You're Doing Enamel Washes WRONG - Uncle Atom's Pro Tips

Enamel washes are easier than you think.
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[@sergioazevedo4267]

Note: Odorless Mineral Spirits may not have an odor, but they STILL have toxic fumes! Be just as careful using it as you would turpentine, kids!

[@PerfectionHunter]

Indeed. I prefer chemicals that stink to make sure i don't inhale the fumes.

[@TroelsRohde]

@@PerfectionHunter same

[@valentinerontez627]

@@PerfectionHunterThis comment made me change my mind on purchasing Odorless, thank you!

[@frankn4576]

@sergio, although I agree with your statement I have yet to see an oil artist painting on canvas wearing a respirator. I am curious why that is because artists have been painting with oils and using different turpentines for ages. Cheers

[@sergioazevedo4267]

@@frankn4576In terms of using it for miniatures, you're generally holding the miniature close to your face, which means the chemicals are also close to your face. It also means you most likely would have whatever spirits you poured out nearby as well. Easy to make the mistake of working with it for too long without thinking of the danger because it's odorless.

[@rredd20]

Thanks not Uncle Atom for actually showing that you need to do some minor cleanup with washes and just how much faster and easier it can be to get to a playable color with low effort efficient painting techniques. As an avid painter I am always trying to teach non painters that you can still have a decent looking army or warband very easily and this video will be added to my arsenal of proofs.

[@jekylthorn8969]

For Space Marines, I like to edge highlight by drybrushing BEFORE washing. This is because I dry brush in a much brighter shade of the block colour and the wash actually tones down the edge highlights without removing them. I do this because I don't like the "Tron Effect" you get when edge highlighting last.

[@curtpilgrim8972]

great video, love Last Podcast on the Left too!

[@ruleofkoolwargaming4926]

The exact technique for creating amazing looking yet simple Horus Heresy armies, especially Death Guard. Love it!

[@machooth]

Big shout out for bringing up Gamsol odorless here. I recently had to seal a new desk top and had decided to go with tung oil, which is better applied in several coats diluted in progressively less mineral spirits... But I knew from experience most "odorless" spirits still smell awful. I went to my local art store to look for Gamsol, still asked the people there for their advice, and the fact that it is truly odorless did not strike them as an important piece of information, so your recommendation was indeed critical in getting a product that is genuinely odorless. Huge thanks. edit: also, quick note. While it still emits fumes and all and it's always good to be careful, the reason odorless spirit is odorless is that the aromatic hydrocarbons were removed from it. And not having these in does make odorless spirit *substantially* less toxic than regular mineral spirit (also substantially weaker as a solvent, but I suspect this is actually a good thing when using it on painted minis).

[@mylesjohnson7351]

You can get a lot of good q tips that are meant for cleaning guns for cheap they are like those fancy ones for electronics but longer and you can just cut them in half if they are too long

[@sirsully]

As a kid my mom would do ceramics. She would do this same thing. In the ceramics world they called this technique "Antiqueing"

[@TheRagnartheBold]

I am using make up applicators for the fine stuff and the sponges for the initial removal. This has been suggested by Ninjon in his video and I liked it more than Q-tips. They don't start to fringe...

[@brokenheroics8223]

Reminds me of using old school Dip from Army Painter. I'll probably do this block painting with my Warcry band. Thanks for sharing.

[@robertderouin3169]

Uncle Atom is a last podcast fan, my worlds combine.

[@r.s.9332]

Yess! That silver air color is amazing! I’ve used in the past and mixed it with a touch of blue and green form the same line to get a metalic aqua marine color, it came out just as I wanted and with the right amout of shine to! Anyways..😅 love your videos! 🤙🏻✌🏻

[@waynegoddard4065]

This is an excellent video. Your easily my favourite hobby channel by far.

[@tonyblock84]

I've found a gloss spray before the wash not only protects, but also pushes the enamel into the recesses.

