Hi,

Sometimes my Vallejo Acrylic paint dries up 'glossy' instead of matt. I use Tamiya grey primer and AK acryl thinner so what goes wrong ??

not properly mixed?...

What do you mean?

Which Vallejo....Modelcolor or Model Air?

usually use enamel and little acrylics still all 2 if you do not use very often tend to separate, pigment and matting agent on the bottom and carrier above, if before using them do not mix / shake well and for several minutes you find yourself with a paint with little matting and little pigment but so carrier that gives you a gloss/satin effect

Only acrylics, model color though this time I used MIG model color but in both cases it sometimes dries up 'glossy' of 'satin'

Hi Hans,

I've never used those paints, but the most likely fault is it wasn't stirred thoroughly enough. Next most likely possibility is - if you're air-brushing - the thinner dilution-proportion doesn't "allow" enough matting agent to survive in the mix. I'd suggest, just to prove there's nothing wrong with the paint, brushing some on "neat" somewhere that doesn't matter to see if there's still a sheen.

But the universal solution (pun maybe intended)is to mix in a couple of drops of Tamiya's X-21 Flat Base. Result is super-matt every time.

Cheers, Tim

I'll do the both, more shaking and adding some matt to it.
Thanks !

It worked!

Excellent! I should have added a couple of cautions though:

As you're mixing two different manufacturers' products I'd suggest keeping an eye on it over the next week in case there's some kind of delayed reaction - unlikely, but best to find out before you used it on a lot of stuff.

The other point about X-21 is that you should try to avoid handling it as much as possible after using it. I've found - for example if I'd used it to paint trousers/pants, and then held the figure there to paint details to the upper part of the body - that the matt turns to a sheen after repeated handling.

Yet another thought - it's trial and error how much X-21 to add to a paint mix, it depends on several variables so I'd always advise testing on a small area and waiting 24 hours.

Cheers, Tim

I don't think you should mix Vallejo with AK thinner. They are both acrylic but use different formulas.
Shake the crap out of Vallejo before spraying it. Apply it in several thin layers, don't try to cover it all in one or two passes. Whenever I make a mistake and spray a heavier coat I get the glossy finish. But clear matt coat takes care of it without problem.