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Vallejo Model Air Paints


Buckeye82

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I've been thinking of switching to Vallejo Model Air Paints.  I really like the selection of colors they have and the eye dropper containers. 

Was wondering what everyone's experience has been with these, do they hold up well to masking, etc.?

Mike

 

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When all conditions are perfect, they spray well, but some colours were hardly to thin to a correct grade. sometimes I couldn't get decent results at all, they behaved like oil on glass not covering well. I have a lot of them and used them on many occasions. You can achieve good results with them, but the tendency to clog in the airbrush is higher than with other products. You can't thin them with Mr. Leveling Thinner, they will turn to a big tar like lump in the airbrush.
I'm switching back to Tamiya acrylics and said leveling thinner. The results are more consistent, the painted surfaces are more durable and the tendency to clog in the airbrush is reduced with the levelling thinner, which gives better results and stress free airbrushing :2c:.

Cheers Rob

 

 

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38 minutes ago, Buckeye82 said:

I think I saw they have some kind of flow enhancer that may help with the tip drying problem?  Like you said, I've had the same problem with other paints.

That stuff never worked for me with the Vallejo colours, like Mr. Levelling thinner does with Tamiya acrylics.

Cheers Rob

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I use Vallejo Air a lot.  I love the convenience, no smell, easy clean up, etc.  The problem I found is that they tend to gum up the airbrush, and in particular, their primers.  I found adding the Vallejo thinner to the cup in the recommended amount helps a lot.  At the end of the spraying session, I'll also open up the tip of the airbrush and clean out the nozzle and needle.  Another problem is that sometimes, the adherence to metal is not the greatest.  So, if you're taping, sometimes the paint will lift up off of the metal parts no matter how long you let the paint cure.

I've gone to mostly using Mr. Surfacer and Tamiya as primers on larger items like fuselages, and then spray Vallejo on top.  On my current FM-1 build, I primed with Mr. Surfacer, sprayed the underside with Tamiya Insignia White from the rattle can, and then sprayed the topside with Dark Gull Gray color using Vallejo Air.  The rest of the parts of the plane (props, wheels, landing gear, etc.) are all Vallejo - primer, color, etc.

I've also used their Vallejo Metal Color line and really liked it (you can see my F3F-1 and F3F-2 pictures on the non-LSM forum).  I sprayed the Gloss Black primer (use their Thinner), and then the Metal Color on top.  Quick cleanup, no smells, and color looks great.

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  • 1 month later...

Model Air Paints - these days, I use them for brush painting, where they excel. When air brushing, they absolutely require using their own thinner and air brush cleaner or the paint turns to a messy glue in your air brush - which is my biggest reason for no longer shooting them.

Color range is awesome: the paint scratches and lifts more easily with masking, then other brands after using it for a number of years

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

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  • 4 months later...

If you use Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver with them, then they spray so much better and (imho) give a very nice finish. I love my Tamiya paints as well. It's just the colour selection that is pants.

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