[@jenslorbeer5307]

Thanks for the video! If you are from Europe, don’t use white spirit from Schmincke, it will eat through any paint (and it smells), even through gloss varnish. I had to learn this the hard way.

[@Telthar]

If you're worried about lint, coffee filters may work. This is a trick for dealing with thermal compounds with computers. Removing it can sometimes be a problem if you use paper towel. Coffee filters however, don't leave crap behind. Now, it may still tear on hobby models, but I intend to give that a try.

[@christopherheintz2634]

Makeup sponges also very helpful

[@Telthar]

Tried this last night as I picked up some streaking grime for my Iron Warriors. I can confirm, the coffee filters seemed to work brilliantly. Also, were very easy to maneuver into tighter spaces than the cotton cloth I tried. That said, if you've got junk shirts that can't be donated, might as well put them to use!

[@JohnCarr]

From roughly 2011-2014 I had gotten into primarily painting this way using P3 for my block colors and Army Painter dip technique for the shading, and it was the best I felt my minis had ever looked. Fell off for several years due to having kids yadda yadda and since I got back in I've just been doing the AP speedpaints over varying derivations of rattle can zenithal or slapchop. Watching this has me a little torn. With slapchop starting from a brush-on primer, I really like that everything before the spray-on varnish is water-based and therefore incredibly simple to clean up. But I think I'm still inclined to like the look of the enamal wash shading a bit more. Maybe the expanded Speedpaint line will help with that, but you've certainly got me tempted to blow up what I spent my money on this past year and go back to quickshade. 😅

[@mattcappelli5822]

I backed a KS and there will be loads of zombies I don’t want to spend loads of time on. This will be very useful and the models will look good enough. Thanks!

[@myafed2900]

Ive been looking for this exact advice, i love the grimdark technique with enamel washes, bought enamel paints plus AK streaking grime and makeup sponges, white spirits etc Looking for this style of painting using enamel washes is kinda confusing here in youtube, many youtubers ad so many steps and twists, and turns even before aplying the wash like zenithal, contrasts or dribrushing, varnishes etc make the whole simplicity of this technique more complicating than even highlighting, blending etc. Thank you for this video now after watching this i want to finish some miniatures and projects ❤

[@ImperviousSC]

This is an excellent guide for newer hobbyists. This shows that you can get some really great results with a relatively simple technique. I've been doing something similar for years. I've adapted some newer techniques as I've learned about them. I always spray with a black primer at first, and then I'll do some drybrushing with white from top to bottom, to simulate a Zenithal effect and to pick out the edges. I'll then use the inside-out type of application as you described, but I keep the paints slightly opaque so the zenithal effect still shows through. I haven't experimented with speedpaints or contrast paints yet, but I feel like these would work well for this. If I mess up anywhere, it is almost always on a spot where the white drybrush is if I'm using the inside-out method, so I will touch up this white before putting on the next layer. Instead of an enamel wash, I use nuln oil. Nuln oil covers many painting sins. After, I can use the original basecolour for subtle adjustments or highlights as needed, but I often don't bother doing that. I've never been a fan of the extreme highlighting that seems pretty popular. It seems to take me longer to build models than it takes me to paint them, and I'm still quite happy with the results. They look good on the table and at arms reach, which is all I want.

[@storrantv3270]

I do that since i got my hand on Enamel, base coat and a thick wash then remove with mineral and some highlight/drybursh after it to pick certain places that i want to pop up and this is it, a model done in 1h fast and good to see on the table it's simple fast and look good!

[@dragonsmith9502]

this is actually kinda perfect for painting the underskeleton of my Imperial Knight model, i'll for sure be doing this.

[@Jason-gq8fo]

Yeah this is how I do pretty much everything. My hobby style is best results for least effort and this helps a lot

[@nurglematthew]

Atom rockin it.

[@RDanielPaddock]

Cool! I’m trying to play in a Battletech Alpha Strike tournament in January. This technique looks perfect considering I have ZERO mechs painted.

