I was just wondering if they work as well as the commercial ready-made washes.. and is there a preferred thinner to use?

Also, can you make a some and store it in something like those Tamiya paint bottles? Do they stay or do they spoil and become useless if you store them?

Thanks
Hisham

Hi Hisham
I never use commercial washes as it is so simple to do your own with oil and some thinner.
In France, the thinner I used is called white spirit

When I make my washes, I prepare a few quantity but I already have prepared larger quantity than I needed and it was preserved in good condition for a long period of time in a Tamiya bottle. I just had to shake before use and maybe add more thinner.

Olivier

Like Olivier, I never buy pre-mixed washes. White spirit and artists oil paints are what I've used for over 30 years!
Use a reasonable quality oil paint as they have a finer pigment. The only ones I store are Burnt Umber (dark brown) and black, they last for months in a screw-top jar, just shake or stir before use and adjust the mix if necessary.

Thanks for your replies, guys

So what color should I buy to use for a sand colored vehicle.. and what color would be appropriate for a dark green vehicle.. and what should I use for a three-tone NATO cammo?

Hisham

I am mixing my own washes quite often. Oils from any brand + turpentine or enamel thinner. Never make more than I need for 1 model

I have a range of colors mixed and stored in glass jars (actually Paasch airbrush jars). I use tube oil paint and LOW ODOR thinners. The standard White Spirit can really ruin some plastics (notably Tamiya and Italeri) to the point where they become brittle.
The colors I mix range from a very dark brown to a light sand and also a dark green and dark grey. They store ok and just require a stir before use. I apply with a brush and dry them quickly in front of a fan, I find that letting the wash sit on the model too long can lift the paint. I use cheap cotton buds to remove the excess oil paint once the thinners has 99% evaporated.
I use acrylic paint exclusively and further protect it and any decals with a coat of future before applying the washes.

Hi, Hisham! BURNT UMBER Oil paint, by GRUMBACHER or WINSOR-NEWTON works just fine in many cases. You can also make your own mixes, by selecting some more basic colors: different GRAYS, GREENS, WHITE, BLACK, and any combination of OCHRE, different BROWNS and SANDS, and virtually any other color that you can think of. Many of use figure-painters use oils for the various subtle colors used in the painting of faces , ands, etc.

WHITE SPIRITs and in the US, TURPENTINE are what you would use to thin, streak, spot, and to create "pin washes".

Care should be taken that your subject has dried completely, (I wait at least 48 hours), before applying any wash, whether it is a commercial product or a "home brew"...

I use the Windsor & Newton oilpaints that can be thinned with water instead of the 'ordinary' oilpaints. They work exactly the same as normal oilpaints!

I use oils for most of my washes and filters. Use Naptha as my thinner. It's a very mild solvent, evaporates quickly and doesn't leave as many tide marks.

As good old Francois Verlinden once stated in his book, ages ago: Talens artist oil paint and turpentine!
And with à small tube raw umber you will be able to wash models for the rest of your life.

i use Talens Rembrant Oil's, Withe Spirit or the Zippo's fuel as well,evaporate very fast and no stain,i think the most common color for washes in Ivory Black,Umber,Burnt Umber,Siena Earth,Burnt Siena Earth,Payne Gray and Van Dyck Brown but with Blue,Yellow,Red,the secondary color if you want and a color wheel you can do every color you want,for this is really good the book "1500 color mixing recipes" ... http://www.bookdepository.com/1500-Color-Mixing-Recipes-for-Oil-Acrylic-and-Watercolor-William-F-Powell/9781600582837

Is a Bible for color mixing with in the end of the book you find a plastic grid mixing palette to help you

I've never used a pre-made wash, just Turpenoid and a quality artist oil paint. The mix is whats needed for the job but I'd start with "about" 90-95% Terpenoid 5-10% oil paint. Its a lot easier to start with a light mix and then add more paint as needed. I like Abteilung black or umber for my paint. You can pin wash or use it as a wash for the entire vehicle. Its a great effect for very little cost and you control the color and density.

Practice on a scrap part and I think you'll find that pre made washes are a waste of our modeling monies.

All the best, Terry

HIsham, I have been making my own washes for years, but I never thought of saving them. I just make up fresh ones for each model. Best advice I can give, that others have, is to get your self some basic oils, burnt and raw, umber, ocher and sienna, with black and white to darken/lighten. Worthwhile to add in blue, green and a "red" variety just to change tones. I personally do not use those last three much, so a small tube will last a long time.

For sand colored, dark browns and yellows are going to do most of the heavy lifting for you there. Occasional darker washes will be good too, but use those first, then add on top of them. For NATO green or TRI less yellow and more browns and darker. Look at good color photos and you'll see the natural colors that you are looking to reproduce, from there its just matching tones.

