Panel line wash.

[Richard_Fishpool]

Hi all.

Have more or less finished building my 1:32 Revell spitfire mk IIa.

I like the idea of doing a wash to accentuate panel lines, but having never done it before am nervous about screwing up my model.

Any advice please such as colour to use, buy a ready made wash? Etc.

Thanks in advance.

😊

[Enzo the Magnificent]

Have a look at http://www.florymodels.co.uk/washes/and choose the colour which is near to the main colour of your build.

A good way to apply the wash is to seal the model with a varnish coat. Make sure it is perfectly dry and then simply paint the wash over the top. Let the wash dry and then simply wipe it off with a dry tissue. The wash will remain in the panel lines.

I realise that this method is a bit scary as the model goes from looking good to looking dreadful in a few seconds. It will look far better when the extraneous wash is removed but it is still a bit of a leap of faith.

So there is a far less scary technique you can use. Seal the model as before but apply the wash by painting it along the panel lines with a narrow brush.

If you apply too much, it can be removed by flooding the area with water and wiping it away.

Many years ago, I was told that the best way to weather was to apply the weathering and then to remove it straight away. You will never get it all, but you can repeat the process until it looks right.

And a final word on the subject. If you look at the model and think "That looks good. It just needs another coat" then that's enough. You don't need that last coat. Less is always best.

[Richard_Fishpool]

Thanks.

You think its best to buy a premix rather than trying to make your own?

I am probably going to buy a ready made to start with.

Its mainly for the underside of the spitfire which I have painted in duck egg blue.

[Mike]

If you don't mind paying a few quid for a pot of the pre-mixed stuff, it's nice & convenient, which is always a bonus Go for a mid-range tone though, so it doesn't show up too starkly on the light undersides, and consider getting some streaking fluid, or using oil paint & drawing a dot backwards in line with the airflow. Merlins used to leak like a tap

[Richard_Fishpool]

Thanks Mike,

Would rather pay for a properly made one than cock it up myself, as to colour was thinking some light brown or grey perhaps?

[dubster72]

Richard, a 'properly made' wash such as any commercial product out there is merely enamel paint thinned with white spirit. Don't be sucked in by the marketing blurb!

Flory washes are slightly different in that they're water based with a clay additive to aid keeping the wash in the panel lines.

As long as you apply any wash over a well cured gloss coat, you're unlikely to mess it up. Most problems occur when people add an oil-based wash over an acrylic gloss coat before its fully cured. Then the chemically hotter wash affects the gloss coat, resulting in undesirable effects.

Patience is the watchword!

Edited August 28, 2016 by dubster72

[Mike]

It's not marketing blub unless you're unaware of what you're buying, but it is a convenience product. You get a measured quantity of wash that's a consistent consistency (try saying that drunk!), and therefore a known quantity. You also get a nice bottle, and depending on which company's product you go for, assistance in the form of online articles or video demonstrations to help you use it properly. It might be as well to start with a water-based wash if you're a bit wary, and the Ultimate washes have been good to use in my experience, as they're easy to apply, remove and there's a decent range of colours. The easy to remove part is very important, as I've seen lots of instances where incomplete removal renders a model grubby and lacking in definition. If your wash is difficult to remove, it's a pain, and runs the risk of spoiling all your hard work. Ultimate will remove with the merest flick with a damp piece of kitchen towel. Gone!

I also use enamel washes from the bottle, not because I'm gullible (that's just a coincidence - did you hear they'd removed the word from the dictionary?? ), but for the ease. I have a drawer of the same sized bottles that I know will give me a certain result as long as I shake them properly. Glass or metal ball bearings (6mm) will do you a good job of agitating the contents there.

HTH

[goggsy]

I'm nervous of the enamel based humbrol washes for reasons I don't fully understand but I find Flory washes pretty bombproof. Just make very sure that the surface you are applying on is very smooth and free from rough areas as these will tend to get stained beyond removal. Also, I find that once the wash has been applied and removed to my satisfaction (I've cleaned up) another coat of varnish really brings the colour of the wash out. This could be a good or a bad thing depending on what you're going for.