How to Use Washes & Inks for Miniatures Painting – Clean Recess Shading, Bold Color & Zero Tide Marks

Well‑placed washes and inks can triple your miniature’s readability in minutes—darkening recesses, adding depth, and intensifying color without re‑sculpting the model. This guide explains the differences between washes, shades, and inks; when to use each; how to control capillary flow; the best surface prep; and advanced tricks like pin washes, filters, and oil/enamel washes. You’ll also get ready‑to‑use recipe ideas and fixes for common problems like coffee‑staining and glossy patches.

Washes vs Inks vs “One‑Coats” (Contrast/Xpress/Speed)

• Washes / Shades – Thin, low‑viscosity paints engineered to settle in recesses. They darken panel lines, cloth folds, chainmail, and fur. Finish is often satin‑to‑matte.
• Inks – Highly concentrated transparent color (dye‑like). Fantastic for punching saturation, glazing, and tinting metals—but can stain aggressively and dry shiny if used neat.
• “One‑coat” paints – Contrast/Xpress/Speed paints are tint + medium blends designed to shade and highlight over a light or zenithal undercoat. They behave more like a controlled glaze than a traditional wash.

Surface Prep: The Secret to Flawless Flow

• Prime smart: Smooth primer helps liquid travel where you want. For maximum contrast, use a zenithal prime (black → grey → white) so the wash reads the value map.
• Gloss before wash (optional): A thin gloss varnish creates slick capillary channels—perfect for pin washes, NMM panel lines, and edge recesses.
• Matte after wash: If sheen is uneven, finish with a matte varnish to unify. Then re‑gloss lenses/gems selectively.

Control Additives & Mixing Ratios

• Thinner – Extends flow, reduces pigment density. Start ~3 parts wash : 1 part thinner for all‑over shades; stronger for pin work.
• Flow improver/surfactant – Breaks surface tension to stop beading. Add a tiny drop per wet palette well.
• Matte medium – For inks. Tames shine, adds body so color doesn’t flood flat areas. Common mix: 1 ink : 1–2 matte medium : a touch of water.
• Retarder (small amount) – Slows drying to reduce tide marks on big panels.

Five Core Techniques (From Fast to Precise)

1) All‑Over Shade (Speed Depth)

Great for chainmail, fur, textured stone, and rank‑and‑file troops.

1. Basecoat normally; keep layers thin.
2. Load a medium brush and flood a controlled section (not the whole model at once).
3. Immediately w ick away pools from flat or upward‑facing areas with a clean, damp brush.

Tip: Work in zones (head, chest, legs). Turn the model so gravity pulls liquid into recesses—not onto flats.

2) Pin Wash (Maximum Cleanliness)

For crisp armor panels, weapons, and hard edges.

1. Apply a gloss varnish first (thin coat) to improve capillary action.
2. Use a fine brush and touch the wash only to recess lines. Let capillary action travel the groove.
3. Any overrun? Clean with a damp brush or cotton tip while still wet.

3) Controlled Recess Shade (Faces, Cloth)

Like a pin wash but broader. Target eye sockets, under cheekbones, cloak folds, and joints with a thinned shade. Build 2–3 thin passes instead of one heavy flood.

4) Glaze with Ink (Saturation & Color Temperature)

Use transparent ink mixes to push hue: warm up skin, cool down shadows, or add color bounce on metals.

1. Mix 1:2 ink:matte medium plus a little water.
2. Wipe most off on a palette; apply thin, translucent layers toward the shadow or highlight edge.
3. Dry fully between passes to avoid tearing the layer underneath.

5) Filter (Unify & Tone)

A broad, very thin tint over an area to harmonize colors (e.g., a sepia filter over bone/cloth, a blue filter over steel).

• Think tea‑strength color: barely there. If you can see the pool’s color strongly, you’ve mixed it too hot.

Step‑by‑Step: From Zenithal to Finished Mini (30–60 Minutes)

1. Prime & Zenithal: Black primer → light grey → white from above.
2. Basecoat: Thin coats; leave zenithal showing at edges.
3. Recess Shade: Controlled wash into gaps (eye sockets, armor trims, cloth folds).
4. Clean‑up: Re‑edge main colors where the wash climbed too high.
5. Ink Glaze: Boost saturation: a warm skin glaze or a turquoise glaze on gold shadows.
6. Edge Highlights: Pop leading edges with a lighter tone; the shade below makes it sing.
7. Finish: Matte varnish to unify; selective gloss on lenses/gems.