[@TheSianFromAtlantis]

It's only necessary to varnish the model if you use certain spray primers -- like I had disasters with Army Painter spray primer, which my oil washes melted. It was really upsetting.

[@corytelford]

You really are the cool Uncle that helps me in my hobby

[@isisnmagic1812]

Awesome video, now I have an idea how to use the stuff I bought to do streaks that never worked lol.

[@manoloaguirre7159]

Interesting vid! Your pragmatism is a much welcome take, that I find balances out the input that I get from other, "fancier" sources. Question: how would you say enamel washes compare to oil washes? They seem to behave very similarly in terms of uses, application method, drying times... I'm guessing one obvious difference is that the enamel wash comes "ready to use" out of the bottle, whereas you have to make your oil wash with oil paint and mineral spirits, but I wonder if there are other nuances we should be mindful of? Thanks!

[@tabletopminions]

Enamel washes do come ready to use, and they dry faster than oil washes. Oils (in general) take much longer to dry. Thanks for watching!

[@Kid_illithid]

One time I streaking grimed a model and it started peeling the paint. I used a Krylon primer. The back of the can clearly stated “clean up with mineral spirits”. So maybe the enamels damaging paint had something to do with that? A varnish fixed it easily

[@sovietbear1917]

I'm also on Team No-Varnish. "But it will stain your basecoat?!?" Yes, yes it will. That's the point.

[@positronisomer206]

Ran into some problems where I guess I scrubbed too vigorously with a qtip and scrubbed the base coat clean off, down to the primer. Doing a quick gloss varnish before you put the enamel wash on prevents that

[@ausaskar]

Yep not using a clear-coat means your wash won't flow as well and your primer better be on point because you will tear up your basecoat if you rub slightly too hard and then you're stuffed.

[@MrGunnar177]

Enamel paints are also great for pin lining and panel lines. You do need varnish for it though. If you scrub too hard with a q tip you will take off your base layers if you don’t varnish.

[@KevinoftheCosmos]

The one she told Nuln Oil not to worry about.

[@Peik27]

Hey Adam, Michaels and Hobby Lobby usually have Gamsol in stock in the Valley. The Mona Lisa brand seems high quality as well, and usually a fair amount cheaper.

[@AxDhan]

this technique is so flexible that I use it on Imperial Fist space marines and they look great, and they dont need to look "grimey", you just need to work with the right colour and right consistency for your wash

[@Lady_Numiria]

I'm painting my Crucible Guard for Warmachine that way, it's a great way to get it done quickly. What I do to enhance the results is layering back original colors after wash and drybrushing lightly with a single color all of the mini to "glue" all the things together visually.

[@neomanski5620]

Soooo, enamel washes are different to standard washes (the Nuln Oils of the world etc)? I dig the grungy look and will give this a try. Thanks uncle A 👍

[@ShowerOnceYearly]

Looks good I might get an enamel wash and try this. right now I have the Reaper Paints wash triad (black, brown and "flesh")

[@deltabairsoft]

That is another technique I want to try. Saddly from some time to now I have less and less time for hobbying... T.T Thanks for sharing this with us XD

[@Miguelmaturen]

Amazing technique Uncle, I'll test it on my kill team salvation scouts! Thank you

[@crossmr]

So did you finally start printing your own STLs and not tell us? I knew you'd been working on getting it set up just right in the past.

[@Gauldame]

Microfiber towels from the car section of the big box store are cheap, can be bought in bulk, and do whatever paper towels do but better.

[@NeoDemocedes]

I've been using a nearly identical process for years. The only difference is I prime in a lighter gray, and use a black wash of my own devising. The lighter prime is necessary for me because I use craft paints where the lighter colors have trouble covering dark colors with two thin coats. And as for black vs brown wash, it's just my preference.

