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I know some people swear by this stuff due to the fact that it does a wash and varnish at the same time. What I want to know is how well does this stuff protect the figure after it's been applied? Since I'm starting metal minis, I'm looking for the best possible way to protect their paintjobs. Would this be the way to go along with an additional coating from a matte spray, or should I just not bother with it and do what I've been doing and just use a matte sealer by itself?

You'll generally want to matte spray it anyway because it's shiney.

Well, yeah. But would the quickshade actually do a better job protecting my mini's paint than if I just did the matte spray?

Yes, but the final finish off the quick shade is shiney. As such you will still need to matte spray it to remove the shiney effect.

The gloss isn't an issue. I already knew about that beforehand. So, next question, which of the three colors works best as a general shade? Most of my models have a tendency to wind up being grey, so I'm not sure which would be the best choice to use with that.

I've used dark tone on one squad of dark angels marines. It does provide a durable coat over the paint and should protect well. For a gray paint I'd try dark tone on a test model...strong tone has a pretty strong brown hint in it that might distort your gray a little bit.

Generally, use dark tone on marines, medium tone on fleshy models. So medium on orks and tyranids, dark for space marines and necrons.

Or just use: Minwax Polyshades: Tudor Satin for all and enjoy the lower price and glorious shading.

 jlong05 wrote:
Or just use: Minwax Polyshades: Tudor Satin for all and enjoy the lower price and glorious shading.

Do you have any pictures to show of models you used it on? I'm still a bit leary about using other kinds of paints or dips....

I prefer the Walnut Minwax Polyshades, used here over desert yellow. Tudor is good, but not quiiite as flexible IMO.

And for the record, OP, a dip is not a "wash" exactly. It behaves differently on the model.

The effects seem similar to a wash from what I've seen of them. So, would you guys recommend the Minwax or similar floor polish over the Army Painter stuff? I'm thinking I may need to go by the hardware store this weekend.

A wash is just that, a wash. Basically, just a watered down pigment. You could get the same effect by taking any other paint and watering it down.

A dip is different because it also has a varnish and is more than just paint. The effect comes out to look the same, but there are important differences.

 magless wrote:

 jlong05 wrote:
Or just use: Minwax Polyshades: Tudor Satin for all and enjoy the lower price and glorious shading.

Do you have any pictures to show of models you used it on? I'm still a bit leary about using other kinds of paints or dips....

Not the best lighting, but here are some grey knights I did a while back.

The GKpa were all dipped and spun off. The Chimeras were brushed on. Not as good brushing on, but you use a lot less material.

it's good protection. like a thick hard candy shell is a good way to describe it.

the bad part is it fills in all the details. ya, details are shaded now, but they're also filled in.

kb305 wrote:
the bad part is it fills in all the details. ya, details are shaded now, but they're also filled in.

If the details are filled in, then you're doing something wrong.


Yes dipping protects your models better than simple varnish, but it's still not magical : let your metal mini fall to the floor and it will be turned to pieces the same way, dipped or not. It prevents from scratches and so, however.
And as stated before, Quickshade is just more expansive wood-stain. I use wood stain from a DIY store and it works just as well, except I got 2,5 liters for a lower price than an army painter pot.

An example, you can see other dipped models in my orks gallery :

 Barzam wrote:
The effects seem similar to a wash from what I've seen of them. So, would you guys recommend the Minwax or similar floor polish over the Army Painter stuff? I'm thinking I may need to go by the hardware store this weekend.

Yes. Army Painter is nearly indistinguishable from minwax polyshades for 3 times the price.

As far as behavior goes, dip flows differently and doesn't sink into crevasses as much as washes. It's slightly more self leveling and it creates a smoother blend from recess to sharp edges where washes will often make hard lines where the fluid pooled.

I use the minwax polyshade on my nids - they look great.

I have tried the army painter stuff, and its fine...it is slightly thinner - (this could be a good thing) but is expensive.

One thing - do a test mini - most of these shades use some sort of "brown" in them...so make sure you like the color change.

Oh definitely. I was trying to figure out what to use as a test figure today at work. I went by a Lowes tonight after dinner to see if I could find that Minwax. I did find it, but naturally no Tudor. Plenty of browns and Classic Black Gloss. Real downside though was that they only had larger cans and they were $16. I can't say I feel very much like ordering the stuff online. I'm going to see if I can find the Army Painter stuff tomorrow.

Which one you pick *does* make a difference, but the funny thing is they all turn out fine on anything, so you don't have to fret too much about which one to get.

I got the dark one and was not recommended to use it on skin. Wasn't an issue for me, since I have helmets on basically every single one of my miniatures. But then I got one without, and his head turned out awesome after dipping, I think. Seen below.

