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All you need to know about Pro Acryl 1-Step: different from Contrast & Speedpaint!

Stahly (Tale of Painters)

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I've had a good look at the new Pro Acryl 1step paints from Monument Hobbies – and from the very first brushstroke it became obvious: these are a quite different beast from every other Contrast and Speedpaint alternative out there. Whether that's a good or bad thing, I'll tell you in this deep dive video. #proacryl #1step #review

⏭️ Chapters:
0:00 My test method
1:25 1-Step explained
2:41 Testing 1-Step on a Steelhelm
4:50 The technology behind Contrast paints
7:21 Comparison with Speedpaint & Contrast
9:28 Advanced techniques
11:24 1-Step on metallics
12:30 Verdict & finished model

🔎 My review scale:
1 – 4: A product with obvious flaws that I wouldn't recommend
5 – 6: A product with issues, but depending on your needs and/or a good price, perhaps worth a look
7: A solid product but with room for improvement
8: An above-average product I'd recommend
9: A product amongst the best of its category, highly recommended
10: An (almost) perfect product where I can't think of any improvements (I've never given a 10 lol)

☝️ Please note: In my ratings and reviews I always try to address and consider as broad a range of hobbyists as possible, and deliberately don't cater only to expert and display painters.

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20 Comments

@stahly_taleofpainters Creator 4 months ago Pinned

‼ In case you're wondering: this is a reupload. In the original version, I incorrectly explained the technology behind Contrast-like paints (stating that the main colourant would be dyes, whereas Contrast-like paints are actually more comparable to acrylic inks, which contain ultra-fine pigments instead of dyes). I have corrected and re-recorded the relevant part. So, 1-Step paints contain the same artist-grade pigments as the Pro Acryl range, not dyes. Thanks to @MrPigments and Jason from Monument Hobbies for pointing this out! Apologies for the confusion.
👉 The 7-in-1 One-coat paints comparison chart and Pro Acryl swatch are available over on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stahlytaleofpainters/shop

@ZendegiLeonard 3 weeks ago

Hey Stahly, great review as always. I've been trying out the 1-Step Purple to shade my Ultramarines. I found that using Scale 75 Dispel Magic as medium helped a lot with the problems you brought up. That medium is my go to "fix this paint" one. It stopped my Kimera Kolors from seperating from the matte agent aka frosting (that and lowering the moisture level in my wet pallete).

@HydraxosMagnus 4 months ago

Fantastic evaluation and comparison. Thank you so much!

@DK.dk11 1 month ago

Your website is awesome man.

@sputnik128 4 months ago

Special shout out to Monument for providing a giant bottle of their 1step medium with their blessing to 'try it on all your existing paints'

@WireHedd 4 months ago (edited)

Excellent evaluation Stahly. My only criticism is the absence of the Special Sauce medium for the 1-Step line which REALLY optimizes the line. The Special Sauce medium also allows for the use of the standard Pro Acryl paint as 1-Step colours as well. 1-Step also has some very cool metallic effects. Thanks for this. 🎨
NOTE: my source is my own usage as well as the daily Twitch/YouTube/Kick stream Jason Craze does has focused on demonstrating 1-Step for several months now.

@breakupgoogle4584 4 months ago

One thing often left out when reviewing ALL of the contrast style paints is the effect the undercoat has on them. "Toothier" rougher surface primers/bases make for a different look than smoother glossier types. Both extremes might not be to your liking.

@Wijkert 2 months ago

11:15 I found that any premade wash or contrast-style paint glazes well, but I run into reactivation issues if I don't let them cure fully. Also like you said, sometimes the medium buildup can create unwanted effects.

@kobudo 4 months ago

@11:20 I haven’t tried 1step yet, and haven’t even seen it in stores. But since ProAcryl’s marketing touts 1step’s compatibility with their standard line of paints, I would probably try glazing and feathering by using some of their glaze & wash medium, which I do like quite a lot.

@Wijkert 2 months ago (edited)

5:53 according to the formulater of the second wave (maybe the same guy that did the first wave too), these 3 are all single pigment.
This is the complete list: Bad Moon Yellow, Imperial Fist, Magmadroth Flame, Baal Red, Doomfire Magenta, Leviathan Purple, Aeldari Emerald. Some are easier to guess than others: Bad Moon Yellow PY74 (?), Imperial Fist PY83, Magmadroth Flame PO43?, Baal Red PR254? (maybe a Naphthol instead of a Pyrrole pigment), Doomfire Magenta PV19, Leviathan Purple PV23, Aeldari Emerald PG7

@roll_for_minis_cindy 4 months ago

Thanks for the update on these paints! Any chance you're going to review the Kimera Velvet Inks line soon?

@gilbertmoreno992 4 months ago

Can you please review the Pro Acryl Expert Artist Acrylics (tube acrylics)?

@trollpaintingminis4496 1 month ago

My favorite paints for glazing are actually cuttlefish colors. They're made specifically for glazing and they're my go to slapchop paints

@jQuartz85 2 weeks ago

Can you recommend an alternative to Nighthaunt Gloom? From The Speedpaint 2.0 or AK quick gen line?

@DarkAbyssMiniatures 3 months ago (edited)

How many layers of dark oath flesh did you use to make that dark opaque brown?

@Primedknights 4 months ago

Thank you.

@Rich_Games-NL 4 months ago

Which contrast/speedpaint brand do you like best for painting over metallics? Citadel contrast doesn’t work that well, imo. Pools in weird places and dries so fast, you don’t have much time to fix it.

@LinkiePup 3 months ago

Monument Hobbies:
Quality over Quantity.

@jasondads9509 4 months ago

woah that orange is like a red

@stormycatmink 1 month ago (edited)

I tend to use acrylic retarder instead of water to thin my acrylics. Makes them behave more like oil paints for a short time. They still dry fast, but more like 5-10min rather than 1-3min. Pro-Acryl also has some other mediums, like their glaze and NEWISH mediums. Both work well for glazing and blending, but NEWISH gives you more of an oil paint behavior.

But, I'm also a bit biased towards Pro-Acryl. Once they came out with NEWISH I was sold.