What exactly is an "ink wash?"

[Balki]

Hello fellow Planeteers!
This might qualify as the stupid question of the week, but what exactly is an “ink wash?":o
I finally had some time to look through the posts and found David Diaz’s way of painting exhaust in his “Diorama - Featuring Tamiya’s old Pz IV D” thread.
http://www.planetarmor.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2971&page=31
Besides using the regular “oil washes” he also uses “ink washes”. What is the difference and what inks/paints do I need to do the ink wash?
I tried to use the almighty and powerful “search” option to see if maybe this method was explained already somewhere on the PA, but to my surprise as powerful tool as it is, it can not search for the word “ink” because it has less than four letters.:confused:
Balki

[Panzergrenadier]

OFF TOPIC: Actually the search engine can't find anything titled T-34 either.:D

[greybeard]

Hello fellow Planeteers!
I tried to use the almighty and powerful “search” option to see if maybe this method was explained already somewhere on the PA, but to my surprise as powerful tool as it is, it can not search for the word “ink” because it has less than four letters.:confused:
Balki

Balki, punch in "ink wash" in quotes. That will reveal the threads.

Cheers
Scott Fraser

[Panzergrenadier]

There is some talk about it here:

http://www.planetarmor.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3087&page=8

[Balki]

Thanks Scott! You just taught me a very useful computer trick. This helped locating a few threads where the "ink wash" was mentioned but nothing more.:(

Siim, Thanks for the link. If I read it correctly the only (and very obvious) difference between "ink wash" and regular wash is that in one we use diluted ink and the other uses diluted oil paints. Still, I can't find any explanation as to what would be the advantage of ink wash over oil wash.

Balki

[greybeard]

. . . Still, I can't find any explanation as to what would be the advantage of ink wash over oil wash.
Balki

I think you'll find that inks use much finer pigments than paint, and may tend not to be as opaque. Also, with solvent-based paints, it's harder to undo the "overdo". With inks, I think most will be soluable with water, with or without alcohol.

Cheers