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Hi, it seems that when i wash my models i hav to use more black wash than any videos i've seen to get an effect and i was jsut wondering if there is such a thing as too much black wash?

The real question is do YOU think there is such a thing as too much? If you find that you have to use a bunch to get an effect you are happy with, then go for it. You are the one who will be spending the most time looking at your miniatures after all. I personally prefer weathered and "dirty" miniatures.

Pics would help though.

I was thinking that but atm i am away from my models, btw do you mean pics of the models?

pics of your lunch. ofc pics of the models

i learnt this tip from somewhere off here, but if you put a tiny bit of washing up liquid in the wash, it helps a ton.

lol, will have to try that washing up liquid thing, do you think 2:1 badab to liquid or 3:1 b/l? or what?

can't have too much... cake that stuff on
thats what i do on my ork vehicles.
i use it on everything i paint pretty much i like the gritty and dark yet smooth finish it gives

from what i know the soap in washing up liquid kinda breaks the wash down, which reduces (or increases) the amount of surface tension the liquid can handle, basically making it more fluid..

It depends on what effect you'r after. If you want to dirty up the model then just go nuts. If you wanna darken joints/holes etc then just focus the wash in those places. Also (not to sure about this) depending on the paint you're washing the results can vary.

it gives it a much nicer wash- it runs down te gaps, and doesnt leave the nasty 'watery' marks you get from a standard home-brew wash

General somethingorother wrote:Hi, it seems that when i wash my models i hav to use more black wash than any videos i've seen to get an effect and i was jsut wondering if there is such a thing as too much black wash?

I assume you are trying to use the black to do shading on a model. Would help to know what the color scheme is since black wash looks really horrible on mostly all colors. If you are shading each recess with specific wash colors then just disregard my previous comment.

Black is a really really easy wash to "muddy" a model with. Personally I really only use it with gunmetal paintjobs.


./facepalm and FFS don't put soap in your wash. Its water based! I use a 1:1 mix of wash and water.

@agro - it breaks the surface tension of the water, making it more fluid. its not an equal amount either - 2:1 paint to water, then not even a 'High Detail' brush full. it saves you from having to put the wash over the tops off the 'spongey' bits on space marines (at the joints) so you still get the original colour with a black recess. same with hair. and it also dries grey, not black

Does washing up liquid not increase the ammount of bubbles tho?

Not drastically. Not unless you use too much of it.

If there are Air Bubbles, just blow gently on them and they'll disappear!

Matrim wrote:@agro - it breaks the surface tension of the water, making it more fluid. its not an equal amount either - 2:1 paint to water, then not even a 'High Detail' brush full. it saves you from having to put the wash over the tops off the 'spongey' bits on space marines (at the joints) so you still get the original colour with a black recess. same with hair. and it also dries grey, not black

Hmm, good to know. I was talking about wash, not paint though.


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General somethingorother wrote:Does washing up liquid not increase the ammount of bubbles tho?

Don't worry too much about the bubbles in wash....it will flow and settle as it dries. As long as you don't "flood" the model you should be OK.


I would again strongly caution using black as a primary shading color in every paint scheme though.

Black wash FTW. I often do 6-7 layers of Badab Black, on everything more or less. I think of it as easy mode painting.

I always shake my washes before use

Lars wrote:Black wash FTW. I often do 6-7 layers of Badab Black, on everything more or less. I think of it as easy mode painting.

Wow. That's a lot of washes. Do you have gallery pics of this technique? Parts of this guy, perhaps?

I've used several layers of black wash (5-10) to take a white undercoat to a a nice and dark blacky-grey before. Gives it lots of depth and looks so much better than simply highlighting black.

kronk wrote:

Lars wrote:Black wash FTW. I often do 6-7 layers of Badab Black, on everything more or less. I think of it as easy mode painting.

Wow. That's a lot of washes. Do you have gallery pics of this technique? Parts of this guy, perhaps?

Yep, that's one of my shrikes and my general colour theme. All these layers are, as you probably expect, there to make the highlights blend more with the basic colour. However, on these wings I think I only did 3 layers.

Nice job, man.

Thanks It was my first serious attempt to paint "well", or at least.. well, paint, hehe. I'm pleased with the result.