Hi ,
I am new to the oil paint methods and would like to try an oil wash. Any tips on how to make them?
Thanks!
Andy

Try oil paint ! Just kidding Andy!

Artists oils are your best bet here- any art supply store should have a good selection. Usually people stick to brown or earth type tones for oil washes so colors like Burnt Umber, Sienna etc are good choices. You can always mix them aswell to create a custom color.
White spirit/paint thinner (or you can get whatever spirit is recommended for mixing the oil paint brand you have chosen) is the mixing medium for these. Take a blob and a plastic cup or paint pallette and use the spirit to dilute the oil paint so you have a brown liquid. The more paint you add the darker your wash.

Apply the wash to the model as you would paint it with a brush. Concentrate the paint in areas of detail like panel lines and around bolt heads. An all over wash is exactly that- all over to make the paint finish seem dirty. A pin wash is just concentrated in areas of detail. Any excess (if you get the wash somewhere you don't want it) can be taken off with a brush and clean thinner.

Remember to seal your paintwork under a coat of varnish, satin or gloss works best with an oil wash.

Alternatively you can buy ready made washes (usually made with enamel paints) from various companies (AK and Mig Productions are probably the most popular) and they come in various tones complimenting an array of paint finishes. The best thing about these is not having to worry about getting the consistency right and not having the hassle of mixing a wash up each time you need one.

Also take a look around the Painting section here- there have been several threads fairly recently dealing with washes.

Some info about what you plan to use the wash on (and pictures if at all possible) are a big help to those trying to help you.

Let us know how you get on.

Best of luck.

Check out my blog. Working on a tiger tank just now. You'll clearly see before and after with an oil wash. Also just recently used oil paint to fade the three tone camo.

Cheers

I'll bite, Andy...

That's a bit of tongue-in-cheek, since this is a pretty hotly debated topic. That's is because everyone has their own slight variation on just about every technique, including washes.

So, you didn't provide any info on the subject that you're working on, so there might be some considerations and opinions on the "best" colors to use to complement your subject's paint scheme.

Having said that, since you're just getting started with this technique, I'd suggest that you get these three artist oil colors: Burnt Umber, Payne's Gray, and Indigo. If you can only afford one color, then go with either the Payne's Gray or Burnt Umber.

These are kind of "generic" weathering and pin wash colors that will work with most all paint schemes. You should be able to buy these at any large crafts store (MIchael's or Hobby Lobby), any art supply store, and you might be able to find them in some larger "big box" retailers like some Walmart Super Stores. Although there is some difference in how finely the pigments are "ground" between the various brands (Windsor & Newton, Grumbacher, etc), for the purposes of just getting started, you can use any brand of artist oils that you can find for washes.

You could also order the Mig Abt. 502 oil paints. They work exactly the same as the regular artist oils.

I would also recommend as a thinner, ordinary odorless mineral spirits. Buy a cheap quart or gallon, again at a "big box" retailer in the paint section. This stuff is cheap and relatively mild. It will not lift any cured acrylic under coats (either your base colors or a clear acrylic coat). Again, you can go with a proprietary thinner like Mig sells, but the results will be the same.

Do not use turpintine as a thinner for your washes. It will work OK for pin washes since the volumn used is small, but for general washes, it's usually too strong and will risk lifting the undercoats. (There are some brands of turps that are milder than others, but until you know "who's who in the zoo," stick with common mineral spirits.)

If you painted your model with enamels (Testor's Model Master, for example), then you should add a clear coat over that to prevent the wash from lifting the enamels. You can use any acrylic clear for this - Tamya to Future Floor Wax.

Alternatively, you can also use Testors Flat or Gloss Laquer as a protective coat over enamels. After curing, these are not affected by the mineral spirits.

If you used acrylics (like Tamiya) for your color base coats, there's nothing to worry about with the oil washes.

There are two basic types of washes - for this post, I'll call them "general" and "pin" washes.

However, both washes work the same way - the pigments settle around raised details and in cracks, crevises, and panel lines. This makes the areas under the wash (usually) darker (you can use washes made from lighter colored paints, too). Capillary action is what causes this settling around and in the details. Because the wash has very little pigment, the remainder of the areas are relatively unaffected by the wash and remain visible.

You need to understand why the wash works to figure out how to use it best.

General washes are applied over the entire model or over large areas (like, for instance, the entire suspension). These can be used for two purposes that are related - overall weathering (adding a "grubby" "dirty" look) and to add shadows (thereby emphasizing details).

