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Washes, what am I doing wrong?


Vlad

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It's been a while since I've done planes but yesterday I tried doing a wash to get some panel lines definition. I exclusively use enamels, so I put a little bit of Humbrol thinner in a mixing pot and added a bit of dark gray paint. So far so good.

When I tried putting it on (dab on with small brush at panel line corners), the wash flowed along the panel lines as expected but it also spread widely either side of the line. It stained the surrounding surface quite badly but left no visible pigment in the panel line itself!

I ended up with a strange "dried up river bed" effect, with a strong line at the extent of the wash spread and a perfectly clean panel line down the middle.

What did I do wrong? Mixed it too thin? Too thick? Put too much on?

Edited by Vlad
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I am no expert, but I think your problem is using the same type of paint for your wash as for your primary colour scheme. My technique is briefly :-

a) Spray the primary colour scheme and let it dry thoroughly

b ) Apply a gloss varnish of a dissimilar type to the proposed "wash" i.e if I am going to use oil paint for the wash, I use "KLEAR" or something similar which will not be affected by the turpentine used as thinner for the oil paint.

c) Let the varnish dry thoroughly

d) Apply the wash - I generally use oil paint thinned with turpentine - and use turpentine sourced from an art shop and not a rough variant from a DIY outlet.

e) I use a fine tipped paint brush to apply the wash to the panel lines; Zimmeritt; cockpit tub or whatever. Capilliary action will tend to carry the thinned paint along the lines I want to accentuate. Any excess or overflow can be safely mopped up with a cotton bud; a piece of kitchen roll or similar.

f) Once the oil paint wash has thoroughly dried I clean any excess off using a cotton bud or whatever will reach the target.

g) Apply a further coat of varnish to seal it.

I guess you problems might be attributable to any or all of the following :-

a) Washing with enamel on your enamel primary scheme.

b ) Too thick a coating of paint for you primary scheme effectively clogging the panel lines so there is nowhere for the wash to flow

c) Too thin a mix for the wash so it cannot flow in the panel lines and spills onto the surface instead

d) Not letting the primary scheme dry thoroughly so that the thinner for your wash has an un-cured paint surface to attack

e) Not varnishing before washing.

Thats my two-pennorth - I expect more expert modellers on here will have their own hints and tips. However, stick at it because the effect of a wash is to really enhance the model and pick out details - try it ion a 1/35th tank wheel and see how the wheel nuts suddenly standout - likewise with detail on, for example, a 1/72nd aircraft wheel.

Edited by SPerx
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It's not clear from your original post whether you'd gloss coated before using the wash. If not, that would be my choice for the problem. Thinned paint has a tendency to just diffuse over a matt surface, similar to what you've described.

J.

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Thanks for the quick replies, sounds like we've narrowed the issue.

No, I did not gloss coat before the wash.

I am brush painting and I had to give it lots of coats because these are Humbrol's new RLM paints and their coverage is terrible. And the kit is 1/72 so yes, a lot of the panel lines are full of paint but they are visible. I'm worried though if I gloss it there really will be no panel lines left to wash...

However, the paint has been drying for at least a week, so I find it less likely that it hasn't cured.

I use rattle can Humbrol gloss enamel varnish for coating things, would this not attack an oil wash?

Does that extra information confirm your impressions?

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Acrylics (generally) won't attack enamels. It's (generally) safe to cover an enamel or acrylic paint job with an acrylic gloss coat, followed by an oil-based wash (I thin the wash and remove any excess with white spirit), followed by an acrylic flat, gloss or satin coat as required. I use Gunze and Tamiya acrylics for airbrushed primary colour coats, Humbrol enamels for detail painting with a brush, airbrushed Tamiya acrylic gloss coat, Winsor and Newton oil wash, airbrushed Gunze flat coat, or airbrushed Gunze flat mixed with Tamiya gloss for a satin coat. Acrylics are thinned with Tamiya's X-20A thinner and airbrush cleanup is with methylated spirits. I have never had an adverse reaction during application, or subsequent cracking or lifting of paints. And I've never had a problem mixing Gunze acrylics with Tamiya acrylics either.

Jeff

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I think the issue is that you had a matt surface. I paint with acrylics then varnish with acrylic varnish (both Tamiya). Then I mix up a little oil paint with distilled turpentine. Paint it on, leave for a few minutes and then wipe it off with a bit of kitchen roll.

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I've had several bad experiences with acrylic varnish over enamel so with respect to the people saying it should be OK, I'm not trying that again.

I think I'll try to spray it glossy then use something that isn't enamel for the wash (assuming sufficient panel line definition remains). Failing that I guess I'll just have a "fresh from the factory" 109 instead :)

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I agree with the necessity to apply a gloss sealant to your base colors before applying the wash process.

Another approach for "spot washes" - where you're not following extensive surface features such as panel lines, but working on nuts, bolts, or other small bossed items on the surface of the model is to use a 50/50 mix of Future(Klear) and water, with a drop or two of acrylic paint, dark grey or black. Mix this well and apply with a fine brush and it creates the most convincing shadows around such items. It can be done with recessed details such as rivets, but again I'd warn against taking long brush strokes on panels or extended intersections, as it doesn't perform well with those applications.

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