Metallic paint does something no other paint does: it contains reflective particles that create the appearance of metal by actually reflecting light, rather than by simulating it with colour. That makes it far easier to get a convincing result than painting metal by hand, and it also makes metallics behave in ways that catch people out.
This guide covers working with true metallic paints. Painting metal using ordinary colours is a different discipline, touched on briefly at the end.
Why metallic paint behaves differently
Three practical consequences follow from those reflective particles.
First, metallic paint has enormous apparent value range. The same surface looks almost black where nothing is reflecting and very bright where light catches it, and that range shifts as you move the model. This is why metallics look alive on the table.
Second, the particles are larger and heavier than ordinary pigment. Metallic paint settles quickly in the pot and needs thorough shaking, and it tends to be more granular in application. It also does not thin as gracefully as ordinary paint; over-thinned metallic separates into water and glitter.
Third, the particles travel. They get into your water, onto your brush and then onto whatever you paint next. Metallic contamination on a matt surface is very visible and annoying to remove.
Silver and steel
The general workflow, described generically:
- Dark base. Either a dark metallic such as gunmetal, or a plain black or very dark brown undercoat. Starting dark gives depth that a bright silver base cannot.
- Metallic midtone. Apply your main steel or silver over the base, leaving the darkest recesses showing. Two thin coats.
- Shade selectively. A dark wash into the recesses only. Brown-toned shades give a warmer, used steel; black or blue-toned shades give a colder, harder steel.
- Restore the midtone. Bring the metallic back over the raised surfaces that the shade has dulled.
- Bright highlight. A brighter silver on the edges and the points that catch most light. Keep it narrow.
The step people skip is four. Shading knocks the whole surface down, and if you do not bring the midtone back the metal ends up looking dull and grey rather than reflective.
Gold and brass
Same structure, different colour logic. Warm metals want warm shadows.
Shade gold and brass with brown-toned or red-toned shades rather than black. A black wash over gold produces a dirty grey-green that reads as tarnish rather than metal. A warm brown shade keeps the gold looking golden in the recesses.
For highlights, take the gold towards a paler warm metallic rather than towards silver. Mixing silver into gold desaturates it quickly and the result reads as neither. A small amount of a very bright gold or a warm pale metallic on the sharpest edges is enough.
Brass and bronze follow the same rules with a slightly cooler, greener bias in the base colour.
Do not drown metallics in shade
This is the most common metallic mistake. An all-over wash across a metallic surface covers the reflective particles with a film of tinted medium, and the metal stops reflecting. The result looks like dark grey plastic.
Apply shade into the recesses and let the raised surfaces keep their reflectivity. If you have already flooded a surface, the fix is to reapply the metallic midtone over the raised areas, which restores the reflective layer.
A useful mental model: on ordinary paint, shading darkens. On metallic paint, shading also dulls, and dullness is the thing you cannot afford to lose.
Creating contrast between different metals
Models often carry several metals at once, and if they all read the same the detail disappears into one silver mass.
Ways to separate them:
- By temperature. Cool steel against warm brass is the easiest and most reliable separation.
- By value. A dark gunmetal against a bright silver, both cool, but clearly different in brightness.
- By finish. A heavily shaded, weathered iron against a clean polished steel reads as two different materials even at similar values.
- By shade colour. The same base metallic shaded with brown in one place and blue-black in another produces two visibly different metals from one pot.
Two metals is usually enough on a single model. Three starts to look busy unless one of them is confined to very small details.
Painting weapons
Weapons are the most commonly metallic part of a model and they benefit from a slightly different treatment to armour.
Blades read best with a bright, clean edge and a darker body, which suggests a sharpened edge catching light. Run a fine bright highlight along the cutting edge and keep the flat of the blade darker.
Gun barrels and casings usually look better darker and less reflective than a blade, since they are not polished surfaces. A heavily shaded gunmetal with restrained highlights reads correctly.
Because weapons project from the model and catch the eye, they are a good place to control focus. A very bright weapon draws attention; a muted one lets the model's face or armour lead instead. Our guide to painting black armour covers managing that contrast when the armour is very dark.
