I am new to the hobby and about to begin my first build (a Tamiya 1:48 P-51 "Blue Nose"). Although I do plan on eventually airbrushing my models, I want to take things slowly and get familiar with the "basics" of the hobby. I am, therefore, starting off handbrushing exclusively. I was going to use Tamiya paints (to match the model), but after reading so much about their poor performance via handbrushing, I have decided to go with Vallejo Model Color paints instead. However, when looking at a Tamiya/Vallejo conversion chart, I noticed that it appears that unlike Tamiya, Vallejo doesn't make gloss paints. Instead one must mix their flat paints with a separate Vallejo gloss (#510?) to achieve the desired glossy effect. Is this correct? If so, is it difficult to master this additional step? Can anyone provide some more details on this, or set me straight if I am wrong?

Thanks so much!

That will work. They also sell a Gloss Medium that you can mix with the paint to achieve a gloss color.

Perhaps the easiest way to get a glossy finish with a brush is to brush on a coat of Johnson's Clear with Future Shine (I think that's what it's called now). It's sold at super markets and is a clear acrylic designed for floors, but has dozens of Modeling applications, including gloss coats. Brush a thin coat right from the bottle over cured paint and it will level itself out perfectly and give you a glossy finish

Hey there Zachary,

In the Model Color line all the colors end up with a Satin like finish (about half way between Matt and Gloss) with the exception of 2 colors, Gloss White, and Gloss Black.

For the most part, there are 2 options when using Vallejo Paints. You can either mix your color with #470 Gloss Medium, or paint your kit as normal with whichever color paint you are using, and then use #510 Gloss Varnish as a coat over your color. Either method will give you a gloss finish.

If you go with the Gloss Medium route, just experiment with different ratios of paint to medium to get the desired gloss you are looking for, but I would start with a 1:1 ration of paint to medium as a starting point, just to see how much it glosses the paint up for you. If you don't like it....up the ratio to 1:2 paint to medium until you get a mixture you like....then go to town!

Vallejo paints brush very nicely, but they also need to be thinned from the bottle before doing so.

I use Vallejo's thinner and plain water mixed together half and half, and then use this mixed again about half and half with the Model Colors for brushing. Use multiple, thin coats allowing them to dry between coats.

Your exact thinning ratio depends on your brushing technique. You need to get the paint thin enough to flow from the brush, but not so thin that it runs all over, but also not so thick that it leaves brush marks or obscures details.

Make sure that your model surface is clean and dry (wash your model in warm soapy water and rinse and air-dry throughly). A rattle can primer coat is a good (but not required) step.

In so far as achieving a gloss finish, Jon Murphy's advice about brushing on Future Floor Wax is the easiest way to go. You might have to use several coats here, too. The Future will self-level, but again, thin multiple coats are the way to go with complete drying between.

This will also prep your surface for decals.

Vallejo paints are good stuff, but you really can't just brush them on straight and get the best results. If you're just starting out with them, keep it simple and just concern yourself with thinning for good brushing without having to worry about adding another element (the gloss medium).

HTH,

Thanks to all for the assistance. It sounds like the Future Floor Wax method might be the way to go, at least at the start. Newbie question. I assume I should keep the brush(es) I use for the varnish completely separate from my paint brushes, yes?

Clean your brushes well, and they can be used for any medium.

You don't even need to get them dry after cleaning if you're going to use them for the same kind of medium.

For instance, if you're painting with acrylics (ex: Vallejo paints), after cleaning your brush, you can move right to Future floor wax (also an acrylic).

However, if you're going to use the brush you just used for acrylics with enamels or oils or lacquers, then after cleaning out the acrylic paint, you'll need to allow the brush to dry thoroughly (to include the ferrule that holds the bristles to the handle where thinners and paint can get trapped).

Good brush maintenance is also the key to brush longevity. Cleaning your brushes will make them last longer. This makes sense especially for good quality and expensive brushes. Well maintained brushes will last for years.

Keeping your brushes clean is also key in getting a good quality paint job. Dirty brushes will not allow capillary action to flow the paint from them well, and their bristles will often be "splayed" out and / or be "hard" (which leaves excess brush marks).

For these resons, it's well worth your time to do a good job and take care of your brushes.

There are several proprietary brush cleaners and "restorers" on the market. My favorite is Winsor & Newton's Brush Cleaner and Restorer. You can find it at any of the big box arts and crafts stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby. I also use The Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver that you can also get at the same places.

After washing out the paint by "swishing" the brush in thinners (mineral spirits for oils and enamels or a solution of Windex and water for acrylics), I load the bristels with the Winsor & Newton cleaner and allown them to soak for a couple of minutes.

This is then wiped out of the bristles by drawing the brush across a paper towel. If any pigment shows on the paper towel, I repeat with the W&N cleaner.

After the bristles are clean, I swish the brush in ordinary tap water and then "swish" the bristles around in The Masters Cleaner and Preserver (which is like a semi-solid hair conditioner in a can). While the bristles are still wet with the foam, I form them into a point by drawing the brush across a paper towel and store the brush handle down - bristles up.

It sounds like a lot of work, but it's really not. It only takes a couple of minutes to clean a brush thoroughly, and by doing so, I have some very well used sable brushes that are almost 20 years old that I still paint with.

In the absence of any of these special cleaners, though, after you've rinsed the paint out of the bristles with thinners, you sould at least wash the bristles in warm soapy water. While still wet, form the bristels back to a point by using your fingers (or the classic method of sticking the brush in your mouth and using your lips to form the point).

(This last bit might sound gross, but it's a well used, tried and true, method!)

You can also use hair conditioner after washing in soap and water to wet the bristles and form them to a point by drawing the brush across a paper towel.

Rinse the brush out in thinners (either mineral spirits or water medium dependent) before starting to paint. (This also loads the bristles and ferrule with thinners preventing paint from filling up the ferrule - which makes cleaning harder later.)

HTH,

Thanks again for the tips!

One more thing about brushes. Consider getting separate brushes and thinner/water pots for regular paints and metallics. The pigment flakes in metallic paints are very hard if impossible to get off brushes completely, and you risk getting unwanted flakes on your models.
Back in the day I noticed I was getting those tiny metallic specks on my finished and varnished finishes. Of course, less-that-perfect brush cleaning methods I probably had then could have had played a part in it, but I decided not to take any chances any longer.