Acrylic Washes - Do They Work?

[fishplanebeer]

As I always use enamel paints and varnishes (Humbrol, Xtracolor, Colourcoats) I'm wondering if applying an acrylic wash would work as this would presumably not eat or damage the oil base. By acrylics I'm referring to the Winsor & Newton artist painting stuff that comes in tubes the same as their oil paints but thinned with either water or possibly a brand (Testors, Xtracrlix, Tamiya) of acrylic thinner.

 

Would this work similar to applying an oil wash over an acrylic/non-enamel gloss varnish?

 

Regards

Colin.

[Bangseat]

Just spotted this, sorry you've not had a response. I would say, a general no to acrylic washes. The key with a wash is to be able to remove excess, and acrylic dries quickly making it very difficult not to leave (unwanted) stains. There is a Citadel product called Lahmian medium, which you use to thin acrylic and make a wash, works well for figures but I found it a bit gloopy when used on undercarriage. 

 

A clay based wash - basically pigment in water with flow improver - such as Flory Models wash is your friend. Totally wipeable-offable (if used on a gloss surface - it will get into the texture of a matt finish) and being water based will not attack an enamel surface.   

[bmwh548]

Ammo's shaders work like that and you can wipe the excess. Presumably you can wash it away completely in the first 24 hours if you're not happy with it. After a few hours (got distracted) it was really hard to remove the excess, but if you work fast (10-20 minutes) it's very user friendly.

[ckw]

Water color paint works well - cheap, readily available and easy to remove

 

Cheers

 

Colin