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<\/a><\/p>\nUsing an empty paint tin, I placed a drop of black enamel paint onto the tin. <\/p>\n
Next I add a dropper of enamel thinner to the tin.<\/p>\n Mix the solution up; and the solution should be a fairly watery consistency.<\/p>\n Taking a small brush, simply dip the brush into the solution.<\/p>\n Then touch the tip of the brush onto the panel lines. Now here is where the previous gloss coat and the different type of paints do all the work.<\/p>\n The clear coat keeps the wash solution from flowing all over the place and stays in the line. If the surface was a flat finish or even a matte finish, the surface of the kit will start to absorb the wash solution like a sponge and the solution will not be contained to just the lines. The reason for this is that flat paints and clears create tiny microscopic bumps on the surface which refract light which when looked at, looks dull and non reflective. These tiny little bumps creates a sponge like surface that will absorb the wash solution; essentially the wash solution will flow all over the part. With the gloss, the surface is ultra slick and the wash solution will freely flow in the panel lines. It is also important to use different paint types. Since acrylic paints are water soluble, the enamel paints which are oil based, will not mix with each other. The same goes for a lacquer clear coat and using an enamel based wash solution. It is also important to know which paints will eat other paint types. As a rule of thumb, it is always better to layer paints from strongest to weakest, the weakest at the top. Lacquers are the strongest paint types, enamels next, and then followed by acrylics.<\/p>\n I like using enamel paints since they are oil based and have a relatively slow dry time, this allows the paint to flow easily and gives me time for easy clean up since the paint has yet to dry on the surface.<\/p>\n Any excess can be clean up with a cloth, or a cloth with a small amount of enamel thinner.<\/p>\n Again, since the clear coat is a different paint type, the enamel thinner will not remove the clear coat or paint. And this is all there is to applying a wash for panel lines. Here is a comparison picture of the same part, with and without the wash applied: <\/p>\n Here are some additional examples; going from the gloss coated part –> applying the wash solution with brush –> continuing wash application –> wipe away the excess<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Updating this tutorial with a video for panel lining. For this example, I used naphtha based lighter fluid as the thinning agent. I find that the lighter fluid flowed smoother, dried quicker, and cleaned up easier than the enamel thinner. The surface of the clear coat was still smooth after rubbing a paper towel moistened with lighter fluid against the surface to remove excess paint. The below video shows the process to making the panel line solution.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/p>\nRecap of the steps: <\/p>\n