Cheapest Wash

hoth rebel · Post by **hoth rebel** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 6:01 pm

What recipe for a water based wash is the cheapest to make?
I am new to the modeling hobby and dont have a lot to spend.

robiwon · Post by **robiwon** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:06 pm

You can get a bottle of Apple Barrel acrylic paint (water based) at Walmart for about $0.94. Or coffee grounds.....or watery mud. Thats about as cheap as you can get.

Tony Agustin · Post by **Tony Agustin** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:28 pm

I guess you need to define '...don't have a lot to spend'.

hoth rebel · Post by **hoth rebel** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:38 pm

So just watering down that apple barrel paint will work?

Wug · Post by **Wug** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 2:44 am

You can but a set of children's water color paint at a dollar store. This is my favorite wash over metallics. It works OK over most gloss finishes. You can custom mix colors. If you don't like the result you wipe it off.

Mike

YOULI · Post by **YOULI** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 6:52 am

Using Oil paint with a White Spirit wash is not the cheapest but clearly the most efficient one IMHO

hoth rebel · Post by **hoth rebel** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 9:31 am

So the apple barrel paint just needs to be thinned with water and a dop of dish soap right?

Mark Yungblut · Post by **Mark Yungblut** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 11:01 am

hoth rebel wrote:So the apple barrel paint just needs to be thinned with water and a dop of dish soap right?

If you are going that route I would use acohol instead of soap. Sometimes using soap as a surfactent can cause bubbling when you apply the wash, just like soap bubbles in the sink. you might also look at thinning artists transparent inks they are not that expensive.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 12:07 pm

The absolute bottom line cheapest is probably the ground cheapo watercolor paint (as said above) mixed into a sludge with water and a touch of surfactant like JetDry.

Not the finest out there but it'll do the trick.

hoth rebel · Post by **hoth rebel** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 4:40 pm

YOULI wrote:Using Oil paint with a White Spirit wash is not the cheapest but clearly the most efficient one IMHO

What brand of oil paint?
What is white spirit?Turpentine?

Mark Yungblut · Post by **Mark Yungblut** » Wed Dec 29, 2010 4:08 pm

I use Windsor and Newton oils. They have very fine grain, and for just washes a tube will last a very long time. I typically use either Ivory Black or Burnt Umber and mix it like 5 part turps to 1 part oil. So I use a pea size ball of the oil with say 1/4 to1/2 oz of turps. In fact I keep a glass bottle of each of my washes handy. They last a long time that way.

I also highly recommend putting a good coat of Future Floor wax on the piece you want to wash. Let the Future cure for at least 24hours before you apply the wash.

seam-filler · Post by **seam-filler** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:44 am

Mark Yungblut wrote:
hoth rebel wrote:So the apple barrel paint just needs to be thinned with water and a dop of dish soap right?
If you are going that route I would use acohol instead of soap. Sometimes using soap as a surfactent can cause bubbling when you apply the wash, just like soap bubbles in the sink. you might also look at thinning artists transparent inks they are not that expensive.

Dishwasher Rinse Aid is a good non-bubbly alternative to soap.