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So I am looking to do a "negative" paint scheme. I want most of the surface to be smooth black with bright blues, oranges, and reds as my outline. I have tried making a wash of the bright colors to let them settle into the crevices, and it has worked to some extent so far. The problem is that it leaves color "scuffs" and lines before bleeding down into the crevices. Normally I would just re-base coat to clean it up, but I am applying my base coat with an airbrush and I hate ruining that perfectluy smooth base with brush strokes (and my brush color is different from my airbrush color ever so slightly). What can I do to make my wash "smoother"?

currently I use GW paint, matte medium and distilled water

Thanks

I'd suggest glossing the basecoat, then applying your bright colours with oils, as for an oild wash for panel lines etc, just a bit heavier on the paint in the mix.

You MUST use a good acrylic gloss for this; it's imperative that the thinners you use for cleanup not attack it. Future floor polish works pretty well, but do allow the gloss to cure for at least 24 hours before messing about on it.

if I wanted to continue using acrylic paint to make my wash, what would you recommend? Would dry retarder help?

Nah, dry retarder can be hazardous stuff. 1 drop too many and your wash will NEVER DRY! (*evil laugh here*)

If you want to keep with acrylics, mix some flow-aid with distilled water (10:1 water to flo aid) and thin your paint down to the appropriate wash consistency.

Or

Gloss coat your mini. Thin the acrylic paint down with straight rubbing alcohol. Works quite similarly to an oil based liner wash.

But...
What I would advise would be to drop the acrylic paint altogether, and do something pretty similar.

Go to Michaels/Joannes/similar arts crafts shop and take a look at their inks. besides the typical sepia, black, purple, their are lighter colors. Yellow, Orange, Red, etc.

Then, follow these directions:
http://www.awesomepaintjob.com/index.cfm/resources.recipes

---2 cents given, good luck

Thanks for the advice. I have made some of les' wash before. Works very well. I have to stick to acrylic because I need to brush paint some parts and it needs to match my washs. The likelyhood of finding a color match is unlikely.

Try using weathering powders instead.