After years of watching hobbyists nervously eye different paint brands on our shelves, wondering if they can mix that perfect Tamiya colour with their existing Vallejo collection, we reckon it's time to address the elephant in the hobby room. Can you actually mix different paint brands? Which combinations work brilliantly, and which ones turn your carefully planned project into expensive sludge?

The truth is, paint mixing between brands isn't the dark art some forums make it out to be. Sure, there are some combinations that'll have you scraping goop off your airbrush for hours, but there are also plenty that work together like old mates. We've seen enough experiments go right (and wrong) to know what actually works in the real world, not just in theory.

Look, we get it - you've invested in a particular paint system, then discovered the perfect colour exists in another brand. Or maybe you're halfway through a project and realise you need to mix a custom shade. The good news? With the right knowledge, you can confidently combine paints from different manufacturers without creating a chemistry experiment gone wrong.

This guide cuts through the confusion with practical, tested combinations that actually work. We're talking real-world mixing that modellers use every day, not theoretical chemistry lessons. Whether you're brush painting figures, airbrushing aircraft, or weathering railway stock, you'll know exactly which paints play nice together.

Understanding Paint Chemistry (Without the Headache)

Right, let's get the technical bit out of the way quickly. Model paints aren't just coloured liquid - they're complex mixtures of pigments, binders, and solvents. The binder holds everything together, the solvent keeps it liquid, and the pigment provides colour. When you mix paints, you're combining all these components, and that's where things can go pear-shaped if you're not careful.

The main thing to understand? Acrylics, enamels, and lacquers use different chemical systems. Acrylics use water or alcohol as their primary solvent, enamels use petroleum-based solvents, and lacquers use aggressive solvents that can actually dissolve other paint types. Mix the wrong ones, and you'll get anything from cottage cheese texture to paint that never properly dries.

But here's the good news - within each paint family, mixing is usually safe. Two water-based acrylics from different brands? Generally fine. Two enamels? Usually works. The problems start when you try crossing between families, like mixing your Vallejo acrylics with Humbrol enamels. That's when you need to know exactly what you're doing.

Temperature and humidity affect paint mixing too. What works perfectly in your air-conditioned hobby room might fail spectacularly in a hot garage during an Australian summer. Paints thicken, thin, and behave differently based on conditions. Always test your mixtures in the environment where you'll be painting - saves heaps of frustration later.

Acrylic Paint Combinations That Work

Let's start with the most forgiving family - acrylics. These are the paints most of us use daily, and thankfully, they're pretty friendly when it comes to mixing. Water-based acrylics from brands like Vallejo, Citadel, Army Painter, and Reaper mix together without drama. The key is understanding that even within acrylics, there are subcategories that behave differently.

Vallejo Model Color and Game Color? Mix beautifully together - they're essentially the same paint with different colour ranges. Add some Army Painter to that mix? Still good. These water-based acrylics share similar chemistry, so they play nice. We've seen modellers create amazing custom colours mixing these brands without any issues beyond slight variations in opacity.

Now, Tamiya acrylics are a different beast. They're alcohol-based, not water-based, which means they don't naturally mix with Vallejo-style paints. Try combining them straight, and you'll get clumping faster than you can say "ruined paintbrush." But here's a trick - if you must mix them, add both to your airbrush cup with appropriate thinners for each, spray immediately, and clean thoroughly. It's not ideal, but it works in a pinch.

The real mixing champions are brands designed for compatibility. Green Stuff World paints mix well with most water-based acrylics. Scale75 plays nice with Vallejo. AK Interactive's newer generation acrylics blend smoothly with similar brands. These companies know modellers have existing collections, so they've formulated their paints to be mixing-friendly.

Enamel and Lacquer Mixing Rules

Enamels are the old guard of model paints, and they have their own mixing rules. Humbrol, Testors, and Revell enamels generally mix well together since they share similar solvent bases. The resulting colour might dry a bit slower than expected, but it'll work. Just remember that enamel mixing ratios affect drying time - more paint means longer drying.

