# Vallejo Inks



## shadow reaper (Apr 26, 2011)

I have read that inks and washes are not the same. I bought vallejo's black ink thinking it was the same as a wash. My question is, can i use the ink same as a wash or do i thin it with water? if i need to thin it what is the ratio? Thanks in advance.


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

You can use the ink to wash over a model but the learning curve would be kinda steep and the really bad thing is the models you washed in black ink vs black wash would look different from one another.

You can also make your own black wash pretty easy.



> Hello, fellow figure painters. I believe I have finally found the perfect "wash" for miniature figures. A few weeks ago I admired some Boxer war figures of local painter here in Southern California. "Dow the Programmer" told me how to make his "Magic Wash", and I have been trying it out recently. I am stoked by it. Magic Wash blows the doors off of every other wash technique I have ever used! And it is so inexpensive as to be negligible! And it is easier than most other wash techniques!
> 
> Here is the recipe:
> 
> ...


The original article is here with more advice: The Painting Clinic


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## Drannith (Sep 18, 2010)

Another easy way to turn that ink into a wash is to use Matte Medium (can get those at most art stores), distilled water, and the ink.

Mix the medium and water at a 1:1 ratio then add in the ink, more ink the darker the effect.

You get a lot of medium so you could basicly make a "light", "medium", and "heavy" out of one jar of the medium and still have a ton of ink left over. This also works with those pen inks meant for calligraphy.


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

Future Floor wax or Kleer can fill in for the Acrylic Medium. If you lick your brushes watch out, it tastes like SHIT. You can also add a VERY LITTLE amount of wash up/dish soap to it to cause it to have less resistance and flow better.


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## Drannith (Sep 18, 2010)

I have never seen the appeal of brush licking honestly... but I can see this stuff tasteing horrid.


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

easist and quickest way to get a point on your brush .


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## Drannith (Sep 18, 2010)

I've never had any trouble getting my brush to get to a point, I usually just dip it into some clean water, roll it a bit on some paper towel and it gets the point I need.

Course I use the Master's paint brush cleaner/conditioner after my day of painting is done and that has really helped keep the brushes from doing anything odd.


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