Best all-round wash?

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**Steve.C**

I'm at the stage in my painting career where I decide that my models would probably look better if I began washing them to produce shading. Because I do not wish to spend a thousand pounds on many different kinds of wash, I am only going to buy one. I was thinking Badab black, but does anybody have any suggestions first?

**Azazelx**

People seem to swear by Devlan Mud for the most general-purpose shading, but it really depends on what you're painting.

**AustonT**

dark umber

**RaptorsTalon**

Devlan Mud is a really useful wash and can be used for so many different things.

**Kimzi Caky**

Devlan Mud is great. It seems to go well with just about anything, but it does smell funky.

**Winter**

Buy some Payne's Grey Paint, make your own wash and profit.

It will shade all tones including cool ones, unlike Devlan mud which will only do warm tones well.

Failing that there is a Vallejo Model Colour paint called Smoke. That would work similarly.

**Haruko**

Depends on what you're gonna paint first

**crisps not chips**

You are really only going to get one? Get Devlan mud, it is really useful, and make them from the other paint you have aswell. Badab black is also good but it reall depends what you are mainly painting. I have got shed loads of guardsmen to paint and use a lot of browns, yellows and greens. Yellow ink from the old GW range is a great glaze colour I think.

**MaximusPrime**

Devlan mud

**IK-Painter**

Try Awesomepaintjobs Soft Body Black Wash - shades great and doesn't compromise the base colors.

If you don't want to mix it yourself, Secret Weapon Miniatures sell them premixed.

Cheers,

IK-Painter

**taopaipai18**

Devlan Miracle i also really like Coat d'arms 133 flesh wash

**Bat Manuel**

Devlan Mud hasn't disappointed me yet.

**RossDas**

Delvan Mud and Badab Black are really useful.

Does anyone know if there's any downside to just watering down whatever colour you deem best and using that instead of buying the pre-made ones? I've been doing that for a while now with no noticeable ill effect but was wondering if there's any real difference besides having to judge the consistency?

**martian_jo**

RossDas wrote:Delvan Mud and Badab Black are really useful.

Does anyone know if there's any downside to just watering down whatever colour you deem best and using that instead of buying the pre-made ones? I've been doing that for a while now with no noticeable ill effect but was wondering if there's any real difference besides having to judge the consistency?

I'm a horrible judge of consistency and always seem to mess up when trying to make a wash version of a color I'm using. Other than that I've noticed very little difference to using a genuine GW wash. (I'm terrible at either

I would say I overuse Devlan Mud, it does warm shading really well, and when I want to do cool shading I either add a dab of blue to it, or use black india ink. I have several jars of regular black for drawing and they serve double duty on my minis.

You can get different colors of ink at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or whatever craft stores you have in your area for a couple bucks a jar that will give you the versatility to tackle anything. Get a warm shade, a cool shade, and black and you're set and you spent about as much as you would on one pot of GW wash.

**Ouze**

If I could only have one wash, then I guess it would be Devlan Mud.

But that's kind of a weird dilemma, isn't it? You say you don't want to pay "thousands of pounds" on washes, but that's not really the situation. They only make 8 different washes. Out of those, in my experience, I rarely use Gryphonne Sepia and Ogryn Flesh. Baal Red is pretty underwhelming. So that knocks out 3 right there.

Thraka Green and Leviathan Purple are both excellent washes, but if you do neither Orks nor DE\Tyranids, you might not need either. Asurmen Blue is kind of in the middle. It's a good wash if you have Ultramarines, and a glaze of it is very useful for guns and Grey Knights.

So the ones I'd say you MUST have are Devlan Mud and Badab Black, and possibly Asurmen Blue.

**AustonT**

Really Ouze you don't like Gryphonne Sepia? It happens to be the only GW wash I'll buy again. Well, maybe leviathan purple if I can't mix it up myself.
Devlan mud is a pretty simple dark umber, extreemly useful for shading but not from GW.
badad black also simple, i use black washes over metallics mostly.
I'll be honest I've never even looked closely at Baal Red. GWs red ink was fething useless, chestnut and flesh wash were the only reds worth a damn.
Asurman Blue is pretty useful for shading whites. But there are better ways.
Oops didn't mean to jump in that deep.

**Sc077y**

well, it isnt a wash, but i am one of the diehard Chestnut junkies. for washes instead of inks, Devlan Mud is great, but asurman blue can give a nice cool tone if its watered down well, but it will affect your base colors.

i am also a big fan of vallejo smoke, as someone said earlier. everything from books to gold, this stuff does a great job of providing "weathering in a bottle" type of effect.

