problems with valejjo?

[CrimsonGuard]

I'm in the first stages of painting my all new Space Wolves force and I was planning on painthing them in the lightest grey I could possibly find. I now have found Vallejo's Sky Grey and although I really like the color, I've problems with applying it. Even over a white basecouate the paint looks smudgy, with darker and lighter spots. It doesn't cover that well. I need more than 5 layers to get a decent result. What am I doing wrong?

[Lorenzen]

vallejo paints need to be shaken quite vigourously if theyve separated although tbh it sounds like your paint may have gone off.. if you can provide some pictures of the bottle (non shaken) the paint and the model in question i can try and give you some better advice.

 

if i go into town later ill try and grab a bottle of it and mess about with it too.

[CrimsonGuard]

I thought I shaked it enough, but I guess I will shake harder next time.

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s281/marctimo/DSC00190.jpg

 

 

This is after approximately 4 couts over a Skull White basecoat.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s281/marctimo/DSC00191.jpg

[Lorenzen]

to be honest it looks like its more of an issue with your base coat than the paint itself have you tried it over a darker colour like codex grey?

 

outside of airbrushing the model sky grey over white i think brushing it on over white will always leave you with mediocre coverage.. ill buy a pot of it and see how it handles and get back to you.

[Azatoth]

Open the bottle carefully, inserted a small ball of steel and use that as a mixing help. I do that with all me bottles. :P

[Lestat]

I've used vallejo too and never had a problem with it - once shaken vigorously to mix it in the bottle! I tend to use the game colour rather than the model colour though - just personal preference.

I would be tempted to start with a black undercoat and use an intermediate colour as a base coat (a mid-tone grey would work). Work up several thin layers by adding a little more sky grey each time and leave the darker colurs showing in the recesses to add a little depth and shading.

How are you undercoating it? Are you doing it by hand or using a spray? The spray would work better and give you an even coat. If painting on by hand, thin the paint down and it will go on a lot smoother.

 

Hope that helps.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

You see that dark line in the bottle just above the label? You haven't shaken it up enough.

 

I shake my Vallejo paints for at least a minute before I use them, and longer if they've been sitting for weeks or months.

[striker8]

You see that dark line in the bottle just above the label? You haven't shaken it up enough.

 

I shake my Vallejo paints for at least a minute before I use them, and longer if they've been sitting for weeks or months.

 

Right on the money and nice catch I barely noticed that settle line on the bottle.

 

I've been using Valejo for close to 10 years now and to me they meet or excede the qualities of all other paints but you have to lear to live with their idosyncracies.

 

First of shaking needs to be done vigorously if the paint sits more than a few hours. In adition to shaking you need to briskly roll the bottles between your hands like you'd roll a stick, kinda pinch the bottle occasionaly as well to assist in the mixing.

 

Avoid dropping anything that might corrode into the bottle as an agitator, this means bearnings, small nuts, ect. IF you want to add an agitator use a small non ferous object like glass beads, or I use chunks of castin metal sprue. If you paint a lot and have a massinve colection of colors as I do a investing in something like the Robart paint shaker is a time saver since it can allow you to start shaking the paint up while you working on something else.