Practice on a few "demo" kits and you'll be a master soon. Good luck!

Hi Hisham,

I answer your specific questions below but I'd like to just address the topic as a whole if I may. I hope you understand I am trying to help and not being critical, sometimes text conveys the wrong message.

Instead of wondering if oils work as well as (or better than) enamel washes, why not learn to use each medium to its potential? Enamels and oils both have their place in weathering. You don't have to use 'commercial washes', thinning Testors/Floquil/Humbrol et al enamels will give you the same effects, be manipulated the same way, have the same benefits and drawbacks as the commercial weathering brands. Long before those commercial weathering products came to be, those same modelers were simply thinning their Humbrols.

I always use both when weathering my models. I just use them differently for different purposes. Oils can be manipulated for a lot longer a time period than enamels, they can create the most subtle of effects and you can continually work them on the surface for extended periods of time without risk of them being permanent.

Enamels dry faster and allow you to see what they look like in a much shorter period of time, you can continue to cut them back with thinners to your liking in one sitting but wait too long and they are pretty much set.

In my opinion choosing one over the other only limits your possibilities, while taking the time to learn each's benefits and drawbacks will only expand them. Weathering is much like cooking, some will tell you it needs salt while others will say use pepper. Using the right combination of both tastes a whole lot better.

The effects on my latest work in progress (you may note the fruils aren't yet pinned on the left track) were made using both oils and enamels together in overlapping applications. I would not get the same effects if I were to choose just one over the other.










I try and use the same brand name in whatever I do. To me it's just the safer route as they were both made to work together. All too often I see modelers take the cheaper method, like thinning their acrylics with Windex (which contains a known paint stripper) only to post a week later that their thinner based wash ate the paint ...and they blame it on the wash.




I have in the past but noticed over long, extended periods of time that they *can* break down. Even after you mix them up they may separate on the surface. Sometimes you can see this on models, splotchy washes where the pigments have separated from the carrier and puddled together leaving an undesired effect.

I just take what little I need from the tube and mix it in a pallet for the model I am working on.









It really depends what effect you are trying to achieve and the base color you are working with. Certain colors will work very well together, while others will just make a mess of things. I will use a dark blue/grey for deep shadows on an OD vehicle, but it would look like crap on a DAK vehicle.

In my opinion, nothing ruins a CARC sand vehicle more than a dark, goth chick like heavy eyeliner effect. Making the details pop on a light colored vehicle with sand/dust tones, or variations of the base color even are much more pleasing and realistic to my eye. Dark red browns and the like stain the surface far too much and suddenly, your realistic CARC sand you worked so hard to get becomes a dingy dark brown color so far from the actual vehicles.

Again Hisham, I hope you accept this novella as it was intended, to help you understand the possible benefits to using both and adjusting your weathering colors to apply to your vehicles color, versus just using the same method and shades on every model regardless of it's base color.

Again, thanks a lot to all of you guys for your tips and advice.. I'm really learning a lot

Ken.. first of all, I want to thank you for caring enough to take the time and explain things in such detail. When I asked about oils vs ready made, that wasn't directed against enamels.. I was just looking for an option I can find locally, so I can save on money and time, because ordering online can be expensive for me.. and takes a long time to get what I need.. which is why I figured I could get oil paints from artists supply stores here, but we have no model stores in order to think of other options.. at least not locally.

So, again, thanks.. you've all been very helpful

Hisham

Ken-Thanks for the brief primer on the uses of oils vs enamels. Been mixing oils for a while now but never thought of doing the same with enamels(why does the obvious always escape me?). Can you give an example where it might be more advantageous to use oils rather than enamels and vice versa?

Thanks for the further explanation Hisham, that definitely makes sense. If sourcing them locally is much easier and cheaper then absolutely, go for it.


Armorsmith, I suppose for a person interested in experimenting, or wanting to practice and learn, oils are the way to go. With a much greater working time they may find them to be easier and more forgiving to work with.

Building up heavier earth effects quickly is perhaps easier with enamels. They dry to an almost pigment like finish and can be layered in far less time.

Hello Hisham,

I have and probably still will depending on the effect I seek. Years ago I became concerned with the affect solvents could have and started making washes with acrylics and inks. Very effective. Here are results: Wash Techniques

That said, there are so many brands of quality washes available now that whether or not to 'brew your own' comes down to 4 factors:
1. Cost of acquiring commercial washes
2. Availability of supplies to make your own
3. Length of time until you want to handle the model
4. Smell

Also, consider that some mediums like turpentine can ruin paints; mineral/white spirit can, too.

Hope this helps.