Acrylic Matte White Problems

[Easyrider5258]

I'm having problems with this color, "White Vallejo Model Color 70.951" had a band of white on rear of fuselage as undercoat for a red and yellow color, my airbrush did it just about but was clogging (It's a Iwata Neo 3.5 nozzle) it took a full strip clean after to sort this small amount of spraying, my next kit needs more white so have to find a way to manage this color, I also have a Infinity CR plus 0.2mm nozzle (v2.0) which I assume can't be used with this color as too fine a nozzle, pity as want to do some fine detail work.

Have searched on here and done some internet searching but nothing to handle fine white work

any suggestions appreciated

Thanks, Mark

 

[Mr Bowcat]

If you have to stick to acrylics, I'd suggest Tamiya XF-2 rather than Vallejo, thinned 50/50 with X-20A.

 

[Easyrider5258]

I'm sort of commited to Vallejo paints, 90% of my paints' are Vallejo and generally I find there great, except white maybe and some natural silver / metal finishes

 

[Jim R]

Vallejo Model Color is great for brush painting but can throw up issues when airbrushing. Use Vallejo specific thinner, a retarder and/or a flow enhancer. Try to lay down mist coats of paint and build up opacity that way. I find that Model Color works best if thinned a little more than many other paints. Your 3.5 should be fine. The 0.2 may be a step too far but give it a go.

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Sorry buddy, cant help then. Never got on with airbrushing Vallejo, and now only spray lacquers.

 

[yak face]

Theres always the model air white mark, the pigments are supposed to be finer in the model air paints , drawback is the white is quite translucent , needs a good few coats. One thing ive found when spraying model colour is that the clogging/ spluttering i was getting wasnt from tip drying - it was bits in the paint . I now use one of those airbrush filter cups which is a revelation . Paint that I had mixed in a seperate container before putting in the airbrush looked fine - well mixed, no apparent bits - but after seiving through the filter cup I found there were loads of tiny bits that would clog the nozzle .

 

[Dave Ward]

If it's an undercoat, I'd revert to the hairy stick, when using Model Color. If you don't have an alternative try thinning with IPA............
Dave

 

[Tim Marlow]

I'm sort of commited to Vallejo paints, 90% of my paints' are Vallejo and generally I find there great, except white maybe and some natural silver / metal finishes

If you are having issues with Vallejo metal colours Mark, try those from their Metal Color range, the silvers are absolutely fantastic.

 

[BarryW]

Vallejo, even Model Air, are not great with the .2 needle but Air should work OK with a .35. I would suggest using a light grey primer first and then spray the white, after the grey has cured, not just dried. You will need to fiddle around with retarder and possibly thinner to get it right though.

I do, however, agree that Vallejo are not really great and can give endless problems. Humidity is the cause of many issues and this is why experiences with the paint vary. I once used them all the time and was heavily invested also. I made them work for me but then at the suggestion of someone I tried MRP lacquers and never looked back. Regardless of cost I gave away 200 Vallejo and bought 100 MRP immediately along with a decent extracting spray booth and it was worth the expense!

 

[Dave Ward]

I gave away 200 Vallejo and bought 100 MRP

Well..............not everybody could afford ( or be willing ) to write off the best part of £500 of paints, and a similar amount for replacements!
Dave

 

[Miko]

Well..............not everybody could afford ( or be willing ) to write off the best part of £500 of paints, and a similar amount for replacements!
Dave

Yep, it's a big hit for those of us with limited disposable income.

I'm not a Valejo user so can't really comment, but until becoming a member here I always considered them to be of good quality

Miko (MrColor and Tamiya are flawlwess in my experience after a few decades of being disappointed by Humbrol)

 

[Tim Marlow]

Vallejo model colour are excellent for brush painting, probably the best of the brush friendly acrylics, and are very flexible. Not the best for spraying though.

 

[Easyrider5258]

Contrary to some opinions I am getting nice results airbrushing Vallejo, only the white a problem, but thanks to suggestions have a plan to sort the white!
Thanks for all the the help everyone, nearly finished my first kit, 2nd not far behind

 

[BarryW]

Well..............not everybody could afford ( or be willing ) to write off the best part of £500 of paints, and a similar amount for replacements!
Dave

That’s fair enough Dave.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Contrary to some opinions I am getting nice results airbrushing Vallejo, only the white a problem, but thanks to suggestions have a plan to sort the white!
Thanks for all the the help everyone, nearly finished my first kit, 2nd not far behind

If it’s just coverage, I’ve found Vallejo ivory is better for coverage, so perhaps undercoat with that and then top coat with white? The white does clump and go chalky when diluted too much as well. If you aren’t diluting with model air thinners I’d recommend that rather than tap water.

 

[Del640]

I use Vallejo air and color and love both.

I don't have any issues with them other than the Color is brush application and air through the airbrush.

A good white to use is either Insignia white 71.279 (Air) but suggest a grey undercoat first (as BarryW mentioned)
Or White Grey 71.119 (Air)

Straight from the bottle.

Del

 

[Waspie]

Vallejo, even Model Air, are not great with the .2 needle but Air should work OK with a .35. I would suggest using a light grey primer first and then spray the white, after the grey has cured, not just dried. You will need to fiddle around with retarder and possibly thinner to get it right though.

I do, however, agree that Vallejo are not really great and can give endless problems. Humidity is the cause of many issues and this is why experiences with the paint vary. I once used them all the time and was heavily invested also. I made them work for me but then at the suggestion of someone I tried MRP lacquers and never looked back. Regardless of cost I gave away 200 Vallejo and bought 100 MRP immediately along with a decent extracting spray booth and it was worth the expense!

Humidity is what I struggle with, especially this time of year. (I use Vallejo). Luckily I have a dehumidifier in another out building which has a humidity readout so always check that before getting to grips with spraying in my garage/workplace!!