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How to make a *colour* wash


WozzaUK

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Hi,

I've searched high and low but can't find an answer for what seems a very simple question.

 

I've painted a red leather seat in a car and I want to pin wash it with a darker red. I'm using Tamiya acrylics and the problem is if I make a dark red wash incorporating Tamiya thinner it may effect the finish, however I can't think of what else I can use.

 

I tried an experiment a few weeks ago on an engine block using acrylic paint thinned with water but it didn't cling to the fine detail very well and I ended up scratching a lot of it off with my finger nail. 😀

 

I do have some MIG dark wash and used it over another engine that was painted with Tamiya's flat aluminium and it worked fine even though it's an enamel wash over acrylic. (Didn't realise at the time I wasn't supposed to do that). Problem is the MIG's basically a black wash and the wrong colour for a red leather seat.

 

So can anyone suggest alternatives?

 

Thanks.

 

Wozza.

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a different acrylic type, Tamiya is a laquer soluble acrylic, (some people spray it with cellulose thinners)  so you could use Vallejo, Humbrol or Revell which are water type,  you can use Kleer to make a wash,

Got this one from roy Sutherland

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hyperscale/roy-sutherland-s-johnson-klear-wash-t239748.html

note the youtube link

or vallejo make a glaze agent.

 

Alternately,  depending on what you have about, use enamel, or ideally oil paint, and thin with lighter fuel ( the zippo stuff),  which is extremely volatile,  and will makes a very thin wash,  thinner than using water and the solvent evaporates really fast.  

You can also easily remove it with a brush soaked in clean lighter fuel,  so if you run the side of the brush along the raised parts, it will remove any overwash, but leave in the cracks/depressions.  Can also act as a subtle colour modulation technique

panel line wash  as described used here

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235052380-hurricane-airfix-72nd-fabric-wing-mki-oob/&do=findComment&comment=3296243

 

Experiment on a test piece  first though.   

 

HTH

 

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Citadel: find your local Games Workshop stockist and buy some “Shade”; Carroburg Crimson or Reiklan Fleshshade, depending whether you want deep red or slightly browner. These colours are great for wash on upholstery, and for shutlines/panel lines on car bodies. They come in a rainbow of colours, solving the problem of black shutlines looking too exaggerated on a yellow or red car, for example...

 

Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil are great for engine washes, and the blue and violet can be used for heat effects...

best,

M.

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30 minutes ago, Troy Smith said:

a different acrylic type, Tamiya is a laquer soluble acrylic, (some people spray it with cellulose thinners)  so you could use Vallejo, Humbrol or Revell which are water type,  you can use Kleer to make a wash,

Got this one from roy Sutherland

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hyperscale/roy-sutherland-s-johnson-klear-wash-t239748.html

note the youtube link

or vallejo make a glaze agent.

 

Alternately,  depending on what you have about, use enamel, or ideally oil paint, and thin with lighter fuel ( the zippo stuff),  which is extremely volatile,  and will makes a very thin wash,  thinner than using water and the solvent evaporates really fast.  

You can also easily remove it with a brush soaked in clean lighter fuel,  so if you run the side of the brush along the raised parts, it will remove any overwash, but leave in the cracks/depressions.  Can also act as a subtle colour modulation technique

panel line wash  as described used here

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235052380-hurricane-airfix-72nd-fabric-wing-mki-oob/&do=findComment&comment=3296243

 

Experiment on a test piece  first though.   

 

HTH

 

Thanks for the link to that video m8. I think that will be the next method I will try. I did think about using Future but was worried about having a too glossy finish. I'm probably worrying too much.

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2 minutes ago, WozzaUK said:

I did think about using Future but was worried about having a too glossy finish. I'm probably worrying too much.

just use a matt vanish.   Also, @cmatthewbacon  builds a lot of cars!

If you do cars, you may well find this of interest/use

and welcome to the forum

 

cheers

T

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46 minutes ago, cmatthewbacon said:

Citadel: find your local Games Workshop stockist and buy some “Shade”; Carroburg Crimson or Reiklan Fleshshade, depending whether you want deep red or slightly browner. These colours are great for wash on upholstery, and for shutlines/panel lines on car bodies. They come in a rainbow of colours, solving the problem of black shutlines looking too exaggerated on a yellow or red car, for example...

 

Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil are great for engine washes, and the blue and violet can be used for heat effects...

best,

M.

Thanks m8. Yes I have a couple of the citadel paints just not in red and they are water based so should be fine I imagine. I was just trying to avoid buying more paint again. 😂

 

Would I need to thin them to use as a wash or straight from the bottle? Also how well do they go down into the fine detail?

 

Lastly, for an engine would Nuln Oil or Agrax Earthshade be better?

 

EDIT: Also another question, I see they both have 'Gloss' versions. I assume for an engine I would use matt and for a pin wash on a car body I would use gloss? Tx.

 

😀

Edited by WozzaUK
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Hi, chaps. @WozzaUK the Citadel washes are designed to emphasise detail. They seek out corners and engraved lines and settle in there. Don’t need any dilution... the viscosity is part of how they work. If you only buy one for engine washes, get the Nuln Oil, but the two in combination are better — and after ten years I’ve only just had to start new supplies of each, so that’s about £1 per year... One good brushful top and bottom will do a whole 1/24 engine. 

 

One tip: when you’re washing an engine, turn it upside down first and then wash it. That way, the “shadow” wash will end up “under” the detail, not above it...

 

best,

M.

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1 minute ago, cmatthewbacon said:

Hi, chaps. @WozzaUK the Citadel washes are designed to emphasise detail. They seek out corners and engraved lines and settle in there. Don’t need any dilution... the viscosity is part of how they work. If you only buy one for engine washes, get the Nuln Oil, but the two in combination are better — and after ten years I’ve only just had to start new supplies of each, so that’s about £1 per year... One good brushful top and bottom will do a whole 1/24 engine. 

 

One tip: when you’re washing an engine, turn it upside down first and then wash it. That way, the “shadow” wash will end up “under” the detail, not above it...

 

best,

M.

Thanks m8. I'll probably get some tomorrow.

 

Also great tip.

 

Wozza.

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engine-in-place-from-rear-L.jpg

Nuln Oil

 

transmission-L.jpg

 

Earthshade

 

engine-done.jpg

 

a bit of both...

 

Unless you know for sure the real thing's been polished or painted, hit your main engine parts with Humbrol 56 aluminium spray, which is matt, then wash it with one or both Citadel colours, and it'll look like a well maintained but older bit of machinery...

 

best,

M.

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Thanks m8. At the moment I'm into the Alclad range. I've bought 3-4 of the different shades so will keep using them until they're gone. I've been using Alclad aluminium for engine blocks, which looks pretty good imo. That Humbrol looks good for a flat aluminium however.

 

Good news is I ordered some Nuln Oil last night so I will look forward to seeing how it goes down on the Alclad. I'll let you know what I think. 😎 Anything must be better than the acrylic-water mix.

 

Also what do you think about MIG enamel wash over alclad? I didn't try it because I thought it would be too hot but funnily enough I now realise it should have been too hot for the Tamiya acrylic too but that worked fine. I suppose I should try a test piece.

 

Wozza. 😀

 

 

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