(I only used the dip on his head and weapon, for various reasons.)

And as far as protection goes, I expect I can hurl my plastics at people without breaking them after this treatment.

 Barzam wrote:
Oh definitely. I was trying to figure out what to use as a test figure today at work. I went by a Lowes tonight after dinner to see if I could find that Minwax. I did find it, but naturally no Tudor. Plenty of browns and Classic Black Gloss. Real downside though was that they only had larger cans and they were $16. I can't say I feel very much like ordering the stuff online. I'm going to see if I can find the Army Painter stuff tomorrow.

They carry the medium cans at walmart for 8 dollars. Tudor and Walnut are both good.

I've dipped a few hundred figures at this point. I just wanted to add a few things.

1) You can usually find Tudor at "Ace" Hardware. If they don't have it they will order it for you. Usually comes in a couple of days.

2) For those overseas, if you buy a product that is not army painter, make sure it is a stain AND polyurethane in one. Products with Just stain will get you most of the way there, but the Polyurethane addition is a big part of what makes it settle in a "shading"-like way.

3)As others have said, Models can still separate, but a thick coat of polyurethane (which is what Polyshades or Quickshade will give you) is just about the best protection against chipped paint.

4) Lastly, it's not just a wash. It also gives you:
-A highlight-like effect as it settles away from the edges.
-A shading effect as the polyurethane distributes the stain across surface in a different way than a regular wash

Both of the above effects are much more apparent when you prime with white and use paints a shade or two lighter than usual.

Also I've got a pretty thorough guide to brush dipping here.
http://chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com/2012/01/with-liberty-and-brush-dipping-for-all.html

The above guide is great. I've had it bookmarked for awhile.


One thing to note as well - when you first apply the dip, either by dipping or brushing, you can easily take it off with a wet paper towel. Just a dab and a small rub and it will come off. That's very useful - on my DA tacs I didn't want the dip over the white shoulder insignia, and after dripping just wiped the dip off the shoulder pad.

Yes. I use the corner of a shop towel to wick away excess and it works like a charm. Just dip something absorptive into any bulbs or puddles of the dip and it sucks it up pretty effectively.

No matter how careful you are, there will always be some spots where it pools up too much and you'll need to dab it off.

For removing the excess dip I just use the same brush that I applied it with. Just wipe the brush off on a newspaper.

How do you strip it if you need to repaint/

 loki old fart wrote:
How do you strip it if you need to repaint/

Most of the paint stripping solutions still work. You'll probably need to leave it in for longer, and details may not get completely cleaned out. You should try to paint it right the first time

 loki old fart wrote:
How do you strip it if you need to repaint/

Most regular stripping agents (simple green, LA Totally awesome, Purple power, etc...) don't do much against the polyurethane coating of dip itself, but they will break down the bond between the paint and the model and the paint and the dip.

Take a wire brush and give the model a little scrubbing. the dip won't usually come right off, but the wire brush will abbrade the poly and let the stripping agent in to do it's work. It may take a bit longer and more soaks, but you can strip figs that have been dipped.

Alternatively, if the figs are metal, you can just use a really strong stripper like Oven Cleaner or MEK, but make sure you take proper precautions. Those are nasty chemicals.

Okay, so, new question about techniques involving dipping. When is it best to add edging and highlights? Armypainter themselves even suggest doing it in addition to the dip, but don't say when to do it. Would it be best to add the highlight before or after the dip?

I prefer to do it BEFORE dipping.
The less work I have to do after the dip, the better it is because :
- it is harder to paint over the stain (paint adherence)
- the stain also acts as a super tough varnish, then it's better to have it over your paint ^^

 Barzam wrote:
Okay, so, new question about techniques involving dipping. When is it best to add edging and highlights? Armypainter themselves even suggest doing it in addition to the dip, but don't say when to do it. Would it be best to add the highlight before or after the dip?

Either is fine. It depends on what effect you are going for. I don't do alot of true highlighting, but I've added drybrushing before and after dipping.

I don't have a picture of a pre-dip highlight which tends to be a bit more muted, but here's a post-dip drybrush. It stands out more, but it's a nice effect for the quills of an echidna.


I painted right over the dip, but if you are concerned about paint adhering to the dip, you can give it a shot of matte varnish first to provide the paint with a surface that has a bit more "tooth".

Also, remember that if you prime with white and then use brighter shades than usual, you may get enough contrasts that highlighting seems unnecesary. This dwarfs has no highlights, just brighter colors white with Minwax Polyshades Antique Walnut (roughly equivalent to Strong Tone). Yet the contrast on the beard and cloak are pretty strong.