Color Recipes You Can Trust

• Armor grime (silver TMM): Pin wash with a dark brown‑black mix (≈ 3 parts dark brown wash : 1 part black); tiny blue ink glaze in deepest recess for cold steel.
• Gold warmth: Sepia wash overall → re‑establish mid gold → red‑brown ink glaze in the lowest shadows → bright edge with a pale gold.
• Bone & parchment: Thin sepia wash (1:1 with thinner). Add a violet ink glaze in the deepest sockets for a natural shadow.
• Leather: Mid brown base → soft brown wash → green ink micro‑glaze in shadows (dirty realism) → light tan edges.
• Skin (heroic): Base skin tone → controlled warm brown wash in recesses → re‑layer mids → red ink into cheeks/nose/ears (super thin) → sharp highlight on brows/nose tip.
• Cloaks (red): Red base → maroon wash in folds → crimson ink glaze on midtones for lipstick‑rich color → orange‑red edge highlights.

Using Inks on Metals (NMM & TMM)

• TMM (true metallic): After a dark recess wash, glaze tiny streaks of blue or green ink into steel shadows to simulate sky/environment. For warm gold, glaze magenta into mid‑shadows for depth.
• NMM: Build grey gradients first; then ultra‑thin glazes of color (blue for cool steel, sepia for old gold). Keep the “specular” highlight pure near‑white.

Advanced: Oil & Enamel Washes (Why, When & How)

Oil/enamel washes travel beautifully, wipe clean, and leave smooth, shadow‑rich panel lines—especially on vehicles and large armor plates.

1. Seal your acrylics with a gloss varnish. Let cure fully.
2. Apply oil/enamel wash (dark brown/black for grime; green‑brown for moss/verdigris). Touch a fine brush to recesses—capillary action does the work.
3. Clean excess with low‑odor thinner on a cotton bud or soft makeup sponge, pulling down to create streaks if desired.
4. Lock it in: Once dry, seal with varnish before returning to acrylic work.

Safety: Ventilate, avoid bare‑skin contact, and never put solvent products through a brush you also use for edible arts. Keep separate “solvent brushes.”

Preventing & Fixing Common Problems

• Tide marks/coffee staining: Work smaller sections; keep a clean damp brush to wick edges; add a drop of flow improver; use retarder for big flats. If it dries with rings, re‑glaze with a very thin layer to blend.
• Chalkiness: Usually from over‑thinning with water on matte paints. Add a little medium to restore body; glaze to smooth.
• Shiny patches: Normal with concentrated inks and some washes. Matte varnish unifies; re‑gloss lenses/gems afterward.
• Loss of contrast: If an all‑over wash dulled everything, re‑establish mids with your base color and pop edges—think “shade lives only in the shade.”
• Beading: Oils/silicone on the surface or too‑matte roughness. Gloss coat first or add a drop of surfactant to the mix.
• Staining from strong inks: Mix with matte medium and apply as a glaze; test on a spare primed piece before hitting your centerpiece mini.

Workflow Variants You’ll Love

• Grimdark pass: Zenithal → brown‑black all‑over wash → edge cleanup → selective color glazes (mossy greens, rusty oranges) → dusty pigment at the feet.
• Comic‑book pop: Blackline with a tight pin wash → bright base colors → colored ink glazes to intensify saturation → sharp white edge hotspots.
• Speed army: Spray colored primer → one‑coat paints → targeted recess wash to deepen key areas → quick edge highlights.

Brush & Tool Choices (Make Control Easy)

• Sizes: #1 or #2 round for all‑over; #0/00 for pin washes.
• Bristles: Synthetics excel for solvent work and harsh pigments; sable holds a sharper point for precise recess shading with acrylics.
• Wicking tool: Keep a clean, damp brush ready to touch the edge of a pool and pull excess away instantly.
• Palette: Wet palette for acrylics; ceramic well for inks and solvent‑resistant trays for oils/enamels.

Image Suggestions

• Hero banner: Before/after of a power‑armored panel: flat base vs pin‑washed recess lines.
• Technique grid: All‑over wash, pin wash, controlled recess shade, ink glaze, oil wash—five small photos with captions.
• Troubleshooting close‑ups: Tide mark example and how a thin glaze blends it out.

FAQs – Washes & Inks (tap + to expand)