Vallejo Airbrush Thinner Experiment

[Stikpusher]

Well today I tried out a couple mix tests of Vallejo Airbrush Thinner with a couple of Acrylic brands that DO NOT work with Mr Leveling Thinner.

first up I tried Model Master Acrylic. Good results. No clumping, gumming up, or any other such mishaps.



I then tried the red headed step child of my acrylic paints, Humbrol Acrylics. Again Good Results. No clumping, gumming up, or other mishaps. There was a bit of grittiness that separated from the paint, but I also had that result with Model Master Universal Acrylic Thinner, and that combo airbrushed reasonably well.



I'll try actually airbrushing the paints in the next few days and post those results here once I have finished that experiment...

[Stuart]

I think the Humbrol paint has always been pretty grainy, so it'll be interesting to see how it sprays. tbh, I've never really rated it that highly, although I do use it, it does tend to be very thick and the new crap dropper bottles make it harder to thin - so brushing it is a problem. I have used Tamiya Thinner with it (X-20A?) and that that works well, although I normally just use my Hataka acrylic thinners. The 2nd generation doesn't seemed to have improved much.

I am actually painting my Hurricane mk.IIc with it as an experiment - not overly impressed so far but it's coming along okay and I'm learning how to use it. I've had to rub down the first coat to smooth it out a bit - to be fair to them, the desert colours do look good, and they are easy to get and cheap.

[Stikpusher]

Yes when I used the Humbrol Acrylic on the topside of my Spitfire Mk.VII, I airbrushed thinned with plain water. It did not come out as grainy/gritty as it had on previous times with the Model Master Acrylic Thinner, but it was still not as smooth as other paints. I’m hoping for better results with Vallejo Thinner, as both paints seem similar in consistency.

[cbaltrin]

Good Info, do let us know the results. I always assumed Vallejo was similar to polly scale in formula? I always used Testors Universal Acrylic Cleaner for airbrushing polly scale (And I bought 6 bottle of the stuff when Testors went under)

[Stikpusher]

I will post the next stage of results some time in the next few days… as soon as I’ve finished trying them out.

[Stikpusher]

Today I did the airbrushing test of Vallejo with Model Master Acrylic Concrete, Polly Scale Old Concrete, and Humbrol Hemp(left to right)



Model Master Acrylic worked great at about a 1:1 ratio

Polly Scale had a few heavy bits come out, but otherwise was good. It's an older bottle of mine, so it could be the age of the paint.

Humbrol I gave a slightly higher ratio of thinner to paint, roughly 4:3, and it came out beautifully with zero problems.

[Stuart]

That's good to know about the Humbrol - thanks Carlos! So a good test then?

[Stikpusher]

You're quite welcome Stuart! Yes, it was a good test!