The thing about enamels is consistency. Some brands are thicker, some thinner, and mixing them can result in unexpected textures. Humbrol tends to be quite thick, while Testors can be thinner. When you mix them, aim for the consistency you want for your application method. Enamel thinners are your friend here - they help homogenise mixtures from different brands.

Now, lacquers are the aggressive cousins in the paint family. Mr. Color, Tamiya's lacquer line, and similar products use hot solvents that can eat through other paint types. Never mix lacquers with enamels or acrylics directly - the lacquer will likely cause the other paint to curdle or separate. However, you can spray lacquer over fully cured acrylics or enamels as a separate layer.

Within the lacquer family though, mixing is usually fine. Mr. Color and Gaia Notes mix well. Tamiya lacquers blend with Mr. Color. The key is using appropriate lacquer thinners and working in a well-ventilated area - these solvents aren't messing around. Always use a proper respirator when working with lacquers, especially when mixing them.

Brand-by-Brand Compatibility Guide

Let's get specific about which brands actually work together. Vallejo is probably the most mixing-friendly brand out there. Their Model Color, Game Color, and Air lines all mix perfectly with each other. They also play well with most other water-based acrylics. The only issue you might encounter is slight differences in finish - their Metal Color line has a different formulation that doesn't mix as smoothly with standard colours.

Tamiya is trickier. Their regular acrylics (X and XF series) are alcohol-based and don't mix well with water-based brands. However, Tamiya paints mix excellently with themselves - you can blend any X or XF colour together. Their lacquer line (LP series) also mixes well within itself but keep it separate from the acrylics. If you're invested in Tamiya, stick within their ecosystem for mixing.

Citadel paints, popular with miniature painters, are water-based acrylics that mix reasonably well with other water-based brands. The main quirk is their various paint types - Base, Layer, Contrast, and Technical paints have different formulations. Stick to mixing Base with Base, Layer with Layer. Contrast paints are specially formulated and shouldn't be mixed with standard paints unless you're after unpredictable effects.

AK Interactive has done something clever with their third-generation acrylics - they've specifically designed them to be compatible with other major brands. They mix well with Vallejo, Citadel, and Army Painter. Their older enamel and lacquer lines follow standard rules for those paint types. Green Stuff World takes a similar approach, creating paints that integrate smoothly into existing collections.

Creating Custom Colours Successfully

Creating custom colours is where paint mixing really shines. Say you need that specific shade of British Racing Green for your vintage race car, but no single bottle matches your reference. This is where understanding colour theory meets practical mixing. Start with the closest base colour you have, then adjust with small amounts of other colours until you nail it.

The key to successful custom mixing? Document everything. Seriously, write it down. "Three drops Vallejo Dark Green, one drop Black, half drop Yellow" might sound excessive, but when you need to mix more paint mid-project, you'll thank yourself. Use a mixing jar with measurements, or count drops if working small scale. Some modellers even weigh their paint on precision scales for perfect repeatability.

Temperature affects colour mixing more than you'd think. Warm paints mix easier but can shift slightly in hue. Cold paints might not blend properly at all. Let your paints come to room temperature before mixing, especially if they've been stored in a cold garage. And always mix more than you think you need - running out of custom colour halfway through a aircraft fuselage is proper frustrating.

Here's something most guides won't tell you - the order you add colours matters. Adding dark to light gives you more control than adding light to dark. Need a slightly darker blue? Add tiny amounts of black to blue, not blue to black. This prevents overshooting your target colour and wasting paint. It's a simple trick that'll save you heaps of paint over time.

Thinners and Mediums: The Make-or-Break Factor

Here's where many paint mixing attempts fail - using the wrong thinner or medium. You can't just grab any thinner and expect it to work with any paint. Water for water-based acrylics, alcohol or proprietary thinners for Tamiya, mineral spirits for enamels, lacquer thinner for lacquers. Mix these up, and you'll turn perfectly good paint into unusable goop.

But thinners do more than just thin - they affect flow, drying time, and finish. Vallejo's thinner contains flow improver and retarder, making paint flow better and dry slower. Tamiya's X-20A thinner helps their paint spray beautifully through an airbrush. Using the right brand-specific thinner often gives better results than generic alternatives, even if they're chemically similar.

