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Hey Dakka,

I've been having some issues with my inks.. and i'd really, really appreciate any help the painters out there can give me. Recently got back into painting after a few years, these are a first batch of Chaos Warriors i've started doing after a unit of chaos hounds and some single figures.

Normally I use inks in a couple of ways, obviously to add depth to the recesses of a model, but I also really like to use inks in the form of a glaze to help merge blends together and also to tint or 'deepen' the underlying colours. I find that most colours generally look deeper and more finished after a wash which is great.. except that on really smooth surfaces like the shield below my washes seem to be drying funny...

Check out the image of the shield below. it's not an amazing image but it does show what i'm talking about. There was initially a really smooth, flawless transition between the dark and the red/orange that was airbrushed on. What i'm trying to achieve is to deepen the orange colour with the wash but whats causing trouble is that the washes are drying funny and leaving these streaks, swirls and uneven drying patterns, and generally really messing with my new found painting zen!

The 1's are examples of the good areas that look good IMO, the areas where there's no 'opaqueness' or slight 'chalky-ness' to how the wash has dried; while in contrast the 2's are examples the areas that have dried a bit funny with the unwanted effects. Ok so looking at the image online it's way less obvious than in person but you can really see the effects at the very top of the shield in the pic.

I know this might even be a bit of a small thing for some people but I always try to paint to a very high standard and to me this effect is not really acceptable even at tabletop level.



Thoughts:
- Washes i'm using are citadel and mixed 50/50 with water which reduces the negative effect until multiple layers are built up. Painting the wash straight on makes the effect more noticeable.
- I get the same effect with different washes and pots, I have replaces all my washes but the effect still occurs.
- Thin/think coats don't seen to have an effect on the way it's drying I have tried both.
- The same effects occur with Vallejo washes I've tested this.
- Non wash paints seem to cover and dry as normal on the models.
- Models have been undercoated with Citadel Chaos Black Primer but the affect also happens over already painted surfaces.
- Can't be the water as I get the same effect with no additives.
- The example given was using Carrobourg Crimson and Nulin oil mix but i've found occurs with all the washes i've tried on these shields (about 6 different washes).

Possible Causes:
Atmosphere? - It's winter here right now and the house usually sits around 18 - 22 degrees Celsius, not sure if that would have an effect or not.
Possible that there's oil on the surface that's affecting drying? Would soap and water remove this possibility?

Im absolutely stumped as to what this might be, and how to fix it?? The other possibility is that this is just how washes dry on smooth surfaces and there's no problem but my expectations..? I guess any tips on how to fix this or alternative methods of deepening the colours without washes would be really fantastic.

Thanks!
Pete

Unless they're very old, Citadel don't make inks, they make washes, which have much more dilute pigment and an anti surfactant to encourage them to flow into recesses, making them no good for what you're trying to use them for.

If you don't have an easy access to other products, Citadel do now make a limited (4) number of glazes, otherwise Vallejo make proper bona fide inks alongside their washes, or just check out an art supply store for acrylic ink.

You can sometimes get pigmentation buildup on flat areas (I think it might be due to the wash drying reasonably slowly and the pigment settling and getting pulled around as the water in the solution dries).

You could potentially improve this by thinning with something other than water (such as an acrylic medium).

Angling the surface you are washing can also help - you want to avoid pooling as this can really increase your chance of getting uneven coverage.

Similarly, drawing off excess wash with a clean brush/cotton bud/etc can help potentially reduce the issue you are seeing.

My washes did the same thing, I tossed it and a new one was fine.

Adding lahmian medium is an interesting idea.

My solution was to heavily water down a paint and use that as a wash over the chalk, it mostly worked

Conversely, if you want to make nice Nurgly looking things, a nice thick layer of wash over flat surfaces can give a really good random looking layer of corrosion, especially if you do one surface at a time and lay the vehicle so the wash pools. It is what I do for my CSM vehicles.

Thanks for the input guys, all good suggestions.

Yep sorry I meant washes. I actually do still have citadel paints that are roughly 17ish years old that are actually still going, so I do still have generations of old inks left, however the ones im using are the latest generation of washes. I have also tested the new 'bloodletter' glaze which unfortunately did the same thing with drying effects.

I revisited an older metal last night model and coated one of it's smooth surfaces which dried exactly as it should have.. so now im thinking that it might be the super smooth surfaces of the newer plastic figures given most of my tests/issues have been done on shields which are very smooth.. Im literally just about to test roughing up the surface with 1200 grit wet/dry paper and then painting to see if that has any effect on the finish given the metal model would have had a rougher more porous surface than the plastic.

I'll report on the results when I see them.

I think if I can't resolve the issue soon, the other alternative might be mixing my own with pigments and medium.. but i'll have to do more tests before I abandon washes all together.

Good suggestion about pooling, however iv already tested this and even slightly thinker coats don't affect things, I always ensure the wash coats are thin and super even.