**AustonT**

I feel you Scotty chestnut was some primo gak, but alas I have given it up. There's better stuff out there these days, easier to make, better results, not OOP... I was incensed when I found out GW cancelled the inks in favor of washes, then I learned how to use them (and deal with the smell) and then make my own. GWs washes directly contributed to my learning a new and better aspect of painting, but the product it's not exactly the best out there.

**Steve.C**

After thinking about it, I think I'll go for Badab black. thanks for the tips, everyone.

**Ouze**

AustonT wrote:Really Ouze you don't like Gryphonne Sepia? It happens to be the only GW wash I'll buy again. Well, maybe leviathan purple if I can't mix it up myself.

I do like it, I just find it to be of limited usefulness. I tend to use it on golds, like chest aquillas, but thinned Devlan Mud works just as well in a pinch, and if I were looking to reduce my stock of washes as the OP is, I might omit it.

**AustonT**

If black is your huckleberry try this
http://www.thewarstore.com/product56405.html

Badab Black 2 quid for 12mL

Vallejo Black Wash about 5 quid for 200mL

@Ouze. Gotcha, that really all I use it for too, sometimes tanned skin, but I do a fair amount of gold so that may color my opionion.

**Ouze**

AustonT wrote:@Ouze. Gotcha, that really all I use it for too, sometimes tanned skin, but I do a fair amount of gold so that may color my opionion.

Yah, almost nothing I paid has a lot of gold. I think if I was a Blood Angel player doing those.... gold... guys, I'd probably get a lot more mileage out of it.

Thanks for the link to that Lavado Negro; I had never seen it before. I'm trying to get Les Bursley's recipes working for me at the moment with mixed success, and will try that as my next falback.

**Aerethan**

I use Les Bursleys recipe for sepia and black. Home made of course.

**Steelhalo**

Badab Black works really well as a clean shader.

**Dave-c**

There is only one wash I use. It is dirt cheap to make, I put it in a small glass jar so you can dip your infantry and presto change-o you just shaded an entire model.

I use a straight black dollar bin acrylic paint, a shade of paint called midnight blue, and a faux glazing medium.

2 parts black, 1 part blue, 3 parts glaze medium, 6 parts water, adjust to your taste.

You need the glazing medium because it does two great things. It prevents the mix from being too thin and running off the model which just makes it look dirty, and it seals in the paint job(great for metal models as it helps prevent chipping and peeling).

Here is what it finishes like:

Edit: to adjust the formula a hair and to add a results picture.

**orkork**

Devilin Mud is a pretty good general purpose wash. But it does depend on what you're painting. I've also found the Vallejo Inks/Air stuff work pretty well too.

**heavybolter**

Aerethan wrote:I use Les Bursleys recipe for sepia and black. Home made of course.

Same for me here, I love being able to adjust the intensity levels and flow properties of the home made washes on the fly. I just washed 3 Killa Kans using the Les Armor Wash and heavy Body Black, easily using about the equivalent to a half a bottle of Devlan Mud and badab black each. Plus you get the added ability to use the inks you buy to make them as well for other neat little effects..

**AustonT**

Ouze wrote:
AustonT wrote:@Ouze. Gotcha, that really all I use it for too, sometimes tanned skin, but I do a fair amount of gold so that may color my opionion.

Yah, almost nothing I paid has a lot of gold. I think if I was a Blood Angel player doing those.... gold... guys, I'd probably get a lot more mileage out of it.

Thanks for the link to that Lavado Negro; I had never seen it before. I'm trying to get Les Bursley's recipes working for me at the moment with mixed success, and will try that as my next falback.

If you PM me with your wash sennangians I may be able to help you out. I play with Les' recipe an awful lot but his actual mixes NEVER work for me so I have some interesting concoctions.
As a side note, I will never...EVER paint or play Sanguinary Guard. I was mostly talking about trim and icons and other fiddle fade on marines.

**fenrir1997**

Yep, top 2 are Devlan Mud and Badab Black.

I've used Gryphonne Sepia, Ogryn Flesh, and Leviathan Purple, and as they all have their own places in my tackle box, Devlan Mud and Badab Black are the top 2 in usefulness.

I wanna grab the mats for Les' washes, just haven't the time lately...

**wwwZugZugorc**

delvan butt mud
badab black
army painter quick shade (the one in the middle)