Was just wondering what is good to use for thinning Vallejo paints for airbrushing. I dont like there brand thinner. I do realize they have air colors but Im not using those. Any help? currently I am useing distilled water. Thanks.

I use alcohol/distilled water mix to thin acrylics.

Andy

Do you mean Vallejo Model Air or Vallejo Model Color?

I don't have any experience with Model Air (it is supposed to be pre-thinned in the bottle)

But if you mean Model Color, try thinning it with Future or Klear, ratio 1:1, it works great for me.
It will make the paint very glossy, so if you want it to be more flat, add a couple of drops of Model Color Matt Medium no. 540

Anthony,
I've been using the following ratio to reduce Vallejo Model Color for the last year and have had exceptional results ... I call it 3-2-1 ....
three parts paint - two parts dilstilled water - and one part Vallejo Thinner No. 524. It all figures out to a 50-50 blend of paint and reducer, which seems to work just fine.
Also, do not use alcohol to thin Vallejo. It is a latex acrylic, unlike the Tamiya acrylic, which can be reduced with alcohol.

Mike

On some Vallejos I've found that they can separate really badly on thinning,especially SS Camo Black Brown. Using an actual acrylic thinner can help alot, the one I found is Delta Ceramcoat Acrylic Thinner. You can find it at both Michael's and Hobby Lobby I believe, in the craft paint section.

But don't lick your brush with this stuff in it, burn, burn, burn.

Anthony,
I use only water, ratio about 70:30 (paint : water), but as mentioned before Model Color Air, I use directly from the bottle.
Greetings Robert

Thanks to you all. I think Ill try the water and Vallejo thinner one and let you know how it goes.

for model color it does need to be thinned quite a bit as others have recommeded, expecially to keep from drying too much in the airbrush. All of the above work. The other thing to keep in mind is that as the paint gets thinner make sure to keep reducing your air pressure or else you will get a lot of splattering when the paint hits the model.

If you are just brush painting then just use distilled water.

sean

Anthony,
One more thing ..... I don't know what kind of airbrush you use, but a trick I've learned with my Iwata is to airbrush with the tip cap removed. I know this exposes the needle, but Vallejo (like most other latex acrylics) dries on the tip quite rapidly, so a quick swipe with a Q-tip moistened with water will remove the offending build-up of paint to allow you to proceed. I do a lot of mural art, such as for motorcycle fuel tanks and helmets, and this is a trick I know a lot of other artists use in their work, as well.

Mike

Thanks Mike. I am using a testors but Im waiting for my new Iwata Revolution in the mail so I will keep that in mind. I also need a new compressor. Mine is the badger cheapie one. It has no air pressure adjustment and to buy one is not worth it. I can get the Iwata with tank for a little more on ebay. With mine I get way to much splatter using Vallejo. Thanks again, Anthony.