Have you ever wondered: “why is my Agrax Earthshade drying glossy?”
You’re not alone. I was also confused when my Agrax Earthshade was drying shiny.
Look at my humble toy soldiers, ruined by glossy Agrax Earthshade! I’m sure this happened to you too.
It turns out, our shiny agrax earthshade problems are caused by a mystery gunk that’s located in the bottom of our paint pots.
And after some research and experimentation, I’ve figured out the solution.
How To Fix Shiny Agrax Earthshade – First Method
Beware, there is a gloss variant of agrax earthshade! These methods only work on the standard variant.
- The first thing you need to do is make sure your pot of wash is the standard agrax earthshade.
- After that, open your paint pot, and insert a small stirring stick inside the pot. (The back of a paintbrush, or a pen, are fine substitutes.)
This next part is the most important, so pay attention!
- Use careful force to scoop and agitate the mystery gunk located in the bottom of the paint pot.
- Continue stirring this gunk until it’s all loose.
- Then finally, close up your paint pot, and SHAKE WHATCHUR MOMMA GAVE YA. (Or, hook it up into an automatic paint shaker.)
- After a few moments of furious shaking, say goodbye to your agrax wash that dries shiny!
Why Is My Agrax Earthshade Glossy?
We’ve all seen old pots of paint that dry up. The chemicals that make up “paint” will separate if they’re unused for too long.
Pigment powders, colored dyes, and matte additives all wind up separating over time.
This same principal applies to washes, like Agrax Earthshade.
The chemical responsible for preventing agrax earthshade from drying shiny is “matte medium.”
So, when that matte medium separates from the wash, you’re stuck with a glossy shade!
All that’s needed to fix agrax earthshade that dries glossy, is mixing the matte medium back into the wash.
After you’ve mixed the matte medium back into your wash, always make sure to shake your paint pot before you use it. That way, you won’t have to go gunk hunting ever again.
More About Matte Medium
Does “matte” Sound familiar? You might’ve heard of “matte” before!
Matte (or matt) is a dulling agent, that overrides a glossy or shiny appearance. Usually, miniature painters use “Matt Varnish” as a 2-for-1 tool when wrapping up their minis.
First, matte varnish acts as a protective seal around the miniature. This ensures your paint job looks beautiful, and stays chip free!
Second, matte varnish combats glossy or shiny appearances on your army men. It can even out-right eliminate a shine in its entirety from your miniature!
If you’re thinking about using matte varnish, you’ll be glad to know they come in a “mate varnish spray” or paint-on matte varnish varieties.
Which leads us to the 2nd method of fixing a glossy agrax earthshade…
How To Fix Glossy Agrax Earthshade – Second Method
The second best way of fighting against a glossy agrax wash is by using a matte varnish.
All you have to do is apply a thin layer or two of matte varnish on your shiny minatures, and they’ll be as dull as a rock. You could use a spray on matte varnish, like from the army painter, or a paint on varnish, like by Vallejo.
Easy huh?
Conclusion – Last Thoughts On Fixing Glossy Agrax Earthshade
Now, the best technique to prevent glossiness would be to use both my methods in combination.
If you wanna take a step further, you could also drop a few mixing balls into your pot of wash. But, the two methods I gave you here are good enough.
Now armed with this knowledge, I send you back into hobby front lines!
Let the ruining of your minis by shine happen no more!
We salute you!
