tI’m having difficulty with my wash. I’m using burnt umber artists oil and I’m using Testors enamel thinner. When I apply the wash, should it be runny? Or is it slightly thicker? And when I am using it, it is staining my model, like a filter. I don’t want that. I just want it to fill in the panel lines. How can I achieve it?
Mulho,
the way I understand it it’s called wash because it’s extremely runny… Anyhow, as I almost always write, some photos would be nice to see what we’re talkin’ 'bout here. My first impression here would be to add more solvent and apply the wash liberally, with courage! Hope it helps, have a nice day
Paweł
What is the model painted with? I assume you mean you are doing the wash with oil, not that the model has been painted with artists oils.
However, in general, the wash should be runny. But, there is a continuum of effects. At one extreme is dry brushing, at the other are washes. Further, you can drybrush with a very thin wash mixture, but it takes practice. Good for metal patinas, though.
The model is painted with acrylics and the wash is artist oil
A wash is a little thicker in consistancy than a filter. If you want to do a pin wash use a smaller brush and apply it only to the panel lines. It will take a little longer to complete but it will achieve the look you are after…I think.
Have you painted on a clear coat first? I had similar issue on my F-18, and forgot the clear coat…what a mess to remove. This might help clean up the wash…allowing you to keep the paint in the lines, and not the rest?
what is the method to apply a wash? i havnt tried a wash as yet. after you finish painting the model do you apply a gloss or flat clear coat then appy the wash?
WOAH. First FIRST
do not use enamel thinner with the oil then try and put it over acrylic, for god sake.
Enamel thinner will eat enamel and acrylic, laquer thinner will eat both. Linseed oil, on the other hand, thins oils and damages nothing else. Use that on the wash.
The wash should be runny, like water. You want it to flow into every nook and cranny.
Ive had the same worry of staining. I put down a liberal Furture wax clear coat and let it dry for 24 hours. this is on an O-2A Skymaster, btw with a white anterior wing paint job, so I really want to avoid staining. Initially I used MIG Dark Wash, and as I was painting it on I realized it was enamel based and windexed it off.
I then made my own with Tamiya X-1 black and water. maybe 20:1 water: paint. I applied it to panel lines only by capillary action. It looked…meh…ok.
Do y’all tend to brush it all over the model , then let it dry , and then windex it off? Or just to the panel lines? Im worried it will stain the hell out of the white top. I bought the “don’t Shoot” decals which cost more than the model and I really dont wanna ruin it .
Thanks
…and by “it looked meh” I mean that It didnt take well, not very filled lines despite some rescribing.
If you’re concerned with it staining the basecoat like a filter why not try a pinwash? basically you use the same mixture of paint/thinner but use only a small brush to add the wash mixture to the panel lines. Touch the small brush with your wash mixture to the panel line and capillary action should start to draw the wash along the panel line. It will take longer to complete, but it’s more precise and gives you more control.
Once applied, use a slightly mositened (in the thinner used in your wash mixture) soft cloth, q-tip, cotton ball, etc to remove any excess. Just make sure to work in the direction of the airflow and be careful when wiping away the excess, if you wipe parallel with the panel lines you can erase the wash. Hope it helps!
[dto:]
Pinwash is much easier to control, always easier to add more rather than try to remove some…
If you really don’t like working with thin washes you could try a sludge wash. This is a 5:3:2 mix of liquid dish soap, water, and acrylic paint. It’s very thick and won’t run. Just paint it over a gloss coat with a small brush into the recessed details, let it dry, then wipe the excess away with a paper towel. (I like to use Q-tips, but you’ll go through a lot).
You may have to experiment with different acrylics to find one that works well. The basic Testor acrylics I’ve found work great, but my Tamiya acrylics don’t (the soap seems to precipitate the pigment).
when doing a wash you should run the thinners down the pannel lines with a pointed num 2 paint brush when you add paint to this it should flow with the thinners leave to dry for 2min and clean off edges with num 2 brush . moistened with thinners hope this helps
Don’t want to hijack this thread, but i have a similar question.
Re: Armour washes - using artist oils/humborl enamels over tamiya acrylics, do you need a gloss coat or can you apply to the matte coat? I’m confusing myself.
Normally i build planes and do an acrylic gloss coat then a panel line wash with humbrol enamels thinned with enamel thinner. (However, i’m going to now look at using linseed oil - thanks Smeagol [Y])
But, for my current build, i want a dirty looking AFV, so do i need to worry about the gloss coat in this situation?
Chris.