Under the advisement of my local hobby dealer, I recently purchased some Windsor Newton artist oils for applying washes to my works in progress. My problem is this, while I remembered the oils, I cannot remember his recommendation for how to thin them, turpentine or mineral spirits? I paint almost exclusively with enamels as my base, and naturally I'm concerned about removing the finish with the wrong thinning material.

Hi. Understand your concern about washes and their thinning agents and how they can affect the paints underneath.

Havent had a whole lot of practice with applying 'washes' but will be glad to tell you what I've found out. Once the paint is cured--I use Polly S almost all the time--I give the model a spray of Glosscote varnish. Then add any decals I plan to use. After these are all down well and dry I will give the model a light coat or two of Dullcote to seal everything up good.

I use W/N and Grumbacher oils and thin them with the Grumbacher Pre-tested Oderless Thinner. The reason I use this stuff is that the craft store that is close by runs a 40% off cupon every week or so in the paper and thusly I get all my oils and thinners there on these, which is quite a savings.

I mix my washes about 90/10 thinner to oil. I've heard modelers say that a mix to the consistancy of a strong coffee works pretty good, and it seems to do okay for me as well.

Now I do have some Grumbacher Orignal Formula 'Grumline' thinner that I would not recommend for wahes as it must be stronger. I've tried this with a clean Q-tip to take up excess wash around and if rubbed just a tad too hard will take the paint right down to the primer underneath. This was demonstrated to me just today on my Dragon T-34/1940. Luckily a light touch up of Olive Drab fixed things up real good. So I labled this stuff for cleaning brushes only.

Hope this helps out a tad. Take care and welcome to the site. Sgirty

Sgirty,

Thanks for the advice, alas my local hobby distibutor has gone the way of the Dodo. In exchange for your tip, may I offer a decal application suggestion? Use Futura Brand floor polish. A bottle lasts quite a while, the decals set rather well, and if you make a mistake, it's easier to lift off of the painted surface without damaging the paint job or the decal. [email protected]

Try Odourless White Spirit from Talens.

Talking about odourless turpentine. I once used it for thinnig enamels, and it worked fine, untill I tried it with metallic paints. I was amazed as the odourless turpentine just didn't work with the metallic! Anyone had similar problems?

I just use good old lighter fluid ...works fine for me and doesn't attack the paint ...it had another great effect of taking the glossy shine off the oil paints.

Rick