oil washes what am I doing wrong

steve5, you should seal your acrylic with a clear gloss coat before applying washes. That will help protect the acrylic and help the pigment in your wash spread better across the surface. I use a non-water-based gloss spray before adding washes. I think many others use a water-based one. You may also want to use a milder medium for your wash pigment. Barrett

can I ask what you use for a milder medium bduke

Barret is right about sealing with a gloss coat prior to applying washes. The standard is that if oil based washes are applied , use water based gloss coat over the base paint. If water based washes are used then the base paint needs to be sealed with an enamel based gloss coat.

thank's guy's

A protective coat over Tamiya acrylics is not necessary. I use Mona Lisa odorless thinner to thin my oil washes directly over flat Tamiya acrylic paint. I have never had the paint come off while doing this. I don't use a gloss coat, either, but many find that a gloss finish is easier to work with.

Your white spirits are attacking the Tamiya paints. Even though they are dissimilar, it still happens. Use Mona Lisa ordorless turpenoid. You really don't need any turpenoid to remove the oil wash though. Usually just a paper towel or cotton bud is enough. Wait about 20-40 min to remove the excess oil wash. What brand oils are you using?

I think this is where I could also be in trouble ., I wasn't sure how to wash so I just bought some cheap oil's .,mont marte.,maybe better quality would be better.,

Mona Lisa or turpinoid are the perfect choice. the milder the better.  Better oils have finer and denser pigments. That is the only upside. it shouldn't really effect removal. That's all the white spirit.

Steve, I am 99% confident the quality of your oil paints isn't the issue. Even cheap oil paints these days are made using a refined linseed/safflower oil, and are of a relatively decent quality. The difference in cheaper oil paints will be in the pigment, not the binder. Cheaper paints rely on more pigments to achieve the same colors, and often use fillers to get the consistency they want. More expensive paints will usually rely on a single pigment for a color, and they won't contain fillers. I have been traditionally painting with oils for a few years now, and spend a heap of time researching paints.

As others have mentioned, it sounds like you need to isolate your base layer with a clear coat, or use a less harsh solvent to thin your paints. You could also consider using plain oil to thin your paints down, but the viscosity would likely be far too high to effectively work as a wash.

I've been using oil washes with or without a clear coat on Tamiya acrylics.  Never had an issue.  I use Mona Lisa Odorless Paint Thinner.

You should certainly not need to seal Tamiya paints before adding an oil wash. I use W&N paints but just standard DIY white spirits to thin and have not had any issues like you mention.

I noticed you said white spirits and not mineral spirits which makes me think you are in the UK. If so, I think you might struggle to find the Mona list products a couple of the guys mentioned.

You don't need to put another coat of acrylic over Tamiya  to protect it.Perhaps the basecoat isn't properly cured,or the plastic wasn't cleaned properly.

I am from Australia bish .,  I can't get mona lisa odourless paint thinner in Australia ., but amazon has it , so in about 2 to 3 week's I will find out ., thank's to every body for the help   steve

Steve, do you have any art supply stores nearby? I've used a local product "Art Spectrum" Odourless Solvent without any ill effects, directly over Tamiya acrylics without a clear barrier coat.

Something else just occurred to me. Here in Australia, we get both Tamiya paints in both acrylics and enamels.

Are you sure you're using acrylics (round jar)? If not and you are using the enamels (rectangular jar), the white spirits are certainly going to affect the paint.

thank's phil ., i'm in a small country town ., but only 40 k's to Toowoomba ., I will certainly look into it ., thank's for the tip    steve

no I was certainly using acrylic paint's  .,

Ok, no problem, just thought I'd check just in case. Some parts of the world don't get the enamels.

thank's mate ., enamel's I find too messy , for my limited skill's

I put a nice even coat (or two) of Future before decals. Another coat after decals. This, regardless of type of paint, brand, etc. I've never had a problem with oil washes. I use a mix of Grumbacher Academy, AK, and Windsor & Newton Oils thinned with Windsor & Newton 'Sansodor'. I really like that stuff.

Yes Mona Lisa is a weaker turpenoid that rarely takes base colors off.