Vallejo Model Air Paints

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fubar57

General
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Nov 22, 2009
The Jungles of Canada
First of all, I would like to thank those who helped with my masking problems on a multi-colored spinner. It's still a 4 footer but it's now finished.Next poser(#2 in a series of thousands),I just purchased some Vallejo Model Air paint and have read that it is hard to clean from an airbrush(gonna be my first attempt) and am wondering if this is true. I have bought their cleaner but is there more involved? The pamphlet says to spray at about 1 atmosphere. What is that in english?.I thank you for any help. Geo
 

1 atmosphere = 15 psi

Can't help you on the Model Air paints. I have heard that it is almost as bad as MMAcryl when it comes to plugging an airbrush though.
 
I don't use Vallejo but have used other acrylics that dry quickly and tend to clog up the brush when dry. I've found that lacquer thinner does an excellent job of dissolving any dried paint, including enamels and I usually spray the thinner through the brush after using acrylics to get the best cleaning action.
 
Haven't had any problems at all with them....well, besides the silver, aluminium etc., they're metallics and can be a right pain in the tailpipe to get some klear on and other colours, otherwise....they're great!
 
Lucky13 said:
Haven't had any problems at all with them....well, besides the silver, aluminium etc., they're metallics and can be a right pain in the tailpipe to get some klear on and other colours, otherwise....they're great!
Click to expand...

Have you used the Model Color acrylics thru the airbrush as well? If so what do you use to thin them and in what ratio?
 
I've used the Model Colour without problem, apart from the usual with acrylics - having to ensure the 'brush is cleaned immediately, even after a few minutes break, or after a relatively long spraying session, before continuing.
I used normal tap water to thin, at 50/50. They go on well with a paint brush too (for acrylics!), and work out to be a good buy as, if used in the airbrush, theoretically you get twice as much paint as with the Model Air !
I don't often use acrylics, as I much prefer the versatility of enamels, but, out of those I have used (Tamiya, Revell, Humbrol and Vallejo), the Vallejo has been by far the best all round, in use, coverage and density, and clean-up.
 

What sort of pressure do you use? I tried them but they totally gummed up my airrbush - probably had the mix too thick.
 
I haven't got a regulator or gauge on my simple compressor, but I'd guess it would be around 15 psi. I have used them at around 40 paint, 60 water, for building up thin coats. But 50/50 seemesd to work fine. The Bf110G I did for the first GB was painted using the Vallejo paints, the first time I'd used them, and I didn't have a problem - nice smooth flow and good coverage and adhesion.
 

Thanks Terry - that's about the same pressure I use, so it must have been the mix.
 
You're welcome Dwight. Try starting with a thin mix, and see what the density and adhesion is like, then increase viscosity if or as needed. When I ran it at 60/40 water/paint, it worked well, but needed to be built up with two or more passes per coat, and a total of three coats IIRC. At 50/50, the first coat (depending on colour) was virtually good enough, but I applied a second, 'just in case', and to add depth and smoothness. That was with RLM 76 overall - the dark grey wave pattern was done with one pass, one coat, for obvious reasons!!
I remember having to stop and clean the nozzle tip once, half way through doing the RLM 76 on the Bf110, but that was just done with a wet paint brush. Clean-up, if done immediatley after use, was easy, and any paint which has 'plasticised' in the nozzle venturi was easily lifted out with a cocktail stick. I cleaned up with water, then Tamiya thinner (isopropyl), then water, then air.
It was much easier and cleaner than the Tamiya paints and, if I had to change totally to acrylics, it would be the Vallejo Model Colour I would choose.
I've since done a very small spray job with the Vallejo, this time using isopropyl as a thinner, and it was just as good, but with the advantage of not drying as quickly as with water. (only by a couple of minutes, but enough to make a difference for keeping the nozzle clear for longer).
 
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Vallejo air has their own thinner. A good friend told me once to stick with each manufacturers own thinner if that makes sense. I am still pretty new at the airbrush thing and like a lot of guys trying to figure stuff out. The Vallejo does dry in the nozzle pretty quickly. I might concentrate on model master enamels till I get better. This stuff can be a bit overwhelming at times

-Roger
 
Oh yeah, I spray with a badger 150 which is syphon feed and I'm told that Vallejo air works much better with a gravity feed airbrush??? Thoughts please.
 
All acrylic paints do dry quickly, not in a nozzle only.There is a liquid called Retarder that makes the time of getting dried longer. ALso I don't think the way of airbrush feeding can influence the process in a significant way. The difference between the standard Vallejo paints and the air series is that the air paints are ready for direct using. These of the standard series have to be thinned before airbrushing.
 
There are a ton of acrylic retarders that you can buy; here is a partial list:

These are some common airbrush mediums
- Blick Polyflo
- Createx
- Golden
- Jo Sonja's Lascaux
- Aquacryl
- Lascaux
- Liquitex
- Pebeo

Several of those are available at Michael's or thru mail order artist supply sites such as DickBlicks, CheapJoe's etc.

Retarders usually contain glycerin so you can actually make your own acrylic retarder solution with a 5-1 mix of distilled water to glycerin and then use a drop or two of THAT mixture in the acrylic paint. A web search on "acrylic airbrush reatarders" will yield a ton of info and recommendations as to what to use, and in what proportions.

But here are two good articles about the reasoning behind the use of acrylic mediums:

http://www.craigcentral.com/models/thinning.pdf

Beginning Airbrushing Tips - Volume II "Spraying, Drying Masking"
 
Okay, a quick question for Wurger and the other 190 guys. I have the vallejo air RLM 66. It looks right but perhaps a bit too light. No problem I'll do a filter over it. I am currently building the Revel FW 190 A-8/R-11. Would a late war A-8 just have an RLM 66 cockpit or would there be RLM 02 walls etc...It will for sure be a late war bird. Is there a date when they switched or if the plane could've been refitted.
Sorry if I posted this in the wrong area.

-Roger
ps I am just gonna try the vallejo at 15-18 psi and 50/50 paint to water and see how it goes.
I'll let everyone know.
 
After 1941 it's fairly safe to say that the colour would be RLM 66, so any FW190 would have this colour in the cockpit area.
Don't worry about all the b*ll*cks of 'filters' etc - the colour/shade will be proportional to the scale - the smaller the scale, the lighter the shade. If 'real' RLM 66 was used on a 1/48th scale model, it would appear 48 times too dark!
Add to this differences in 'real life' application, age, wear etc, and the bottom line is the 'engineers rule' - if it looks right, it is bl**dy right!!
As for the thinning ratio, I'll admit I've only used Vallejo Model Colour once or twice, and followed the manufacturer's guide of 50/50 with water. I have to say that it performed beautifully - far better than any other acrylic I've used - which, from a dedicated 'real' paint user (enamel), is quite a compliment !!EDIT: Just noticed that you're using Vallejo Air - this is supposed to be ready to use from the bottle. The 'Model Colour' is the same stuff, un -thinned, hence the 50/50, and better value for money.
 
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Thanks man, I still am poking at my box of model master. I can airbrush this stuff almost any psi or ratio. I fear change.
 
FEAR NOT. I only use acrylics through my airbrush and they are not that bad, The best thing to do though is to use an acrylic thinner designed for model paints with the acrylic paints. The proper thinner is far better than straight water and produces a better finish. If you can find them try the GSI CREOS 'Gunze' acrylic paint, semi gloss finish and they have a huge range.

Cheers Switch
 
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