Aqueous Hobby Color paint can be thinned with water if desired, and the brushes can be cleaned and washed in water until the paint is dry. The solvent contained in Aqueous Hobby Color is very mild. It provides a glossy texture and very good leveling qualities (i.e. smoothness of the coated paint film) resulting in a very good level of painted coverage. In particular, the level of gloss achieved with Aqueous Hobby Color gloss paints is excellent. The level of gloss obtained with Aqueous Hobby Colors gloss can be adjusted with H-40 Flat Base - mix in about 5% H-40 Flat Base to turn gloss colors into matte... the percentage of Flat Base used can be adjusted to vary the level the resulting shine. Generally, it is not necessary to dilute Aqueous Hobby Color for brush painting, but if you are using an airbrush to spray Aqueous Hobby Color, dilute the paint with Mr.Aqueous Hobby Color (T-111) 100-150% thinner. When painting with a brush, it is usually recommended to apply 1-2 layers, and when using an airbrush - 2-3 layers. Applying a light color over a darker base may require more coats of paint.