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I find that when I use a wash, sometimes I get a shiny finish with the wash's color getting in the recesses with no real transition, and other times I get a dull finish with a far more smooth transition between the darker recesses and the higher surfaces. Both look nice, but I don't get what causes the difference in finish even though i'm doing the same thing as far as I'm aware. Can someone who knows more about painting tell me what is happening here?

I have a similar phenomenon occur. For the most part, I get the dull (desirable) finish, but every so often I get the glossy (undesirable) finish. I can't really figure out why this is happening either. I have had one instance of the two intermixed together (my poor Stormtalon had the dull finish with some glossy spots on it).

I have found that if I use too little wash a lot of times, it goes glossy, and if I use a good dollop from the start, it dries down to a more dull finish.

YMMV.

1) Shake your washes well before using them. Sometimes they will seperate and create a glossy finish. This seems to happen with GW's Nuln Oil a lot.

2) Don't let it pool and dry too thick in crevices. This can also create shiney areas. Wick off the extra with a brush (and do it quickly as if it sits there for more than a minute or so, you'll get a ring around where the pool was).

 Maelstrom808 wrote:
1) Shake your washes well before using them. Sometimes they will seperate and create a glossy finish. This seems to happen with GW's Nuln Oil a lot.

2) Don't let it pool and dry too thick in crevices. This can also create shiney areas. Wick off the extra with a brush (and do it quickly as if it sits there for more than a minute or so, you'll get a ring around where the pool was).

I am pretty sure this is what happened to my poor Stormtalon. It was the first blue miniature I had painted in quite some time, so the wash had sat for a while.

Use Testor's Dull Cote Spray Lacquer... this eliminates this problem and protects your minis.