Vallejo and other types of model paints -- tips and advice

I didn't see a thread on this subject here when I searched, so I thought I would start one.

For my current projects, I have been using Vallejo model paints, and I am really enjoying them. I absolutely love how the brush strokes don't show unless you sort of want them to. So far I have only ventured into painting (and re-painting) various 1/6 accessories, but I hope to eventually use these on headsculpts as well (both resin and vinyl). I know there are other types of model paints out there, but these are what I chose to start out with, and thus far I am very happy with them.

One issue I am running into though at the moment is regarding the Vallejo matte varnish -- I have read SO much conflicting info on this that I have not dared even try it on any of the things I've finished painting. Some people say it's fine, others say that it dries somewhat shiny and is not a true 'matte' finish. (I think I even remember GubernatorFan mentioning something about this issue, I think it might have been in the headsculpt tutorial.) Some people say you just have to mix it more thoroughly and that gets rid of the potential shiny-ness, but then some people say it still doesn't work, etc.

It's gotten to the point that it's holding up some of my progress -- I would like to 'seal' some of this stuff (it's been left to cure for more than long enough now), but I don't dare try the matte varnish in this brand because of the mixed reviews on it.  I'm happy to purchase a different type of matte varnish (I'm leaning towards Liquitex, as I know several doll repainters who use it without any issue), but I thought I'd ask here prior to purchasing.

I have searched on various forums endlessly to try to find an answer to this, but many of them are focused on either tabletop gaming miniatures, or on model aircraft, etc. ... I have not found much solid info or advice on using Vallejo paints (and varnishes) in 1/6 scale.

Any advice or previous experiences on this subject are most welcome, but please also feel free to ask questions or discuss anything relating to model paints in general.  

Ye I feel you. The Matte varnish really did not work for me either, it's either glossy or blueish or has a 'frosting' effect when it's matte.

I even let a gloss varnish dry for some days and then added matte, I tried all sorts of thinning/not thinning and multiple brush applications after watching and reading tutorials. Maybe it's better with airbrush.
When I was into warhammer40k I bought a 'Matte sealer' spray can but never even tested it. I didn't like the matte dusty look on otherwise beautifully painted miniatures in the hobby shop. Might give it a try again.
Tried a 'Matte Sealer' from a DIY store on a 1/12 stormtrooper body glove, it turned matte but didn't really seal/scratched off. Used matte black primer for the others. When I want something to be matte, I try to just use matte acrylics directly now.

But otherwise, very pleased with everything Vallejo. If you haven't tried the Metal colours yet, they are just beautiful.

I use Aleene’s Acrylic Sealer Matte Finish (comes in an aerosol spray can), and I’ve had pretty good luck with that; granted, I handle all my stuff pretty carefully, like fine China, so that helps.

Stryker2011 wrote:I use Aleene’s Acrylic Sealer Matte Finish (comes in an aerosol spray can), and I’ve had pretty good luck with that.

Thank you for the rec -- unfortunately, I cannot use any type of aerosol spray at the moment (for various reasons), so whatever type of matte varnish I'd use would have to be of the 'brush-on' variety. Apologies, I should have mentioned to begin with! :3

Ovy wrote:Ye I feel you. The Matte varnish really did not work for me either,  it's either glossy or blueish or has a 'frosting' effect when it's matte.

I even let a gloss varnish dry for some days and then added matte, I tried all sorts of thinning/not thinning and multiple brush applications after watching and reading tutorials. [...]   When I want something to be matte, I try to just use matte acrylics directly now.

But otherwise, very pleased with everything Vallejo. If you haven't tried the Metal colours yet, they are just beautiful.

Thanks for confirming my concerns -- I'm glad I haven't tried it yet.

And yes, otherwise, I am perfectly happy with these paints, they work beautifully in every other way. I have mostly just been using them for leather effects and/or weathering atm, but I am very much looking forward to trying the metal/metallic paints soon!  

