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Hi dakka.

I'm looking at picking up some oil wash in the near future but i just had some questions about using it:

1) I picked up some white spirit today to use to thin the oil down. It's white spirit i need not surgical spirit, right? Always get those confused.

2) In terms of using my brushes, should i get one specifically for the oil paint or will an old one work fine? I dont want to use my good ones for it, but is there any need to pick up specific brushes for it?

3) Is cleaning my brushes in water - after using the oils - ok? I'm not sure why there is that doubt in my mind, but I have to ask just for a solid answer.

And the questions regarding cork:

1) How thick is good enough for 40k bases? I guess i could always layer it up if it was too small, but a good size indication would be very helpful.

2) Where, in the UK, would you suggest buying Cork? I've looked in B&Q and Wickes to no avail.

I appreciate all the help you guys will give me, and if you have any other advise about using oil paints/cork - i'd love to hear it
Thanks alot,
Zambro

Not sure about cork, but for oils, white spirit is the right one, and use white spirit to clean to brushes aswell, water will not do anything.

Normal brushes will be fine, but I like nice stiff ones for oil, the point lasts longer and it's easier to mix the oils etc.

Good luck and enjoy them, oil paints are great, and alot less scary than people think.

1...yes, white spirits...turps...odorless turps.

2...Old one will work, but oils are really hard on soft, natural bristles like sable. Synthetics like a taklon or harder natual fiberare generally preferred for their durability.

3...No, water won't do much. Clean your brushes with the thinner you have chosen. After the brushes are cleaned, then you will need to condition them if you are using a natural bristle brush, as the turps will strip every last bit of oil from them and cause the brush to become a mess in short order.

And the cork...

1...A variety. I like getting things like bottle corks and breaking them up as opposed to cork tiles. Sometimes you want little bits, sometimes you want a big hunk.

2...Not sure about the UK, but in the US you can get bottle corks from most hardware stores as well as craft stores.

I've done abit of work with oil washes, I might not be best, but I'll tell you what I know

1) yes, you want mineral/white spirits
2) I think it's a synthetic brush you want to use with oils. I used one of my citadel basecoat brushes, it's not ruined now, but it's not acting like it did before hand.
3) I clean off in the spirits, and then rinse in water afterwards.

Edit: beaten by afew seconds on the reply.

Forgot to mention one other common source for cork.

Pet stores. They often have slabs of raw cork bark, as well as tubes for hides for snakes and lizards. It is the unprocessed bark off the cork tree, so you can break and cut it up as you need. You can get the same chunks as you do from the tiles and bottle corks, but you can also get much larger chunks out of it for things like boulders and cliff faces in terrain projects.

I've read (but haven't tried myself yet) that cork flooring tiles are the most suitable for thickness. They have already been sealed. I've seen them in Homebase, and Wickes allegedly stock them as well.

Hobbycraft sell cork sheets but they are are too thin for basing, I reckon. The only place I've seen wine corks was the homebrew section of Boots. I've arranged for a friend in a wine club to save corks for me. The cardboard from the wine delivery boxes is excellent stuff, BTW.

Thanks for the help guys.

I picked up a meter and a half long roll of cork, which is 3mm thick. It's perfect for basing and with so much, i'm set for life