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hi guys,

while painting my first salamanders terminator, I was inspired to try an oil wash instead of my usual badab black after watching this APJ video: http://www.awesomepaintjob.com/index.cfm/videos/view/h9lpguL4fgA

I don't have access to an air brush, so I brushed on a satin varnish from liquitex and let it dry for a few hours. I then mixed up a tiny dab of winsor & newton winton oil color #25 (lamp black) and several drops of weber turpenoid as a thinner. I have no idea if these are the right products to be using for this, but it was what my local art store had available.

on the palette, I noticed that the wash was a bit particulate once it was thinned down; it looked like it had a super-fine grain to it. I don't know if that's normal, if I used the wrong kind of paint or if I just didn't mix up the paint enough before thinning it out - totally new to oil-based media.

applying it to the model was magical... the wash just ran into every little nook and cranny right off the tip of the brush. seeing the final results, I think I either didn't apply it heavily enough or I thinned it out too much; it's lighter then what I was going for. I'm also a bit unhappy with the cleanup step. like in the video, I tried to rub down some of the flat surfaces where I'd gotten some of the wash with more turpenoid (is this the same thing as mineral spirits?) on a cotton pad and had to scrub pretty hard before the wash would come off. so hard, in fact, that my pad started to disintegrate and leave fuzz everywhere, so I had to change over to using a paper towel instead. I wasn't able to get all the wash off that I wanted to (you can see a bit of it on the lower leg armor, though the light's bad in the photos so it's not as obvious).

you can see the result of the wash here: http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-53748-23779_salamander%20terminator%20WIP.html (sorry for the crappy lighting/color; too lazy to set up my flash)

overall, I'm happy with the technique, but I'm hoping some folks can help me out with some of the issues I mentioned.

happy painting!

If you need to cleanup (for sharp panel lines) then gloss varnish is the way, rather than satin. Satin and matt both have a fine surface texture (matt more so) that will catch and keep the pigment.

Use the mildest oil medium you can get. Over here it's generally labelled as 'low odour thinner'.

I use oils for a kind of blending wash. I've used it on my night Lords and Word Bearers. Plus Cadmium Orange makes a great rust wash!

I would second the use of a gloss coat for your wash, it is easier to clean up and control that way. As far as the pigmented look that you are seeing, that means you are thinning it too much try a thicker application. Also, I have gotten great results with orderless mineral spirits, you can pick up a can of it at Home Depot for like 3 or 4$. Also, would recommend doing some spot washes to give some variety and texture to the finish. Take a look at this Karchev I was working on a while ago;





These were WIP photos but you can see how the concentrating the wash in certain areas creates some unique weathering effects. Also, I dont recall what color oil paint you are using, but green is a hard base color to work with, try mixing oils and coming up with different shades to achieve the look you are going for.

Ashton

winterdyne wrote:If you need to cleanup (for sharp panel lines) then gloss varnish is the way, rather than satin. Satin and matt both have a fine surface texture (matt more so) that will catch and keep the pigment.

Use the mildest oil medium you can get. Over here it's generally labelled as 'low odour thinner'.

good to know on the gloss. I should have guessed, since that's what the guy in the video used, but thought I'd try with satin first. live and learn the turpenoid thinner I'm using says it's an "odorless turpentine alternative". I'm guessing that's similar to what you suggested?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Redfinger wrote:I would second the use of a gloss coat for your wash, it is easier to clean up and control that way. As far as the pigmented look that you are seeing, that means you are thinning it too much try a thicker application. Also, I have gotten great results with orderless mineral spirits, you can pick up a can of it at Home Depot for like 3 or 4$. Also, would recommend doing some spot washes to give some variety and texture to the finish. Take a look at this Karchev I was working on a while ago;
...
These were WIP photos but you can see how the concentrating the wash in certain areas creates some unique weathering effects. Also, I dont recall what color oil paint you are using, but green is a hard base color to work with, try mixing oils and coming up with different shades to achieve the look you are going for.

gorgeous work

any idea what a good ratio for thinning oil-based paint down to wash consistency is? I think used about 1:5 paint to thinner. are the mineral spirits also a thinner or is that a different product entirely?

Sounds like you have the right stuff, ratio is hard to say, but if it works...
I think your only 'mistake' was the varnish type. Oils on matt and satin can be used for some beautiful oil staining and blend effects, but for sharp lining, you needed gloss.