of it you're dipping out of for a while maybe you would need retarder I don't know. For the most part if I'm brushing I'm just doing small detail stuff and only using a few drops of it. That being said I airbrush a lot so if you're dipping into it and doing a lot of brushing like an interior or something you might need retarder.