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How to use Vallejo Model Wash properly?


WelshZeCorgi

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I tried pin washing models with this stuff but it leaves a lot of tide marks, even when I whisk away the extra paint with a clean brush. I tried diluting it with various amounts of water and still, pinwashing would leave tide marks. Now I'm trying just a full wash, layering a thin, slightly diluted coat of the wash over the entire model. I'm waiting for it to dry, but I thought I'd ask the forums if and how they used vallejo's model wash.

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Life will be much easier if you pop it over a proper glossy finish, as matt and satin finishes are microscopically rough so allow the wash to stick where you don't want it.

 

It's a while since I've even sniffed a Vallejo wash, but I suspect they're acrylic.  If that's the case your gloss coat should ideally be enamel-based.  Always use the opposite, so as a general rule of thumb it's acrylic varnish with enamel wash, enamel varnish with acrylic wash. :)

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Any wash put over a dull or semi-dull finish runs the risk of actually "staining" the paint. It gets in the rougher surface of dull finishes and can't be shifted after drying. Trying sealing the finish first with a gloss coat. Doesn't need to be shiny, just sealed. Then apply the wash. I have also found that acrylic washes cannot be removed after drying. Water-based they may be, but like acrylic paint, they can't be removed when dry. Watercolors are not acrylics, can be removed after drying and are much more forgiving. In any case, any wash other than an oil based one applied over a sealed surface may need an additional wetting agent to keep it from pooling/puddling. I usually use just a drop or even less of liquid soap. Breaks the surface tension and allows the wash to settle into all those crevices and along raised detail. 

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16 minutes ago, Mike said:

Life will be much easier if you pop it over a proper glossy finish, as matt and satin finishes are microscopically rough so allow the wash to stick where you don't want it.

 

It's a while since I've even sniffed a Vallejo wash, but I suspect they're acrylic.  If that's the case your gloss coat should ideally be enamel-based.  Always use the opposite, so as a general rule of thumb it's acrylic varnish with enamel wash, enamel varnish with acrylic wash. :)

The Vallejo says it's water based acrylic. So I've been diluting it with water. Is diluting the wash with water okay?

 

Also can anyone recommend an enamel based gloss coat that can be shot through an airbrush?

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Most washes are pre-diluted, so shouldn't need thinning any further.  I don't tend to use enamel gloss though, so you'll have to wait for someone else to come along. :)

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You can use acrylic wash over a acrylic gloss coat so long a it's dry, the wash won't effect the dried gloss varnish. I don't like acrylic washes myself as they tend to dry way too quick and any mistakes after they have dried can't be removed easy.

Enamel or oil washes can be removed after they have dried with a little white spirit if you have overdone it in places. The main thing is having a gloss coat or shiney coat to start with.

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Hi WelshZeCorgie

 

What a great name! I'm a fan of Vallejo but found the washes just a bit too dense for my liking. I diluted them with Vallejo thinner at about 1:3 wash to thinner, and built up the weathering slowly on a gloss varnish base. If you do it on matt or satin it just doesn't work well for the reasons given above.

 

Best wishes,

 

Will.

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

Apologies for resurrecting this thread but I have been using Vallejo Model Wash on my last couple of builds with satisfactory results.  I purchased a few bottles of the stuff maybe three years ago and immediately tried using it as I would an enamel or oil wash - apply the product over a semi-gloss or gloss surface, let capillary action take over, wait for it to die and then remove excess with Vallejo's thinner...  Didn't work as I couldn't lift the dried excess and I binned the bottles.  A month or so I decided to give the product another go in this manner.  I gave the painted model a couple coats of Vallejo's Semi-gloss Polyurethane Varnish.  Once dry I thinned Model Wash 3 parts water to 1 part wash and commenced applying a pin wash in areas no larger than 1 inch by 1 inch with a fine brush, always keeping another brush at the ready to mop up any excess and tide marks.  It dries very fast, the reason why you work in small areas, and it is not as tedious as it sounds.  I was very pleased with the outcome.  I am experimenting now with Model Wash's ability to be used for shading.  Anyway, I just wanted to add my own experience to those out there interested in using Model Wash.

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  • 1 year later...

I see it should always be done over a gloss surface. How about if the model is already matt coated? 

Would it be OK to fire up the air brush and just gloss/clear the small area I want to add rust or weather to, then just matt over it again? 

 

Will this still work without risk of ruining everything? 

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