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Quick question that may not lead a single answer.

I want to use citadel paints/washes on popsicle sticks. Do they take paint easily or will they absorb it?
Summary: Do I need to treat the sticks before using citadel paints on them?


Backstory: I've gotten a good percentage of my DOW2 Retribution Freebooter themed orks (striped pants and all) to the point where I want to start basing them. However, the way I plan to base them is not so simple.

To start out I want to form wooden planking for the floor of the bases, like the deck of a ship (pirate-y.) I was thinking popsicle sticks were an easy in to create the effect.
Then I want to create treasure piles for decoration. The piles could be small accents to the orks swimming/wading/sitting on them. Whatever my whimsey decides per model.

I am using the following tutorial for how to make my treasure piles.
http://www.terragenesis.co.uk/infopages/page443.html

I used some wood sticks (basically popsicle sticks but smaller) for trench basing and I didn't have any problems.

Yes.
You may need to lightly sand them to get them to take the paint - as they are often coated with a protective layer to stop over-absorption of the product they are usually stuck in. Food grade stuff tends to make paint not stick.

Like ALL wood products, though - the sanded ones WILL suck up paint.

A layer of watered down pva glue before painting will stop the wood from absorbing paint.

You probably want the wood to absorb the paint, and then give it a wash.

If you seal the wood it will end up not looking like wood.

Sand it and it'll absorb some acrylic paint. You might want to look into just regular wood stain if you're going to do a pirate ship.

If it were me I'd prime them and then paint over that, recreate woodgrain that way. Then again I tend to do things the hard and complicated way, even though I'm still not that good.

Crap. I've just built a fleet of ten big trakks / battlewagons, complete with about a thousand small popsicle stick spikes and panels and other gubbins. Its taken me dozens of hours and I haven't started painting them yet.

How fethed am I?

Any easy way to make this work? I want them to end up looking like metal pieces - is this the effect that the 'treated' but not sanded sticks will give when I paint them?

It should be fine. If you're worried, brush them over with watered-down PVA glue, or give them a spray of primer to see.

If you leave the sticks as they are they will be stained by the paint which gives a pretty realistic effect. If you do not want them looking stained, then just spray them with a primer. Also if you want the floor to look real woody you may need to scratch in some gain in the wood.