How long to dry wash

Drying time depends upon the type of wash being used, and upon local conditions such as temperature and humidity. Keeping that in mind, most washes start out looking dark when first applied, but usually will lighten and look chalky or like dried mud once dry. That is when you can start cleaning it up, be it in five minutes or thirty minutes. You can reduce accidental clean up by using light pressure, and keeping you wiping motion as close to 90* parallel as possible to the panel line.

I make sure that the wash is no longer moist. You can see if it is moist by positioning your model under your lighting source. I usually wait until ten minutes or so when using Ammo of MiG or AK enamel washes, and then use make up sponges or round brushes to remove excess. Wipe perpendicularly to the wash line so you don’t remove all the wash. If using acrylic washes, ie Vallejo Model Wash, you have to get at it right away since acrylics dry quickly. I only work one small section at a time with acrylic washes and then remove the excess with Vallejo Airbrush thinner and #2 or #4 round brush (ever so slightly as to not disturb paint underneath the wash).