[@RobCrawford23]

I miss using enamels for the whole painting process apart from the thinners and I still have figures from 40 years ago where the paints themselves created a lot of the shading. For washes enamels and oils can be considered the same apart from the drying time (the joys of linseed and walnut oil in oil paints) Unless you decide to use an unpleasant thinner and poly varnish may not save you from turpentine anyway) you use varnish for two reasons. 1: Provide a restore point so you can work on removing your entire oil/enamel process without worrying about the acrylics. 2: To change the behaviour of the surface, gloss to encourage wash into the recesses even further, satin to have some more surface coverage and matte to keep the wash on almost everything (also gives a texture if you go for ultra matte varnish.) Although I miss the old modellers enamels, I don't miss what were not fine ground pigments, no decent matte varnishes and the stupid litttle tins

[@derekgarcia3069]

Definitely going to be trying this method!

[@Zulysse258]

Had the same issue with the bottle, spilled half of it onto my desk... hopefully they can find a better design

[@BB-pn2qv]

This is the perfect time for this! Wanted to oil wash things soon.

[@FictionDiction]

Gunna try this technique out when I get the Christmas Skaven battleforce, seems like it'd be a good fit haha

[@druidobianco9734]

I did some old metal skaven models this way, they came out soooo good

[@stonehorsegaming]

I get a similar effect from using a watered down brown ink wash. Block colour, then just slap the wash on and let it dry.

[@adammotter]

I'm trying to figure out the best recipe to do this with "black" power armor and vehicles with a metallic base coat. Not sure how well it'll work but hoping I can figure out something half decent...

[@Digger8Five]

Keep up the great work UA!

[@j453]

I wish I could afford to casually try out" yet another paint and get some of these monument hobbies paints because that coverage is AMAZING. Maybe another time though heh

[@gurufoxx]

I've been doing this for years, I call it a "gunk wash". I used to do it with neat oil paints back in the day and then realised it can be done with enamel grimes too. It's a real magic trick :) Also nope, leaking Ammo streaking grimes bottles - that's normal. It's simply poor bottle design. It's a pain in the ass and means you can't lie the bottles down in your storage drawers.

[@cigs4squirrels]

LPOTL! Great T-shirt! Great video!

[@bkt41tx]

Nice! Best grunge this side of 90s Seattle.

[@TerrierHalo]

Joke's on you! I don't have any enamel washes yet! ;)

[@michaelsbagley]

Another source for "T-Shirt material" in case you don't currently have any old T-shirts to sacrifice to the hobby.... but there are cleaning patches available at outdoors/sporting supply stores generally intended for cleaning shotguns that are made from perfectly precut 2"(ish) to 2-1/2" sqaures of t-shirt-like fabric. I think a bag of a thousand costs around $8 or $9, and I am sure they could be available on Amazon as well.

[@michaelsbagley]

So it's been too long since I have purchased any of these... It was closer to $20 for 500-count (although I did see 250 count bags for about $9-$10). But either way, specifically search on "shotgun cleaning patches" to find them in your chosen shopping outlet.

[@sessionahole]

I've spent SO many hours listening to LPOTL while hobbying!

[@betelgueseprocyon364]

I actually have a theory on why your bottle of streaking grime leaks so much, when you first open those bottles they have a thick white foam/plastic seal on over the bottle but under the cap which stays attached to the bottle when it's new. You have to remove that little seal to get at the wash but I believe you are supposed to actually keep it and shove it up under the top of the cap instead of throwing it away. It's a little difficult to describe but I have a bunch of those wash bottles and the one without a seal(I threw it away) leaks all the time. Kind of a weird design...

[@southpaw5483]

Thank you for sharing and content. If we varnish the model before applying the "enamel wash" will it flow better into the nooks/crannies and also remove easier?

[@ThomasGallinari]

I'm using oils to do the same thing but I kind of regret not using grime enamels, because oil takes really long to dry and if I try to clean it after 15 minutes I remove it all, and it all depends on how I thin down the oil with mineral spirits, which obviously is different each time. So if I had to start again I would buy ready to use enamels, looks easier from what I see on the Internet.

