While reading another popular discussion forum, I read a response that mentioned variously-colored ink washes w/ respect to weathering. Having only one black india ink wash that I have made- and use frequently for car floors, wood materials, and old discolored cement-look use- I thought it might be instructive for a fellow modeler (far more knowledgeable than myself)to offer suggestions as to setting up an array of washes for use in weathering. The article I read mentioned black and brown inks, but no real details. My interest would be in which type of inks, what recipe percentages of ink to alcohol, type of alcohol (70%, 91%, etc) and any other useful info. I realize that washes have been discussed here previously, but having several available at hand (like 5 or 6 different ones)as a resource might be useful for myself and (presumably) other hands-on modelers who build and weather cars, structures and scenery. Actually, this might make a very useful MR feature article, come to think of it! Thanks-in advance- to any who offer suggestions, Cedarwoodron
I have had generally good results with using India inks. I find that I use them more as “pin washes” than using them as an overall wash. The difference is that the “pin wash” only aims to put the inks into grills, panels, etc. while an overall wash may be done by spraying or brushing the model’s surface with the wash and letting it collect around details, etc. So far I have used black and brown (sepia, I believe) India inks that I picked up at Hobby Lobby. I noticed that they have a variety of colors but so far I have only needed the two colors for my military and/or railroad projects. For my pin washes I have had good results with using Model Master Acryl thinner instead of alcohol. That started when I didn’t have alcohol available but had the thinner. I liked the result and kept on using the inks that way. I don’t have a fixed dilution, but I keep the wash pretty thin. You can always add more thinning agent. When working on diesel locomotive models I find that the ink wash really works better on the grills and vents than my previous use of thinned paint. The ink flows well, gets into the vents and dries opaque. I can also clean up mistakes easily. For weathering wood I find that I can add a touch of white or gray acrylic paint to the wash without any chemical imbalance being evident. Adding India Ink to my paint/weathering supplies was one of the best moves that I have made.