@biggabum quick response re shading. Keep in mind it’s also the humidity that can impact on how stuff dries, not just heat. With regard to thinners, if I am using the Army Painter dip varnish I will usually add a little mineral turpentine (just a small amount) directly to the tin when I first open it to to help with the mixing and to thin it down slightly (I find the initial mix marginally too strong in pigment for my tastes but your mileage may vary…), I also leave the tin sitting in hot water for a few minutes before I open it, to warm the dip and help it mix well. I then stir for a few minutes to mix all the pigment that has settled on the bottom and dip or brush on as required. Once this has done you should usually go back over any minis a minute later and brush away any excess that has pooled as I understand it but I almost always neglect to do that stage in my enthusiasm to batch varnish 50+ models.. <_< Then it’s just a case of leaving for a full day before adding a matt coat to hide the glossyness. GIving the dip a full 24 hours to settle is critical as it keeps working/pulling back into the crevices.

For brush on washes I usually thin down with Vallejo Airbrush flow improver. Thins the base colour a little which reduces the colour tinting on the raised areas and helps stuff settle in the recesses.

On dry (ie low humidity) days the wash will have less time to settle and you will probably wind up with more surface discolouration – might need to thin down a little more than usual on days like this? If you are only washing a couple of minis at a time maybe just keep brushing on the raised areas to stop the wash settling there as much? Also, rehighlighting in the underlying base colour after the wash might help out too.

The main technique I use to avoid the problem is if I am going to hit a big project where I know I will be using washes I try to plan my paint/colour scheme so that the wash phase adds to what I am trying to achieve, rather than detract from it. That’s why a lot of my dungeon crawling adventurers suddenly started wearing greens, browns and beiges a few years ago – those tones take a brown ink wash really well.

Green and beige tones before and after an Army Painter Strong Tone (ie dark brown) dip varnish:

Before:

After:

before:

After:

You get the idea… Appreciate that this is not really a realistic proposition when tied to a particular artistic narrative or historical color scheme…

Bought the ingredients to try version 3 of this recipe the other week – I have a lot of terrain to shade and dropper bottles or small  ink pots aren’t going to cut it 😛 Will keep you posted on the results when I get there..