Oil washes

[Graham T]

I'm a bit of a numty when it comes to oil washes, never really having tried it before to any great extent. I want to make a good job of my current project, the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire VIII. I've constructed the engine itself, along with the bulkhead & bearers & the cockpit. I've given the engine & bearers a wash with burnt umber oil & it looks pretty good. However, it has transformed the finish from matt to gloss; it hasn't dried yet of course so perhaps it'll dull down when it is? My question is will I be able to apply a matt varnish (humbrol enamel) OVER the oil wash or is this going to ruin it? I want to apply a more gentle wash to the cockpit where any gloss finish will definately not be good!

One other question; is there any way to speed up the drying time of oils!?

Edited April 19, 2015 by Graham T

[SaintsPhil]

The speed the oil wash dries at depends on how fast the solvent used evaporates. Hotter solvents tend to evaporate faster than the less aggressive ones, but you run the risk of damaging the underlying paint. Normally you would apply a wash over a gloss or satin surface anyway, which means you'd have to top coat with varnish. Also it's best to use complementory layers of paint and wash, ie oil or enamel washes over acrylic base (or the other way if you prefer), this avoids undesirable damage to paint from solvents in washes. You can of course use acrylic varnish layers as a barrier.

So the short answer is it's probably best to use an acrliyc Matt varnish over your finished parts to seal. Personally I suggest Windsor and Newton or Vallejo but that's up to you!

Phil

Edited April 19, 2015 by SaintsPhil