Painting metallic armour
Large metallic panels are harder than small metallic details, because the granularity of metallic paint is more visible across a big smooth surface and because there is more area for shading to go wrong.
Thin coats matter more here than usual, and so does the base underneath. A smooth dark base gives the metallic something even to sit on. Build the metallic in two or three thin passes rather than one thick one, and shade only into the panel lines rather than across the faces.
On large curved metallic surfaces, a soft volumetric highlight, a broader band of brighter metallic across the part facing the light, reads better than a thin edge line alone.
Rust and weathering
Optional and easily overdone. A little goes a long way.
Rust is most convincing when it is confined to where water would collect and where the surface is already damaged: lower edges, around rivets and bolts, inside recesses, along the base of panels. Build it from a dark red-brown with small amounts of a brighter orange-brown on top, applied with a stippling motion rather than painted as a shape.
Chipping works well on metallics because bare metal showing through paint is inherently plausible. Small irregular marks along edges, painted in a slightly lighter metallic than the surrounding surface.
The restraint rule applies: weather the places that would genuinely weather, not the whole model uniformly.
Metallic paint contamination
Practical measures that save a lot of frustration:
- Keep a separate water pot for metallics if you can. This solves most of the problem on its own.
- Rinse thoroughly before switching to any matt colour, and check the water runs clear rather than shimmering.
- Sequence your painting. Do all the metallics together, either early or late, rather than alternating between metallic and matt colours.
- Paint white and other light colours before metallics, not after. Light colours show metallic contamination worst.
- Wipe your palette between metallic and non-metallic work; particles left on a wet palette will find their way into the next colour.
If metallic has landed where it should not be, repaint the base colour over it. Expect to need two coats, because one coat often lets the sparkle show through. Our guide to fixing painting mistakes covers this and similar repairs.
Metallic paint and brush care
Metallic particles are abrasive and they lodge in the base of the bristles more stubbornly than ordinary pigment. A brush used regularly for metallics will lose its point faster than one used for ordinary paint.
Keep a dedicated brush or two for metallics rather than using your best detail brush. Rinse immediately after use rather than letting metallic dry in the bristles, and clean thoroughly down to the ferrule. Never let metallic paint dry in a brush you care about.
True metallic metal versus non-metallic metal
Two different approaches to the same goal.
True metallic metal uses metallic paints, letting the reflective particles do the work. It is faster, more forgiving, and looks convincing under normal viewing conditions because it genuinely reflects light. This is what almost all tabletop armies use, and it is what this guide covers.
Non-metallic metal uses ordinary opaque colours to paint the appearance of metal, placing the reflections and shadows by hand with greys, blues and creams. It photographs superbly and looks striking under fixed lighting, but it takes far longer, demands strong control of value, and can look flat under lighting that does not match the painted reflections.
Neither is better. They suit different purposes, and most painters use metallic paints for armies and reserve non-metallic work for individual display pieces.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I thin metallic paint?
Less than ordinary paint. Metallic thins poorly and separates when over-diluted. Aim for slightly thinner than pot consistency and build in coats. Our guide to thinning paints covers judging this on the palette.
Should I varnish over metallics?
You can, but matt varnish reduces reflectivity, which is the whole point of metallic paint. If you varnish for protection, consider leaving metallic areas glossier, or accept some loss of shine as a trade-off for durability.
Can I drybrush metallics?
Yes, and it works particularly well. Metallic paint drybrushes beautifully over textured surfaces such as chainmail and damaged armour. Our drybrushing guide covers the technique.
Why does my gold look green?
Almost always a black or cool-toned wash over it. Shade gold with warm brown or red-brown tones instead, and reapply gold over the raised areas to restore it.
What order should metallics come in?
Most people paint them near the end, after the main colours are done, so contamination has less opportunity to spread. The exception is if the model is predominantly metal, in which case do the metal first and work around it. Our beginner painting guide covers sequencing, and our edge highlighting guide covers the highlight technique metallics rely on.
Independent guide published by Blubbercove Ltd/WarSplay. This article is not affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, authorised by or licensed by Games Workshop Limited. Warhammer 40,000 is a trade mark of Games Workshop Limited.