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I'm not sure if people actually do this or not, but when it came to mind, I couldn't think why not. Also, this idea came to mind since I was considering painted the dreaded yellow of the Imperial Fists.
1. Mix yellow washes until shade is correct (if needed) and dilute with some water

2. Prime models white

3. Leave model in a bowl of the yellow wash until stained the desired yellow

4. Paint details, etc

Can you all tell me why or why not I should do this?

I mean, you could - dipping is a thing - but why not just paint it on?

You don't need to dilute the wash and you don't need to let it soak.

People just paint primed white models with washes.

You cn find pictures of AM soldiers with carefully applied green brown and flesh washes. Orks. All kinds of stuff. Mostly you can dilute any of your paints into a wash to get all the various colors you want. It creates natural highlights/shadows on it's own.

However, yellow might have a lot of trouble with it. You might want to add some orangy browns to the recesses after to help distiguish the darker areas. Yellow is hard to notice the changes with without it being an extreme change.

Red is also an issue because a diluted red over white is pink.

I know some people who used to do this with Eldar. The idea was they would get their base layer and some lines where the wash pooled in the recesses.

The problem was, the wash didn't cling to the recesses when it was submerged. It also didn't take when the models were pulled and allowed to dry. The coat would become uneven at the top after being pulled and you could see how the yellow was more intense on the legs / feet.

I wish I had some pictures, it's definitely an effect but not the one most 40k players go for. I would stick with painting on the wash or dipping the models, not soaking them for any length of time.

Why did I instantly imagine Space Marines painted up like Easter eggs?

I was painting a board and I tried diluting a wash in an attempt to extend my volume. Unfortunately the final product took on a milky appearance, so be careful with how much you dilute it.

You can work the other direction... buy straight artist's pigment and work on building up the volume by adding medium and flow aid until you get the right color density, coverage, and flow characteristics. Not sure how close you can get to Imperial Fists yellow, but it might not matter if you stay consistent in your recipe.