Magic Wash

I mentioned "magic wash" in my Painting the Troops post, but I didn't mention what it was. Magic wash is basically a wash that uses Future floor wax (or its equivalent outside the US, see the link for more info) as part of the mixture.

I've seen similar formulas described elsewhere, but the first time I saw it referred to as "magic wash" was on the Flames of War forums, and most of what I know about it comes from posts made there.

The exact ratio of wax to ink to water varies tremendously. The mix I currently use is 3 parts water to 1 part Future to 1 part GW ink. I've seen ratios that call for much less ink (just enough to get a shade). I've seen ratios that use much less water, even to the point of just being wax and ink. As with most painting techniques, the best thing to do is to just experiment.

I make the mixture in an empty Vallejo paint bottle for easier use and storage.

The purpose of the "magic wash" is the same as any other wash, but the Future helps break surface tension which lets it flow more freely into crevices and depressions on a miniature with less pooling on flat surfaces. The result helps bring out details while helping to smooth transitions between different areas of color on the miniature.

I've only used the method on 15mm miniatures so far, but I plan on giving it a try on some larger scale stuff later to see how it does.

I've found with my Soviet infantry that it really helps cut down on my painting time, but I'll go more into that when I can take some pictures of the infantry I've gotten painted so far.