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Specifically the gem technical paints from GW.

Could you use them over a metallic undercoat to make, for example, a metallic red shade on armor?

Given that the way they're sold is to be painted over a metallic overcoat and that the pics on the webstore don't look metallic I'm going with no.


For a metallic red mix some red into a silver colour, use a heavy wash over silver, a clear paint over silver or get an actual metallic red paint (vallejo or Scale75 are probably your best bet there).

 lord marcus wrote:
Specifically the gem technical paints from GW.

Could you use them over a metallic undercoat to make, for example, a metallic red shade on armor?

No. You are supposed to use a bright metallic under the gem paints by default as it is supposed to give the gem a reflective quality.

What you are looking for is to either mix a metallic with a pigment/tint to turn the normal metal into a colored metal. I'm certain a lot of miniature paint companies such as Vallejo sell tints, but here is GW's as you were asking about their paint specifically

Otherwise, a cheaper alternative I was told about, but havent had a chance to try yet, is to paint up the parts you want to be a colored metal as just a plain bright metal and then put the correct color of glaze over it. So you would say paint a silver, give it a wash to add shading, then do your edge highlights, and after all that is done lay on a red glaze such as GW's Bloodletter.

I believe he's going for a candy effect, not a colored metallic.

If you're going for a candy effect (Like heresy era Thousand Sons) then I'd say go for it. A bronze/gold undercoat with a few layers of the red clear paint (mix in a little medium to make it go further) and they look awesome.

Now I'm going to step in here because there's a bit of something that needs to be added.

You don't need to use them over metallics, but you won't get the same effect. Now, if you go and get yourself a pearl paint, you can use that as well if you want a much brighter red.

Over normal colours, you get a colour tinting. It's also a glossy paint, so you can use it to give some things a lacquered look as well.

If you're looking to do the Candy Red a lot of Thousand Sons use, you actually want a Gold coat under the Waystone Red, and shade it with Druchii Violet before you apply that. That's one of the techniques I've seen.

The picture here is one of my own doing. The base under these flames is Black, and the flames themselves are White with a Pearl highlight in spots, and a light Grey with Runefang highlights in the darker pieces of the flames. I hit the whole shoulderpad with Soulstone Green afterwards, and that's where the glossy look comes from.

If it is candy colours you're looking for, so far as I'm concerned there's only way to go - Tamiya.

And if you're going for that, you'll need an airbrush.

Pricey, but totally worth it.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
If it is candy colours you're looking for, so far as I'm concerned there's only way to go - Tamiya.

And if you're going for that, you'll need an airbrush.

Pricey, but totally worth it.

I wouldn't say you necessarily need an airbrush, it depends what you're painting.

Excuse the poor quality, I wasn't planning on uploading this as the model is below my usual standard as this dude was "speed painted", but this is just Tamiya Clear Red painted with a hairy brush over Leadbelcher that was also hairy brush painted and drybrushed with Runefang Steel, I then just roughly went around the edges of panels with Runefang steel again to make it look like the paint had been rubbed off the edges. The yellow metal parts are the same but using Tamiya Clear Yellow.

It's kind of hard to capture a candy effect in a photo, but when you see him in the flesh he has a nice candy to him.

It's intentionally a bit rough because, well, it's an Orc

+1 on not needing an airbrush, you'll want one for anything with large flat surfaces but otherwise this is brushed on Tamiya clear red.



The base is gold (this is airbrushed as I used that to pre-shade but could easily brush it). 'Old Gold' & 'Burnt Umber' VMA paints 50-50, highlight 'Old Gold' then a 50-50 mix of 'Old Gold' and 'Aluminium'

Then the red is brush painted over, thinned slightly with Tamiya thinner to get it to play nicely, two, three coats in places.

Its amazingly glossy, Use this sort of stuff for gem stones as well.

If you airbrush it you can end up with a hammered finish though.

Brushing it is vastly easier on infantry type models, just expect to have to dilute it (don't use water, they are alcohol based) and put a very small amount on your palette, and don't use it when it starts to go thicker - the shoulder pads above were painted first, the smaller areas after as the paint started to thicken.

These have an oil wash over but you can see the base red effect

Thanks for the tips everyone!