Using an India ink wash

You can always add more, you cant take away without a bigger bottle. You can also add more layers, you cant get them off.

Add a DROP or 2 in a new bottle of alcohol. Try it. Let it dry before you judge. Adjust from there.

It also matters whether you plan to reduce the absorbency of the castings with a spritz of spray paint before you start staining....

If you'd rather not "roll your own", Model Tech Studios makes an aging solution (which seems to be basically an india ink solution) and a rusting solution, both of which can be brushed on. Also, many other interesting products.

@Boilermaker1 posted:

You can always add more, you cant take away without a bigger bottle. You can also add more layers, you cant get them off.

Add a DROP or 2 in a new bottle of alcohol. Try it. Let it dry before you judge. Adjust from there.

It also matters whether you plan to reduce the absorbency of the castings with a spritz of spray paint before you start staining....

Wow, a drop or two in a full bottle of alcohol?  I had no idea the ratio was that small.

I was planning on adding a wash as is.  I didn't take porosity into account.  If i like the color should I use clear before the wash?

You'll see recipes from 1/2 a teaspoon to 2 teaspoons per pint of alcohol. Im just suggesting you start light on it, as its easier to add more, much harder to take it away.

If the rocks are finished already, I wouldnt spray them with anything as the previous pigments will do a similar thing, but I wouldnt want to overbear a previous finish with an ink wash.

I gotch ya! Less is better to start and if it's to light i have the option for more coats or add more ink to the mix.  I included the picture above so people could see what I'm starting with.  There is color variation across each piece but I can't tell if it paint, pigment in the material of some type of weathering the high spots.  That's why I thought a wash would be the best enhancement.

Hi Joe,

I've had better luck with alcohol-ink washes when weathering wood structures rather than scenery.

I prefer to keep it all water-based when it comes to rocks.

I start with a flat latex house paint (full-strength) over everything. That takes care of any problems with different materials absorbing color differently. This paint will be the basic rock color.

Usually I have a combination of raw white plaster castings, darker Structolite plaster, carved pink foam, and some Sculptamold, so giving everything an overall color is an important step.

Then I go back and add some acrylic craft store paint washes to vary the rock color in places. One of these washes can be a darker brown or black to seep into the crevices.

One part paint to five parts water is a place to start with the washes. Go easy on the darker washes - just let it run into the crevices. In fact, if you vary colors enough, you may not need black at all.

Finally, I dry brush a light tan over everything to highlight the edges and lighten the overall color a bit as desired.

If you find you don't like the way some of the rocks came out, just paint over again with the latex house paint and try again!

Then, I add the vegetation. Paint on some 50-50 white glue and water where plants would take root and sprinkle on the ground foam.

Jim

This video from Woodland Scenics is very good about paint/wash techniques for rocks and landscape - starts at about the 7:00 minute mark.

Model Realistic Rocks - Tips & Techniques - Woodland Scenics