[@datfox2844]

Nice, didnt know you liked last podcast on the left

[@krahnjp]

Not to start the whole argument about whether to strip or not. But how much difficulty would an enamel wash add to the stripping process? My first thought it to do this to field an army fast, then you can go back and strip one at a time and repaint with more detail (especially after you get some painting experience under your belt). But I have a feeling it will be a major headache to do so. Contrasts are probably the better option for that case.

[@nurglematthew]

Rocked it

[@RedRuger87]

Nice LPOTL shirt!

[@Deus888]

I like to do pin-washing in which you put oil wash only in the crevices.

[@blacktemplar5970]

@uncle atom. Do you know why Life After the Cover Save haven't posted anything since July?

[@brittanislarp3850]

I keep coming back to this video and wondering-how would it work for Tyranids or super organic sculpts? What would I do differently?

[@volcano3493]

Is it really necessary to remove excess wash in the end? Wouldn´t it work also, if you apply the wash in a more moderate way?

[@nunyabidness3075]

The varnish step is for water based washes. That’s where I think that comes from.

[@captainmeowzers]

I did wonder why you don't use enamel paint like on other aircraft and car models.

[@SamZappo]

I want to love streaking grime so bad, but I have such a hard time with it over black armor. Is it just something I need to get over, or can I fix the dingy green effect?

[@harrisonsmitwalt4751]

What is a good dry time on the acrylic?

[@proft7211]

I am really new - is enamel paint and oil point the same thing? I've seen other videos using oil paints in the same way.

[@Izzyspaintingworkshop]

Great video as always!

[@joeg875]

I had a bad bottle from them too, but their products are amazing

[@Xandrillus]

Is this sort of similar to doing an oil wash? I don't really know much about enamel vs oil vs acrylic.

[@kallisto9166]

It's very similar, yes. I have been very happy with the results I've been getting with oils + acrylics lately. It's a fantastic technique for those of us who just want to put nice looking mini's on our tabletops without too much work.

[@tabletopminions]

Enamel wash dries quicker and can always be reactivated (with mineral spirits) if you need to change it. Oil washes take longer to dry, but once they're totally dry, they're almost impossible to reactivate. Thanks for watching!

[@DanteMac26]

Tamiya makes those cotton swabs as well, and they offer several different sizes. Quick question though, do you see any difference in doing an enamel wash vs. an oil wash? I'm about to use this general method on a Ravenwing army for 40k, but I was going to use a Paynes Grey oil wash, maybe with a little Starship Filth or Starship Sludge as well.

[@markgnepper5636]

Great stuff friend 👏 👍

[@brittanislarp3850]

Hey Uncle Atom- if I’m painting a mostly black armor (Dearhwatch, etc) army with this technique, what’s the best way to get visual interest for the armor parts?

[@mathew.1864]

Making your own washes with oil paints is good too. A better effect than nuln oil imo.

[@clemo85]

Stupid question but would you still need to mask up with Gamsol?

[@CaptainRuff]

It might just be a bad bottle. My wife and I have a lot of the Mig ones and never had that happen.

[@kaptainskarlett9927]

N00b question: enamel wash and oil wash are (pretty much) the same thing?

[@tabletopminions]

Enamel wash dries quicker and can always be reactivated (with mineral spirits) if you need to change it. Oil washes take longer to dry, but once they're totally dry, they're almost impossible to reactivate. Thanks for watching!

[@davidsonfamily2930]

I do oil washes a bunch in a similar way. Never done enamel ... is there a fundamental difference between the two? Or is it really just the bottled colors? I've often wondered.

[@andrewamann2821]

There is, indeed, a fundamental difference between the two: the method of drying. Oil paints don't dry through an evaporative process, they oxidize. This is how they get an insanely long working time when compared to acrylics. This also means that, once they actually dry, they shouldn't reactivate when exposed to mineral spirits. Enamels, in this context, dry by an evaporative process, and, unlike acrylics, their medium doesn't really crosslink into a stable plastic, making it possible to reactivate the wash with mineral spirits, functionally indefinitely.