Right now, I am likewise considering just leaving my items without any varnish at all. The only thing is, I can't quite tell how 'matte'  the Vallejo paint is on its own ...so far it seems fine to my eyes, but I've only been using it on smaller surfaces (boots, belts, etc) and other details. How does it look on its own on something like a resin or vinyl headsculpt? Those are a bit more tricky to leave completely un-varnished, but if the Vallejo looks ok without varnish, I'd be willing to do so (for the time being).

The problem is your likely to get variations depending what batch the matte is from, if it was ordered at the hight of winter or summer ( acrylics are affected by extreme tempatures), was it hot, cold or hummid when applied and probably some other factors. I haven't had any problems with Vallejo Matte with a regular brush or airbrush but I mix it well, have only used it on non 1/6th miniatures and live in very low humidity area. I have also used Liquitex Acrylic Artists Matte with similiar results. I would just suggest testing the Vallejjo or any other matte ypu want to try, on something larger and just see what the results are.

And all the mattes seem to have varying degrees of "matteness" depending on brand. If you could use a spray, the consencesus is that Testers Dull Coat spray is the best matte you can get.

Talon65 wrote:The problem is your likely to get variations depending what batch the matte is from, if it was ordered at the hight of winter or summer ( acrylics are affected by extreme tempatures), was it hot, cold or hummid when applied and probably some other factors. I haven't had any problems with Vallejo Matte with a regular brush or airbrush but I mix it well, have only used it on non 1/6th miniatures and live in very low humidity area. I have also used Liquitex Acrylic Artists Matte with similiar results. I would just suggest testing the Vallejjo or any other matte ypu want to try, on something larger and just see what the results are.

And all the mattes seem to have varying degrees of "matteness" depending on brand. If you could use a spray, the consencesus is that Testers Dull Coat spray is the best matte you can get.

Thank you for your honest advice, Talon! And that's a good point re: humidity. Unfortunately, I live in the UK, and humidity is pretty inescapable. I'm prepared to try to work around it though. ;p

I will definitely have to try things out and see what works, but just thought it was worth asking more experienced folks before I started attempting to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. I have various materials (including a couple of headsculpts) on hand that I can probably experiment with. I'll give the Liquitex a try as well while I'm at it.

If I'm ever in a position where I can use a spray varnish, I'll bear these recommendations in mind. : )

So my current experiment has been with Liquitex matt varnish vs. Vallejo matt varnish -- I have only used those on faux leather thus far, and I have not noticed a major difference when applied to that particular material. I mixed both with a small amount of fabric medium to make sure they had enough flexibility for the faux leather material, and still did not notice huge difference. In fact, the Vallejo does seem a tiny bit more 'matt', if perhaps also a tiny bit more 'cloudy'. I think for the purposes of smaller accessories and gear, I'd be happy to use the Vallejo matt varnish.  I will have to keep experimenting though and see how they compare on other surfaces.

I have another question for those with more experience when it comes to painting and/or repainting figures -- when repainting a hard plastic 1/6 headsculpt, do people tend to clean or wash the headsculpt first? Dishsoap? Rubbing alcohol? I ask because I am about to finally start working on repainting a sculpt, but I noticed there were some odd residue type marks on it straight from the factory, which I'd like to try to remove. I don't want to just plunge ahead with putting anything too harsh on it though, as I do not plan to remove all of the factory paint prior to painting it. I would nonethelesss like to make sure the Vallejo paints I'm using will still adhere to the sculpt. Any tips on cleaning or preparing the sculpt prior to painting are appreciated!

I refuse to use acrylic paint. Enamel only for me.

I use this when I want a clear matt finish and it works well. No cloudiness at all.



There was one time when it gave a cloudy finish and that was when it was raining outside. I'm guessing that the high level of moisture in the air was absorbed by the finish as it dried.

Except she can't use an aerosol.