Pin washes are applied selectively around only certain details. Again, these washes can either be used to add shadows (to highlight details) or for weathering. Just like with a general wash, both shadows and weathing can be accomplished at the same time.

Oil paints have the added advantage over acrylics or enamels, in that they have a long working time and can be "feathered" or removed after they have been applied and for some time after the thinners evaporate. This allows you to to get effects that are often more subtile than you can get with other media.

For mixing your oil washes: You can use a small empty paint jar for general washes where you will need more volumn of material, or you can use a bottle cap or pallet for mixing up pin washes.

If you mix a large volumn, be aware that the pigment will settle and you'll need to stir periodically to keep the pigment suspended and the intensity (opacity, actually) consistant. Add some thinners to you bottle in the amount that you anticipate you'll need, and then use a tooth pick to add a bit of the oil paint squeezed from the tube to the bottle. Stir and test - you can always add more paint, to make the mixture stronger, but you'll run out of room in the bottle for more thinner if you try to go the other way and dilute the mixture if it's too strong.

Apply the general wash using a round paint brush that's sized to the area that you're working on (smaller area = smaller brush / larger area = larger brush). Inexpensive water color brushes work well for this. As the thinners evaporate, you can use a brush dampened with clean thinners to "work" the drying edges of the wash. Wipe away "tide lines," remove pigments from areas that you don't want the color in, or "feather" or "streak" the washes to replicate rain or dust streaks.

Pin washes are applied using fine pointed brushes. For this, select the brush size according to how much wash you need to fill around the detail you're working with. For long panel lines you might need a brush in the 0-1 size range. For rivets, you might need a brush that's only in the 00-10x0 range - just depends. Again, as the wash begines to dry, you can use a brush dampened with clean thinners to work the edges.

A common variation on this technique is "pre-wet" the wash area with clean thinners. This enhances the flow rate of the capillary action and reduces the initial adhesion of the pigments. Doing this can make the wash easier to "control" and "work" as it dries. You'll just have to experiment with this to see how it works for you.

Another common variation is to apply a "gloss" or "semi gloss" clear coat before the washes. This also changes the flow rate and pigment adhesion qualities. Again, the reason for this is to make the washes easier to control and work as they dry, and again, you'll need to experiment.

The most common problem with washes is "tide marks." These are "rings" of glossy material or pigments or both that appear around the details that got the wash. Understanding why they form is the key to knowing how to deal with them.

Tide marks form when the intermediate area between the detail (say a raised rivet) and the outer edge of the washed area dries before the outter edge dries. This happens because the wash around the detail has a larger volumn and dries more slowly, and the outer edge of the wash also forms a "wave" from surface tension. This leaves the area between the two with the least volumn of material and makes it dry first. As the outer edge dries, it draws suspended pigments to it. Once it dries, these pigments create the "tide mark." Note that the "glossy" tide marks are caused by the "binders" in the paint (for oil paint, that's linseed or sunflower oils) which are drawn to the edge just like the pigments.

To eliminate or mitigate tide marks, you need to control the drying in the outer edge of the wash. This is where oil paints are superior (IMO) to other media. You can use a brush dampened with clean mineral spirits to brush away the tide marks as they form or even after they have began to set.

The Payne's Gray and Indigo colors are well suited for pin washes around details and weathering (oil and grease) around mechanical parts. They can also be used for fuel stains. They're not as "stark" and "contrasty" as using black. The Payne's Gray is a soft charcoal color and the Indigo has a "blue" tint that complements Panzer Yellow and OD colors.

The Burnt Umber is a dark brown color that works pretty well for weathering around suspension areas. It can also be combined with the other two colors for some variations in oil, grease, and fuel stains.

Finally, for what it's worth:

I undercoat with acrylics and apply my "oil dot" modulation and mineral spirit washes directly over them with no problems. Some guys swear by Future Wax and other clear coats before adding their washes, but I've never found any benefit or need.

However, as they say, "Your milage may vary..."

HTH,

Mike, well said. You presented the basics in just enough detail so that any neophyte will not only understand it, but have the confidence to go out and try them.

I'm a real old schooler both by age and methods. Dry brushing was and still is my go to for many weathering techniques. I slowly came to realize the huge benefit of pin washes with various colors, and the use of washes and filters to help with color modulation for shady areas, paint fading from the elements, and overall weathering. I still use the base coat color(s) airbrushed to help with paint fading as well.