Wash vs Glaze Question

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BullBear
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Wash vs Glaze Question

Post by BullBear »

Painting Question.... Let's say I have one of those translucent blue minis like below (from the Castle Ravenloft board game) and I want it to be purple instead of blue, but still have some translucence. Would I use a red wash or glaze? I've got Citadel Red Wash, but have never used a glaze and had not heard of them until yesterday.

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Regash
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Re: Wash vs Glaze Question

Post by Regash »

As far as I know, washes tend to pool in recesses and leave raised areas without tinting them, making them the product of choice when creating shadows.
Glazes tend to color the whole miniature instead of just creating shadows.

But getting a blue mini to look purple? Tough task...

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Re: Wash vs Glaze Question

Post by spubbbba »

A glaze would be better for changing the colour and these give a glossy finish. You might well need to apply several coats though.

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Re: Wash vs Glaze Question

Post by Fold »

"Translucent plastic" makes me think it won't take paint at all. Glaze or wash, it may well run off the model.

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Re: Wash vs Glaze Question

Post by Steam Ball »

Try with transparent primer (art shop), or a plastic adhesion promoter that is transparent (special primer in the car spray shelves). Another option would be airbrushed candy color.

But being blue, it means anything but blue passes... so red over coat will be more about bounced light, unless the blue is not strong and lets other frequencies pass too. Worth experimenting.

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Re: Wash vs Glaze Question

Post by odinsgrandson »

Glazes and Washes are the same substance:

If you are purchasing a bottle of glaze or wash, what you are getting will be thinned down ink. If you bought the ink, you could thin it yourself, and it would last much longer. Of the two, glazes tend to be thinned more.

The term tends to be used for anything thinned down and applied with the technique. A wash is generally applied early in the painting process as a shading layer. A glaze is normally applied at the end- it helps with blending and can alter the color somewhat.

My favorite line for this is Reaper Clear Bright paints. They're just acrylic paint, but they're missing the substance that makes paint opaque- this allows them to be in extremely bright colors. They're great for altering a color somewhat.


As for your problem, I'd definitely avoid using a bright red glaze. Either use a purple or magenta so that your glaze isn't fighting quite so much with the color underneath. Any glaze like this will increase the opacity of the mini, so keep that in mind, and almost anything you put on it will pool in the recesses more than the surface (so make sure it works as a shading color for you).

If the plastic is like the stuff Reaper uses in their Bones minis, you can apply the glaze right on top of the plastic. If you do decide to add a spray, be warned that matt sprays will likely fog up the clear plastic.

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