Premixed Oil and Enamel Washes for Blood Angels Weathering

[Cris R]

Hey folks, I want to experiment with using oil or enamel washes to paint up my Blood Angels Zone Mortalis force and wanted to know which oil washes from Scale 75 or enamel washes from AK Interactive Mig Jimanez would work best for getting a nice brown weathered look over dark red. I know folks can mix their own washes, but I want to improve my ability to paint with these washes first and then focus on creating my own mixes later. Folks have been telling the AK washes are good for this application, but I wanted to see what you guys think. Thanks!

[Marshal Vespasian]

I use enamel streaking grime for my imperial fists as Part pinwash Part Filter Part weathering. Dark Brown wash might also do Work for You.

 

I got a few AK washes and they are all great. Rust Streaks is also fantastic

Edited February 1, 2020 by Marshal Vespasian

[Brofist]

I use oils and I haven't found much difference in brands provided you're getting mid shelf stuff. For your blood angels I'd look for a dark brown color such as burnt umber and a near black like van dyke brown. Other colors that could work are iron oxide red or raw sienna.

[Cris R]

Thanks Brofist! Incidentally, I’ll be using your Zenithal guide as the foundation for painting my Blood Angels, so thanks for publishing it. Marshall, thanks for your tips as well, they’ll be helpful for completing my project.

[lionofjudah]

I'm a fan of Ammo by MiGs stuff (mainly for the sake of supporting the guy who started MiG and AK)... That being said, be sure to varnish your models before using oils and enamels as the thinners are stronger and can/will screw up your paint job under the oils/enamels.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!!

[armarnis]

That being said, be sure to varnish your models before using oils and enamels as the thinners are stronger and can/will screw up your paint job under the oils/enamels.

you CAN damage your paintjobs with white spirits, yes, but thats not a given if you know what you are doing.

first of all, its important to make sure the underlying layers of paint had enough time to cure. after that they are pretty resilient! i assume most people will use a q-tip (those you clean your ears with) drowned in white spirits and "wipe" away the excess and thats where the fairy tale of dangerous oils & enemals stems from in most cases.

that q-tip or rather the cotton on its end is not the softest, compared to a brush. its abrasive, otherwise it would not work for your ears. and that is dangerous to uncured layers of paint, especially if you combine it with the white spirits.

 

instead of "wiping" you should use light dabs of the cottonhead onto the modell and let the thinner do its magic alone. by the (very soft) pressure the thinner will he spread out a tiny bit, activating the enamels or oils and the now "empty" cotton sucks in the wash again, leaving it out in the panel lines, recesses etc.

[Marshal Rohr]

Also consider using makeup applicators, they are light sponges that are not quite as abrasive as cotton swabs, and their tapered point is great for corners, etc. 

[infyrana]

Make up applicators don't leave bits of cotton during use, so I've been finding they work a treat for wiping excess enamel wash away.

[Cris R]

Thanks everyone. Which makeup applicators would I be using?

Edited February 3, 2020 by Cris R

[infyrana]

Look up the Tamiya weathering applicators, then go down your local store and pickup a pack of 10 for a quarter of the price from the makeup section.  You might need to reglue the sponge heads back on to the sticks as they do come off and bloat up when soaked.  I dab off excess wash onto a papertowel but try not to dry it out too much as you still want a bit of spirits on there for when wiping.

 

I can send you a youtube link in a pm if you'd like for a video that has a great Death Guard tutorial that uses the technique with both enamel wash and oil wash, just let me know.

[Brofist]

I use cheap brushes as I ended up going through too many makeup applicators.

 

Another thing to note is about your varnish, should you decide to use a layer of varnish under your oils. You get different behavior depending on the varnish you use. Gloss will result in easier capillary action and smoother removal. Matte gives the paint more areas to grip and is better for a weathered look.

 

Have fun!

[Imren]

If you want more control over the neatness of the tidying after applying the varnish, then I suggest using a regular round size 2-3 pointed synthetic brush, it works as good as a makeup applicator.