Mediums are the secret weapon for paint mixing. Flow improver helps different viscosity paints blend smoothly. Retarder gives you more working time for blending. Matte or gloss mediums ensure consistent finish when mixing paints with different sheens. A drop of flow improver can save a mixing disaster, turning a lumpy mixture into smooth, brushable paint.

The ratio matters too. Over-thinning is just as bad as under-thinning. For brush painting, aim for milk consistency. For airbrushing, think skimmed milk. When mixing different brands, you might need to adjust these ratios since paints have different starting viscosities. Test your mixture's consistency on scrap plastic - if it pools or runs, it's too thin. If it shows brush marks or orange peel texture, it needs more thinner.

Troubleshooting Common Mixing Problems

Paint turned into cottage cheese? That's the classic sign of incompatible chemistry. Usually happens when mixing alcohol-based and water-based acrylics. The fix? There isn't one - bin it and start over. This time, test mix a tiny amount first. Two drops of each paint on a mixing palette will tell you if they're compatible without wasting whole bottles.

Mixed paint won't dry properly? You've likely combined paints with incompatible curing mechanisms. Some paints air-dry, others chemical-cure, and mixing them can interrupt both processes. If it's been 48 hours and your paint's still tacky, try hitting it with a hair dryer on low heat. Sometimes that's enough to kick-start the curing. If not, strip it and repaint - tacky paint never really recovers.

Colour shifts after drying? This drives modellers mental. You mix the perfect shade, it looks spot-on wet, then dries completely different. Acrylics typically dry darker, enamels can go either way. The solution? Mix your colour, paint a test patch on white plastic, force-dry it with a hair dryer, then adjust your mixture based on the dried result. Takes longer but saves repainting entire models.

Separation in the bottle? You mixed paints successfully, stored the mixture, and now it's separated like oil and water. Some paint combinations look fine initially but separate over time. Always add a mixing ball (steal one from an old paint bottle or use a small stainless steel ball bearing) and shake thoroughly before each use. If it keeps separating, the paints aren't truly compatible long-term.

Practical Mixing Tips From the Workbench

After years of watching successful (and disastrous) paint mixing experiments, here's what actually works. First up - invest in proper mixing containers. Those little glass jars with measurements on the side? Worth their weight in gold. Trying to mix in the paint pot itself is asking for trouble. You'll contaminate your original colours and probably mix too much.

Keep a mixing diary. Sounds nerdy, but when you nail that perfect Wehrmacht grey or British tank green, you'll want to reproduce it. Note the date, brands, colours, ratios, and what you painted. Include temperature and humidity if you're really keen - they affect how paint behaves. Some modellers photograph their mixtures next to colour chips for visual reference.

The dropper bottle revolution has made mixing so much easier. Brands like Vallejo and Green Stuff World in dropper bottles let you count exact drops for perfect ratios. If your paints come in pots, transfer commonly used colours to dropper bottles. Yes, it's a faff initially, but the consistency you'll achieve makes it worthwhile. Plus, less waste from dried paint in opened pots.

Here's a game-changer - premix your common colours. If you're doing a squadron of Spitfires, mix enough Sky Blue for all of them at once. Store it in a sealed container, label it clearly, and add a mixing ball. This ensures colour consistency across your whole project. Just remember to note your mixture recipe in case you need more later.

Temperature cycling can help stubborn mixtures blend. If paints won't mix smoothly, try warming them slightly (not hot, just warm) with a hair dryer, mix thoroughly, then let them cool. The temperature change often helps different viscosity paints homogenise. Just don't overdo it - excessive heat can break down paint chemistry.

Never mix metallics with regular paints expecting metallic results. The metal flakes don't distribute evenly when diluted with non-metallic paint. Instead, use metallic medium or pearl medium to add shimmer to regular colours. Want metallic blue? Start with metallic silver and add transparent blue, not blue with silver mixed in. The difference is dramatic.

Finally, embrace the happy accidents. Some of the best custom colours come from experiments gone "wrong." That weird greenish-grey from mixing leftover paints? Perfect for weathering. The unexpected purple from trying to darken red? Brilliant for shadows. Keep notes on these accidents too - you never know when you'll want to recreate them.