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Description
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a pro/master at any of these techniques. what works for me, might not for you. there is always more than one way to do things. be sure to do additional research and practice on a test piece before trying on your projects.*
Note: there are many ways to do this technique, and i think everybody does this differently. for this tutorial i will try to keep it simple and be using a acrylic paint wash(water based) over an enamel paint(oil based) the water based paint will not affect the enamel paint work. you could do the reverse or even an oil wash over enamel but will need a varnish or sealer coat in between. washes can be very fun but personal preference and experimentation will be key.

So what is a wash? well a "wash" is a technique used in scale modeling and miniature painting to bring out recessed details. just as "dry brushing"[link] is used to highlight raised details, a "wash" will bring out recessed details. a variety of colors can be use and can create some very subtle weathering effects.

What you will need: a fully painted part(dry brushing already applied if wanted) a wash color(in this case a brown acrylic paint) a old/cheap brush(washes will wreak brushes so dont use your nice ones!) a paint thinner(water in this case) a paint pallet(jar lids work great!) and a ton of q-tips or cotton buds(buy a box, just a few will not do)

to start off the wash, thin the "wash" paint a bit. i usually go on a bit thick but sometimes less is more and you can always come back and re-apply if you wish for it to be darker.
try to work in small to medium sized sections, and just paint on the "wash". next take a cotton bud and start removing the paint. you can dip you cotton bud in thinner and that will help remove more.when the cotton bud is dirty get a new one(you will be going through a lot of these) its good to work parallel to the details recessed lines that way the paint will stay in the crack/detail.
As you can see from the last two photos, the difference is big but subtle. the brown paint stays in the panel lines and damage details

Description
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a pro/master at any of these techniques. what works for me, might not for you. there is always more than one way to do things. be sure to do additional research and practice on a test piece before trying on your projects.*
Note: there are many ways to do this technique, and i think everybody does this differently. for this tutorial i will try to keep it simple and be using a acrylic paint wash(water based) over an enamel paint(oil based) the water based paint will not affect the enamel paint work. you could do the reverse or even an oil wash over enamel but will need a varnish or sealer coat in between. washes can be very fun but personal preference and experimentation will be key.

So what is a wash? well a "wash" is a technique used in scale modeling and miniature painting to bring out recessed details. just as "dry brushing"[link] is used to highlight raised details, a "wash" will bring out recessed details. a variety of colors can be use and can create some very subtle weathering effects.

What you will need: a fully painted part(dry brushing already applied if wanted) a wash color(in this case a brown acrylic paint) a old/cheap brush(washes will wreak brushes so dont use your nice ones!) a paint thinner(water in this case) a paint pallet(jar lids work great!) and a ton of q-tips or cotton buds(buy a box, just a few will not do)

to start off the wash, thin the "wash" paint a bit. i usually go on a bit thick but sometimes less is more and you can always come back and re-apply if you wish for it to be darker.
try to work in small to medium sized sections, and just paint on the "wash". next take a cotton bud and start removing the paint. you can dip you cotton bud in thinner and that will help remove more.when the cotton bud is dirty get a new one(you will be going through a lot of these) its good to work parallel to the details recessed lines that way the paint will stay in the crack/detail.
As you can see from the last two photos, the difference is big but subtle. the brown paint stays in the panel lines and damage details