What do you use for india ink wash? Did a google and found you tube videos. What I need to know is what do you dilute it with and what ratios?
Thanks
I use it to age a structure after painting & mortating. I fill one cell of an ice cube tray with water, and squeeze in a drop or two of black or brown ink. Apply with a soft brush.
If you are using it on hydrocal go light on the ink. You can always add more or go over it again. I don't remember the ratio I used but a few drops in a spray bottle sounds right.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I built a store. Wife painted it a washed out gray, but the front entrance has posts and a wood floor that I want to do a wash on so it looks well worn. I had some but forgot how to mix it and cannot find, so time to make new.
IIRC, I used a little 70% alcohol in mine to make it flow easier into cracks and crevices.
No matter your formula, as suggested, start out light with the ink.
Mike.
My You Tube
I've had a small relish jar containing my India ink wash for over twenty years. I treat it kind of like a baker would use sourdough starter.
Like Big Daddy, I don't know the exact ratio I have in there because I add either a little ink or a little 91% alcohol depending on how strong the mix is at the time I'm using it.
I use Higgins brand India ink, years ago I believe Scripto was what I had. There are other brands, just be sure to get black.
The main thing is to test your mix on the back, or a scrap of the same material you are putting your wash on. As mentioned above, raw plaster will soak it up like crazy but less so if you already have some finishing already applied.
I use it on painted styrene structures as well and the degree of effect varies with how the surface of the paint is on the structure.
Very little ink is needed so a ratio of 10 parts alcohol to 1 part ink will get you in the ballpark. You can always make the application darker, once it is too much, though, it is difficult to undo. Again, it all depends on the porosity of the base surface.
Good Luck, Ed
Rather than India Ink, which the craft store didn't happen to have in stock, the lady asked if a black ink would do? I didn't know better, and thought it might work 'bout as well, so I bought a blue plastic bottle of it with a red cap, maybe five ounces. I don't recall my ratio formula, but maybe one tsp of the ink per a 8 ounce bottle of drug store 70% isopropyl alcohol.......?? That worked well on plaster components, like tunnel portals and abutments. So.......................... India Ink might not be all that specificly required unless you must have it for a specific reason.
I keep several India Ink washes ready and available
For weathering and unifying track I use 91% alcohol and a fairly heavy concentration of the ink, in a spray bottle.
For weathering freight cars following an article which suggested first DullCote, then brushing on an India Ink wash, and then chalks /pastels, I am concerned that 91% alcohol is strong enough to soften lettering on the car. WallMart sells a cheap alcohol and on reading closely the reason is clear - it's 50%! And the amount of ink is fairly slight, a few drops in a small bottle that used to hold Centrum vitamins, about the size of a small juice glass I suppose, just enough to catch in each seam and crevice. I usually have already darkened those seams and crevices with a sharpened #2 pencil.
Sometimes that India Ink/50% isopropyl alcohol mix is not strong enough so I have yet a third bottle , but also devoted to freight car weathering, with a bit more, again just a few drops, of Ink in a contained filled with alcohol and again about the size of a small juice glass. You do not want repeated brushings or spritzings of alcohol because eventually even if diluted it will soften lettering and even paint. So the goal is to get the result you want from one application.
Dave Nelson
Now that this thread has come up it has reminded me of my interest in trying brown color India ink for part of the weathering process on rolling stock as mentioned by Dave, above. As so often happens, I got distracted by so many other projects
https://www.hobbylobby.com/Art-Supplies/Drawing-Illustration/Calligraphy/Brown-Dr.-Ph.-Martin's-Bombay-India-Ink/p/6700
Does anyone have any experience with colors other than the usual black?
Thank You,
Ed
As I said above, Ed, I've used both black & brown for aging a structure that's been around awhile, but i've not had occasion to try other colors in a different application. Can't think of where I would off the top o' me head.
Thanks, Paul. I missed the mention of brown in your reply. I have seen artist's oils thinned with turpentine to simulate rust streaks. I was thinking brown India ink would look like rust between the seams and rivet lines of various freight cars and it could be applied as a "wash" before further weathering was applied.
Thanks again, Ed
India ink was at one time a more permanent ink than others. Now you can get other inks that are permanet but make sure they say so. Second India ink is more of a pure black with very fine pigments, the fine pigments ussually make it a better choise. Mix it with 90% denatured alcahol.
I never use Inia Ink washes.
.
This is the best black wash I know of.
It is very pricey, about $4.00 for 1/2 ounce, but worth every penny. I promise, once you try it you will understand.
Ed: Citadel also makes shade colours "Agrax Earthshade" (Brown), "Carroburg Crimson" (Dark Red), and "Fuegan Orange" (Rust) that are all very useful.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I believe it was in the instructions for a South River craftsman kit that they recommended three different strengths of alcohol/India ink for the various surfaces that would be washed. I no longer have the instructions but I remember the lightest mix had just a few drops of ink in the 4 ounce jars I was using to mix them. It doesn't take much ink to make the wash. If you don't want to go with different strengths, start with a light wash and see if that gives you the look you want. If not, keep adding a few drops at a time until you get the strength you want. There is no right or wrong answer. Whatever looks good to you.
Your era and location might also dictate the strength of the wash you use. In the pre-EPA days, soot and acid rain produced by coal burning plants would accumlate on buildings making them dirtier than what they are today. It would be more so in the heavily populated urban areas of the east. Better air quality means cleaner buildings. Again, what looks right to you is probably the best answer.
For light weathering, I will usually go with black acryllic craft paint heavily diluted in ordinary water. It's a little more forgiving than India ink which can overdo the weathering if mixed too strong.
SeeYou190 I never use Inia Ink washes. . This is the best black wash I know of. . . It is very pricey, about $4.00 for 1/2 ounce, but worth every penny. I promise, once you try it you will understand. . Ed: Citadel also makes shade colours "Agrax Earthshade" (Brown), "Carroburg Crimson" (Dark Red), and "Fuegan Orange" (Rust) that are all very useful. . -Kevin .
I find india ink a bit too permanent and messy to handle. I use dilluted craft paints, using distilled water with a few drops of alcohol (I used to use auto window washer fluid, but that leaves a white film). The key is to mix it well and test it on the side of whatever you are using as a container for the mix. I prefer to err on the thinner side and apply multiple coats. It can also be applied with an airbrush. And if you find that the mix is too strong, it easily washes off with water if your piece has not yet dried. I also use various colors, but mostly black and rust.
Simon