I'm sure someone mentioned in the other place that you can mix tamya flat base with clear to give a matt finish. I'm not sure who it was but i think it was in regard to the Eowyn rebuild

Thanks everyone for the tips. I'll keep experimenting and see what works best. : )

In some cases I will probably leave certain things without a varnish. I tend to wear gloves when I handle completed figures anyway, because I don't trust the oils on my hands, not to mention I'm always concerned my nails scrape or ding something.  I used to work in a museum so I'm extra paranoid, lol.

As someone else pointed out, the Vallejo paints are themselves quite matt already as it is, and even moreso if one adds certain mediums to them while painting, which I do. The main reason for needing a consistent matt varnish is for when I want certain items that are made from different materials in 1/1 but which are supposed to be the same material in 1/6 scale to look a bit more streamlined together, and not catch the light weirdly in photos, etc.

Regarding  my other question....does anyone have any tips about prepping a hard plastic headsculpt for painting? I'm not planning to remove the factory paint, as all i want to do is touch it up a bit, but I also want to make sure the paint sticks to it.

I didn’t have any problem adding paint to those three head sculpts I added on to. Acrylic paint, if that matters.

Ah ok, so you just painted right on top of the factory paint?

Sorry if this is an obvious question, I just agonize over everything little thing sometimes...

Yep. That’s all I did.

Thanks for clarfying, good to know.

There is a Tamya flat base primer or something that was supposed be mixed with that blue liquid for cleaning floors that people use for making model windshields shinier... as you can see I can't even remember the precise names anymore. That's because my attempt to mix the two to produce a decent matte skin tone was a dismal failure (which probably just means I didn't do it right) and I never tried again.
As for painting heads, as long as they are not oily or dirty (and some of that could be from the production process), you should have no problem applying acrylics to them; especially Vallejo acrylics which are designed for models and are supposedly even better for that. Matte or flat finish paint, where available, should be preferable of course -- for this sort of stuff.

Thanks so much, GF. Even though the headsculpt i'm working on is 'just' a practice one atm, I still want to make sure I'm not doing something futile, so I'm glad to know it should be ok.

You should join UKGK on FB, it's run by David Nicholson. Pretty soon, he will be launching a range of acrylics and a paint matching service that should suit your needs. They do a matt varnish in an aerosol that is supposed to be better than Dullcote. I think you message them when you want anything. David is a stand up guy and great to deal with. UKGK is a very friendly group.

They are here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/164102806944297/

CHEERS!

Thanks so much for the heads-up, Rogerbee! I'll defintely check that out! : )

Well, it seems like the Vallejo matte varnish is indeed awful when you use it in two layers. I had zero issues with it when I had just put one thin layer on, but after putting the second it clouded right up and I lost all the beautiful detail. I had to see how it worked for myself, and learned my lesson. ;_;

Yeah, I never liked it myself, I've always used Dullcote. The best before that was the original formula Humbrol but that will never be the same again.

CHEERS!

I don't know much when it comes to the technical side of paints and varnishes, but it seems to me like the Vallejo varnish is somehow wayyy too thick and goopy. And unlike the actual Vallejo paints which tend to thin out once dried even if you apply them more thickly, the matt varnish seems to just cover everything very densely. :/

skywalkersaga wrote:I don't know much when it comes to the technical side of paints and varnishes, but it seems to me like the Vallejo varnish is somehow wayyy too thick and goopy. And unlike the actual Vallejo paints which tend to thin out once dried even if you apply them more thickly, the matt varnish seems to just cover everything very densely. :/

I wonder if you could mix it with a little paint thinner...

I will try to mix it with the Vallejo glaze medium and see what happens. But I'll definitely not be using it on any actual finished pieces again anytime soon...that was silly of me.

You can get airbrush flow improver or airbrush thinners by valejo these work really well with my air brush and ive used the 'thinned' paint to touch up bits where the brush just misted rather than covered.


not sure how they worked with varnish as i used clear