Magic Wash

Google "Magic Wash Miniatures," and you open up a can of worms.  What is magic wash?  How do you make it?  What proportions of paint and diluent do you use?  I've tried all types of concoctions with different ingredients.



I even bought food grade propylene glycol - retards drying.  Also not pictured above are the flow aids, and professional drying retardants recommended as ingredients by various people.

Some people swear by magic wash for priming.  You prime in white, magic wash on some black and it highlights all of the details, and puts the crevices into shadow.  Using relatively transparent acrylics it can really enhance the effect of shadows and highlights.

With my aging eyes, I need something like this.  White primer is too bright to see details, and any missed spots practically shout "WHITE" at you in the final miniature.  Black priming is so dark, again making it difficult to see detail, and requiring several layers of acrylics to cover.  It is such a chore.  I even tried black priming with white drybrushing for years.  It is very costly in brushes, and still too time consuming.

I've sprayed with white primer followed with a spray on varnish to improve flow of pigment into the cracks.  I tried changing up the amount of water I used in the mix to avoid the "ring effect."

Finally, I reduced it to just the "Quick Shine" mixed with just enough "Surface Primer."



Good enough.  Time to start painting.