It could well be faded, as on this Mklll. Dry brush with desert sand?

I'm only using one pigment, Phil. Asphalt Road Dirt. Food for thought, though.

Naively, I thought a dark wash was just a dark wash. But looking at the MIG label there, theirs are dedicated for particular military colour shades it seems.

That's of course partly about diversifying a range and selling more, but does it also make a difference in reality? For example, GWR loco green is a good deal darker than the Landy under treatment here. So would that require a different/lighter shade of, er, dark wash? 

I think, Mikkel, that it's all about marketing. The many wash manufacturers create an enormous variety of shades and tones with the aim of making us collect as many as we can afford by giving them enticing names and suggested uses.

My view is that the name doesn't matter but the colour certainly does. My teacher suggested that Dark Wash was a good allround colour and that has proved to be the case ever since. I also find that a rusty brown such as Track Rust can be useful when working on various underparts.

Washes can be mixed, as you can imagine, so a paler shade (Light Dust) can be used with these two to achieve as many variations as required. There is no need to become a collector.

4 hours ago, Mikkel said:

For example, GWR loco green is a good deal darker than the Landy under treatment here. So would that require a different/lighter shade of, er, dark wash? 

A good colour of wash for GWR dark green is AK Interactive's Dark Streaking Grime. It has a distinct green tinge to it.

Or you could use Dark Wash . . . . . . . .

It really depends on what you want to achieve. I suggest that if it's just dirt and accumulated grime a simple dark shade is all you need if working in 4mm scales and below. Larger than that and things start to get more complicated because of the level of detail you're dealing with.

Many thanks Mick and Simon. A Dark Wash it is then! It sounds a bit like that superb concept "Medium Grey" 

Isn't a 'wash' just a very thin coat of paint?

Could the same be achieved with thinners/white spirit and enamel paints?

What makes the wash you use so special ( but even then you still thin it further)?

2 hours ago, Stubby47 said:

Isn't a 'wash' just a very thin coat of paint?

Yes.

2 hours ago, Stubby47 said:

Could the same be achieved with thinners/white spirit and enamel paints?

Yes.

2 hours ago, Stubby47 said:

What makes the wash you use so special ( but even then you still thin it further)?

It is not at all special. It is convenient and it gives consistency in colour and density straight out of the container. If I thin it further it is because I want capillary action to work better. If you take a brush full of enamel paint and hold the tip of the bristles against a planked van plank line, all that will happen is a blob of paint will exist on your van. If you thin that paint with white spirit and repeat the exercise the thinned paint will flow along the same plank line, and any others you apply the brush tip to. The more thinner you mix in the further the wash will travel by capillary action until there is no perceivable colour left in the mixture and you've just wasted a half hour that will never be recovered.

I like to be sure that when I apply a wash I know how it will behave. If I mix my own from paint and thinners or white spirit (I prefer the latter) I would not be able to mix it to the same colour or consistency every time. Others might, of course. Additionally, you might want to have a variable result each time you mix a wash so that you avoid everything looking the same, but that's not how I like to do it.

The purpose of this exercise is to show how I go about making a specific model look dirty, using methods and materials that work for me. Others will probably have cheaper, faster or more effective ways and that is good, especially if they show those methods and results for the rest of us to learn from.

Keep the questions coming. Not all of my answers are monosyllabic.

A bit late with my thanks, but, Thanks, that makes quite a bit of sense ( to me!).

I understand now why a pre-mixed wash, even if thinned, will give a consistent result on similar surfaces.

Must get a couple of bottles and some vehicles and try it out.