How to Use Washes and Shades

If you only learn one technique, make it washing. A wash (or shade) is a thin, dark, flowing paint that settles into the recesses of a model, instantly adding depth, definition and shadow. It is the fastest way to make a flat basecoat look painted, and it does most of the work on metal, fur, cloth and detailed areas.

What it is

A wash is heavily thinned, free-flowing paint with a high pigment-to-medium ratio that pools in the cracks and recesses while leaving the raised areas clean. That dark pooling reads as shadow and separates every detail.

How to use one

1. Basecoat first. Washes go over a finished basecoat, not bare plastic.
2. Apply where you want shadow. For clean armour, target the recesses and panel lines with the brush tip rather than coating the whole surface.
3. Control the pooling. If too much collects on a flat area, wick it away with a dry brush before it dries.
4. Let it dry fully before layering or highlighting back over it.

All-over vs targeted

• All-over wash - fast, great for textured models (fur, rust, infantry hordes) where pooling everywhere just adds grime.
• Targeted wash - for clean armour, shade only the recesses so the flat panels stay smooth.

Tips and common mistakes

• Don't drown the model. Too much wash leaves chalky tide marks on flat areas.
• Match the wash to the colour. Brown for warm tones and bone, blue/black for cool metals and white, flesh washes for skin.
• Recesses, not panels, on clean armour schemes.