wash problems

I know where you are coming from as I struggle with the same problem. I would suggest adopting the sludge technique (others will explain this much better than I there was a tempura wash article in an FSM this year) and wipe off the excess with a cotton bud or similar. I wouldn't expect a difficulty even in this scale with applying locally around the panel lines and you are already more than halfway there by attempting this over a gloss coat.

I too have had problems with washes. On my most recent build (a 1/48th scale fighter), I initially tried the sludge wash but it ended up staining the surrounding surface, even though I had applied future and let it cured. I think my mistake was not adding enough soap/detergent to the mixture, so you might have had the same problem if you only mixed water and acrylic paint. I ended up using a wash of mineral spirits and burnt umber oil paints, and it worked great. However, I still try to add it to the corners or directly to the panel lines and not apply it liberally.

Hope this helps!

Mark

All I ever use is artist's acrylics and water so I can't speak for the other methods. I am pretty careful about getting the mixture in the vicinity of the panel lines I'm washing . Building 1/32 aircraft I'd spend more time getting it off than anything else if I didn't.

When I had a similar problem with acrylic and water I found that adding a couple of drops of vinegar or Liquitex Flow Aid to the mixture helped a lot (thanks to Swanny and Domi for those ideas). Also note that I don't use normal model-type acrylics but artist's acrylics. I've used modeling acrylics before and they worked OK but the artist's acrylics seem to work better. I personally use Golden brand acrylics, but the others should work well to.

Here's a link to my method:
http://www.craigcentral.com/models/wash.asp
and here's a link to Swanny's method:
http://www.swannysmodels.com/Weathering.html

Both of them use acrylic and water.