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So, i am about to start a few small new projects during summer hat require allot of shading / washing the miniatures. i like my own unique color mixes, and don't want to spend too much on citadel shades. At my local hobby store a guy who gives good painting advice said that i could make my own wash by diluting paint with water and adding a small drop of alcohol (like rubbing alcohol). SO i would assume it is the standard pharmacy 70% stuff. However when i got to my local pharmacy i was thrown for a curve-ball. It appears they have 2 different rubbing alcohols; ethyl, and isopropynol (both quite cheap). I have seen isopropynol used in other ways with mini painting and am wondering which one I should get.

Also are there any other more useful methods of making wash other than just diluting your paint with water? thx for the replies

I would use acrylic matte medium instead. You should be able to find it at Michael's or an art store. Add a touch of water/ isopropyl alcohol if it is still too thick.

Very watery paint has its uses, but won't behave like a proper wash without additives. In the case of the guy's recommendation, the rubbing alcohol is likely meant to lower the surface tension, allowing the wash to flow and pool. While it does have a lower surface tension than water, I don't imagine a single drop of isopropyl alcohol will have the same effect as a touch of dish soap, let alone a surfactant specifically formulated for painting. Some acrylic paints also react adversely to alcohol, gelling and becoming unusable goop. It can also strip unprotected acrylic if you aren't careful - I use it as a pigment fixer, but had to stop using it to make washes, as the brushing during application was enough to mar underlying layers.

Granted, I've never tried his method, so I may be wrong. Between my generally related experience and the scuttlebutt around the internet, though, I wouldn't expect great results.

Search for LBursley's wash recipe. It's far and away the most cited method for DIY wash-making. His washes are ink-based, though, and the method works best for creating large batches of frequently used colors, like if you plan to clone the GW line or want to wash down large terrain pieces or a gaming board. The key ingredients, though, also work with paint to achieve a similar effect.

Personally, I've started making small quantities of washes as I paint, adjusting what's already on my palette for more control and better color consistency. I mixed myself up a DIY glaze medium from matte medium, drying retarder, and a bit of flow aid and water (just a touch, to loosen up the mixture a bit - I adjust further with water while painting, if needed). When mixed with paint, it makes a glaze, and when watered down, it makes for a decent wash. The matte medium keeps your paint's pigment evenly suspended in the otherwise overly thin mixture, the drying retarder gives you time to cover larger areas without having to worry about tide marks, and the flow aid is a surfactant, allowing the wash to settle into the recesses properly.

Thanks for the answers! as many options as possible would be great!

The reason inks work best for washes is about viscosity vs pigment density. You will likely find that acrylic inks will be extremely fluid and also contain more pigment than most paints we're used to as modelers. Thats why just a few drops into a bottle of medium/water works well. For example my bottle of Liquitex Carbon Black remains very very solid black even at 50% dilution, you can tell the difference but not by a lot.
The Les's wash recipe uses pigment based acrylic inks (he suggests 'Daler Rowney FW ink' , I get along happily with 'Liquitex professional ink' Both are roughly equivalent to each other tbh.

Others have given you good advice here. In short, you can make a wash from any pigment source. The difference will be how well it covers, how well it flows, and how well it stays where you put it.

Inks have a lot of pigment for the volume, which is good. Acrylic mediums stay put better than water, which is good. Reduced surface tension helps the wash to flow better, which is good. The downside to all of these additives/mediums is that they cost more than acrylic paint cut with water and dish soap. YMMV, as they say.

For my own purposes, if I am washing to build up a finish I will use straight acrylics, cut with either water or medium depending on the surface I am applying to. I have also experimented lately with gouache watercolors as a pigment source, they are very opaque.

If I am washing to create definition and hard shadows, I use an oil wash or an acrylic medium wash.

Okay thanks guys! i think im ready to begin the shading! firstly will be some plaguebearers!

Personally, for most of the stuff I paint for myself, I have found that a straight mix of Acrylic paint (folk art or other craft paint), water and small amount of flow medium works just as well as the citadel washes, at least when the cost is taken into account. Maybe if cost was not an option i'd just buy the citadel stuff, but I'd rather buy some new minis than spend a ton on a wash...