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Quickshade is expensive... is there anything out there that is cheaper, that does the same?
I'm specifically looking for strong tone

Thanks
austin

these were done with a water-based wood stain varnish:

 Redbad wrote:
Quickshade is expensive... is there anything out there that is cheaper, that does the same?
I'm specifically looking for strong tone

Thanks
austin

The origins to the technique was Minwax poly shade IIRC. i think walnut was decent. try and look it up. but it requires a LOT more fiddling to get right.

MinWax Polyshades (stain + varnish) were the original. I forget what the color matches are, though.
However, the AP Quickshade does have better performance, as it is formulated for model dipping.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
MinWax Polyshades (stain + varnish) were the original. I forget what the color matches are, though.
However, the AP Quickshade does have better performance, as it is formulated for model dipping.

Its matchable by thinning properly but i dont recall the proper thinner and ratios which is the important part.

Hopefully somebody who knows the thinning ratios comes along.
The $8 for varnish is much more favorable than the $30 for quickshade

Thanks
Austin

It's not quite as straightforward as a quickshade but have you considered satin varnish then an oil wash to shade? It works out very cheap indeed.

farseer kyladras wrote:
It's not quite as straightforward as a quickshade but have you considered satin varnish then an oil wash to shade? It works out very cheap indeed.

It doesn't particularly do the same thing.

Oil washing will get all the recesses just fine (and personally think it looks better)

But a Dip will leave a thicker poly coat as well as pool mostly on the underside to look like shading (VIA gravity).

Both need another varnish layer to remove the shine.

I use Minwax Polyshades Satin without thinning. As near as I've been able to determine the Quickshade-to-Polyshades equivalents are as follows:
Dark Tone - Tudor Tudor does have a tiny touch of brown but they're both primarily black-based stains.
Strong Tone - Antique Walnut
Soft Tone - Pecan

Tudor is my favorite brush-dip, but Antique Walnut is very good also.

You can see my complete guide to brush-dipping and examples of these in use at the link in my sig.

Just out of curiosity, how many models are you painting up?

The can-sized Quickshade is $30 MSRP and like, a lifetime supply for most people. I'm just guessing, but it will shade.... hundreds... of infantry. At least!

Even the little $3 bottles of Army Painter are something like 20ml and last a very long time.

I use minwax polyshade for terrain. I like terrain that is pretty heavily washed to get it looking dull and dirty. Conveniently the hardware shop also has plenty of shades of spray paint as well as sample pots to dry brush on the highlights.

Part of having to hobby to a budget is knowing when to go with quality and when to go with quantity.

All my orks minwax poly shade royal walnut
Salamanders antique walnut

 Talys wrote:
Just out of curiosity, how many models are you painting up?

The can-sized Quickshade is $30 MSRP and like, a lifetime supply for most people. I'm just guessing, but it will shade.... hundreds... of infantry. At least!

Even the little $3 bottles of Army Painter are something like 20ml and last a very long time.

Some folks might be lucky or especially careful, but a can of Quickshade is likely to go bad (Dry out or thicken) long before folks use it up. Also, why pay $30 when you can pay $8 or less for the same amount of the product folks were using for dipping long before Quickshade existed? Plus, you can get two different shades for about half the cost of one can of Quickshade.

I use minwax polyshades and thin it with mineral spirits. There was a tutorial that was done and suggested to get it to a milky consistency. A bottle of mineral spirits and minwax is like $10 and will shade everything you want ever.

@Eilif - yeah, for sure, I can't imagine someone using an entire can of quick shade. I have never bought one (as I don't dip) but I have bought plenty AP shade in dropper bottles, and the mileage is excellent. Great stuff for terrain.

As some others have pointed out, it isnt all the same, but I guess I'd a $8 product does the job for you, awesome!