 

I would refraing from using cotton buds/q-tips as these leave cotton fibers after themselves that get mixed into the varnish layers done to secure the oil wash layer.

[Cris R]

Thanks everyone. Brofist, I'm definitely going to have to think about the varnish. As fluffy as it sounds, it'll really come down to the narrative I want to tell with my Blood Angels. I may lean towards gloss because the ability to wipe away more wash would allow me to produce something that is weathered but heroic and regal at the same time. But hey, 30k is all about the narrative, right? Edited February 5, 2020 by Cris R

[Brofist]

That's a great mindset! Don't be scared to experiment and see what fits the vision you have in your head. It's totally how I paint.

 

Yet another thing to consider is the drying time. How long you wait to 'take back' your oils after the wash will also determine your final effect. Lots of variables.

[Imren]

Another tips if you use oil paints and want to reduce the drying/curing time for oils:

 

Put some oil paint on regular cheap packaging cardboard (the brown one with corrugated middle wall) and wait an hour or two, you will see that the cardboard absorbs the lineseed oil in the oilpaint and that the oilpaint is getting a bit harder, but still workable with a brush (use synthetic brush). Now you take some with your brush and work it in in your (odourless) artist spirit and make your wash.

 

The advantage with this is that it dries within a few hours and still give you a day to do your clean-up of pooling and tidemarks, if you mix in oil paint straight out of the tube into the spirits then it will take 4-5 hrs to dry to tidy-up stage and cures in 2-3 days.

[Cris R]

Imren, would that technique work with AK's enamel washes? I'm going to use premixed washes first to learn the technique and eventually move up to mixing my own washes after I've mastered this painting method. Brofist, the AK tutorials are helpful for seeing how quickly I can remove their washes from a model but I'll just need to experiment with it over the next few months to see what the ideal drying time is before I remove some of the wash.

[infyrana]

Cris - did you ever received my reply PM with the info in ?

[Cris R]

Infyrana, yes I did but had something I needed to complete at work. Thanks for reminding me!

[Imren]

Imren, would that technique work with AK's enamel washes? I'm going to use premixed washes first to learn the technique and eventually move up to mixing my own washes after I've mastered this painting method. Brofist, the AK tutorials are helpful for seeing how quickly I can remove their washes from a model but I'll just need to experiment with it over the next few months to see what the ideal drying time is before I remove some of the wash.

AK's (and Mig Jimenez) enamel washes are ready to use, they have a liquid wash viscosity, they dry in an hour and cure in a day, so they behave a bit like oil paint washes with the lineseed oil removed and then thinned with spirits. The advantage with enamel washes are that they seem to have much finer ground pigments compared "home-made" oil paint washes. But that usually depends on the quality of the oilpaint used. Regular artist's oil paint (Winsor & Newton, Daler Rowney etc) have a bit larger pigment size, I have tried using the new Abteilung 502 oil paints and they are finer, they pretty much are like an enamel wash when prepared (lineseed oil removed and thinned in spirits).

 

The removal of lineseed oil with cardboard is a technique applicable to oil paints, not to ready made enamel washes.

[Dantay VI]

Because I work offshore and cannot use oils or enamels, I have been using Windsor & Newtons water mixable oils and they are brilliant.

 

Especially, as at home I have a 2 year old, so I do not have to worry about using thinners and chemicals.

 

I would also recommend the WIlder aqualine products as theseare water based oils too.

[Marshal Rohr]

For blood angels if you’d like a satin color that performs similar to oils use black templar or one of the browns mixed with contrast medium to black line all of the detail, then hit it with Angron Clear straight from the pot to blend the contrast and base coat. Amazing results all available from GW paints.

[SkimaskMohawk]

Angron clear will not result in a satin finish, at least not brushed on. You need an airbrush to make angron clear come out satin, otherwise it's just a highly reflective mess.

[Marshal Rohr]

Sorry, that’s what I meant. If you use contrast, it will come out satin similar to using oils to stain (no gloss coat before hand). Using Angron Clear will blend all the colors back up into a semi-gloss. Edited February 17, 2020 by Marshal Rohr