jpowers Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 So, I'm getting back in to mini painting with the Bones Kickstarter. Prior experience is GW minis and paints, was quite some time ago, and I was not particularly good anyway, so now I'm trying to learn again. I basecoated with undiluted paint as per forum recommendations (after washing the mini). How well this worked seemed to vary between paints and/or minis. I then diluted Black Wash (MSP) 1:2 with water. When it dried, it had formed what looks like a lot of white haze. I'm not sure what this is and what I'm doing wrong here. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vroomer Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 That treasure chest looks scary. I'd stay away. It can keep its treasure. And that spider looks like it is laying eggs. Get some bug spray. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vroomer Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 (edited) In all seriousness, do you have hard water? Edited July 28, 2013 by Vroomer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikem91 Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Distilled water or matte medium is your friend when diluting. I know I have more calcium in my tap water than I'd like :\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpowers Posted July 28, 2013 Author Share Posted July 28, 2013 I have moderately hard water. So maybe distilled water is the way to go here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Last Knight Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonkeySloth Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 I use distilled water as well. It's only about $2 a gallon and I've used half of one in about 3 years of painting so it's a good investment for those of us that drink real mineral water (not the fake filtered stuff). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pingo Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 At the peak use of distilled water, using it for painting full sized paintings and refilling my paint jars, I might go through a gallon a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpowers Posted July 28, 2013 Author Share Posted July 28, 2013 Oh, sure. I realize that distilled water is basically free for this purpose. Just didn't realize that hard water would form deposits so easily with mini paint. Thanks. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pingo Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 TBH, I don't know for certain sure it's a hard water problem, just that that seems most likely. How fast do your pipes and dishes get filmy? Some places have really hard water. Where I live it's moderately hard from limestone, but even our tap water doesn't produce white bits like that. I hear in the southeastern US there's a lot of calcium in the water which could cause that effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpowers Posted July 29, 2013 Author Share Posted July 29, 2013 It's hard to tell. I haven't looked at the inside of my pipes, and I'd rather not. (Ignorance is bliss.) People claim that hot water heaters develop lime deposits pretty fast here. I'll pick up a little bit on glasses now and then, but otherwise it's hard to tell. I think by numbers, the water isn't particularly hard. (Low 100s ppm calcium ion according to the water report.) It's the only theory I've heard so far, and it sounds possible, so I'll give using distilled water a shot. If anyone else has alternate theories please chime in! I suppose the only real cost is stripping the few minis that have been ruined by this with Simple Green and starting over. Well worth it if the problem gets solved, a real headache if it doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artists Wren Posted July 29, 2013 Artists Share Posted July 29, 2013 Your paint doesn't look too thick, I think you'd be fine to just repaint over it instead of having to strip. I also think trying distilled water is a good starting point for trying to solve the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultrasquid Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Excessively thinning your paint with water could allow the pigments, matting agents, and other fillers to come out of suspension and separate. If this black color uses an iron oxide (mars) black, that could be sinking into the crevices while other components like talc or kaolin clay might float to the surface and remain visible when the wash dries. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyberwolfe1 Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Excessively thinning your paint with water could allow the pigments, matting agents, and other fillers to come out of suspension and separate. If this black color uses an iron oxide (mars) black, that could be sinking into the crevices while other components like talc or kaolin clay might float to the surface and remain visible when the wash dries. It's a lot more about this. Certain paints will fall out of solution leaving the vehicle and binder on top. This can happen with older bottles of black paint more often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salyvan Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Ya, I get this white haze when I've over-diluted my paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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