[@davidsonfamily2930]

@@andrewamann2821 Thank you so much for explaining this so clearly!

[@andrewamann2821]

@@davidsonfamily2930 no problem. Turns out that watching paint dry is quite the interesting process, once you know what you're looking at.

[@roedolfsmit4884]

I use the light rust enamel wash from Ammo, and can concur: those bottles are rubbish. I need to put mine in a different bottle as well. Great paint though.

[@HappyDuude]

So what would be awesome would be to know or see the difference between this and a regular wash. I get this looks better, I'm trying to figure out why. Is it that you can remove it easily?

[@benweinberg3819]

That, and the lower surface tension of thinners means it goes in the recesses easier. Then when you subtract any areas you want to lighten it stays in the deepest crevices

[@D0pam1n]

This kinda makes me want to get back into the hobby after like 15 years. The painting was always the tedious part I didn't care about but if I didn't do it, the armies looked meh and some players really, really wanted me to paint my stuff or not play me at all.

[@ew1258]

Do it! Get back into but do it for fun! Don’t stress with the painting part.

[@JPWestmas]

Very cool, why would you use this over using an oil paint? Just drying time?

[@tabletopminions]

Enamel wash dries quicker and can always be reactivated (with mineral spirits) if you need to change it. Oil washes take longer to dry, but once they're totally dry, they're almost impossible to reactivate. Thanks for watching!

[@variancehammer246]

Half the time I don't even use white spirit. A good makeup brush will pick up *a lot* without needing a solvent.

[@davidwasilewski]

Try army dip, but paint it on, rather than physically dipping the model in the tin of goop. Fast, easy and pretty much the same results.

[@fraggle716]

Wait Atom… I’ve been calling you Adam for like 5 years 🤣

[@ericjome7284]

I wonder about using this on vehicles or terrain.

[@tabletopminions]

It would work well on the right vehicles, I’d think. It’d also work well sparingly on sci-fi terrain. Thanks for watching!

[@Birdmanesp92]

Uncle Atom, where did you get those three models you showed after finishing the paint job?

[@tabletopminions]

I kitbashed them from all kinds of different kits. Thanks for watching!

[@syd4890]

Wow that skin colour covered so well over black! What dark magic is that?

[@tabletopminions]

ProAcryl paints - they’re my favorite paints. Thanks for watching!

[@verysilentmouse]

why enamel wash as opposed to an acrylic wash? faffing with enamel doesn't seem worth it. what am I missing?

[@tabletopminions]

Enamel wash dries quicker and can always be reactivated (with mineral spirits) if you need to change it. Oil washes take longer to dry, but once they're totally dry, they're almost impossible to reactivate. Thanks for watching!

[@verysilentmouse]

@@tabletopminions thanks

[@clubjer]

Looks a lot like the same process I'm currently doing with home-brewed oil washes. Aside from drying time, which I'm not concerned about, is there a benefit to enamel over oil?

[@tabletopminions]

Enamel wash dries quicker and can always be reactivated (with mineral spirits) if you need to change it. Oil washes take longer to dry, but once they're totally dry, they're almost impossible to reactivate. Thanks for watching!

[@ARescueToaster]

Any decent alternatives to the wash used here? It seems fairly difficult to find with only a few stores carrying it online. And the cheapest one (for me) costs almost $15 (on eBay) which make Citadel paints look cheap!

[@tabletopminions]

I’ve been wondering if a person can make their own, honestly. I’ll look into it. Thanks for watching!

[@Artmesa]

Not looking for grunge? Madness. That said, I always use oil washes but only as a final step and I go more lightweight with them.

[@sethpeterson8261]

Enamel wash? Don't think I've ever heard of enamel wash before although looks like an oil wash technique. Not sure what I'm missing though as this looks like much more work than just using wash normally for a lesser result.