Terrain/ Board Paint?

[Big Sexy]

Just wondering what kind of paint everyone uses for painting their terrain and boards, especially big boards.  In the past I've used large bottles of craft acrylic but I was wondering if there is something better.

[Svennn]

I use matt emulsion, the stuff for walls etc. You can get it mixed to any colour at most DIY stores

[Sir Dryden]

Same as Svenn here. Good ol' wall paint works great. Also, most hardware stores have a few cans of badly mixed paint that they'll sell at a real bargain price. There's nothing wrong with the paint, it's just that the color is not what a customer asked for. I've made great discoveries there (both for terrain and actual wall-painting...)

Yours truly,

Sir Dryden

[Captain Blood]

Yep. Matt emulsion.

[Big Sexy]

Hmm.  Would this emulsion stuff be the what I might know as Latex house paint?  Does it offer any extra protection for pink or blue foam? 

[Malamute]

Not sure what latex house paint is?
 I use the same as the other guys. I go to the local DIY store, ( Homebase or whatever your nearest is called) and buy a litre tin of matt paint. The sort you would paint your living room walls with. Its not special paint, just plain matt (water based) Emulsion.

[Centaur_Seducer]

Hmm.  Would this emulsion stuff be the what I might know as Latex house paint?  Does it offer any extra protection for pink or blue foam? 

I'm pretty sure that it isn't the same thing. Latex paint is usually used on the outside of the house to bring extra protection. Matt emulsion is just a plain bucket of paint for indoor use.

[Big Sexy]

Okay.  I'm sure its the same stuff or close enough.  Just never heard it called that.

[Ramshackle_Curtis]

Yes, cheap paint is the best paint. Well, actually it depends what you are doing with it. Emulsion is good, especially for white, as it it cheap. I also like really bad acrylics, from the cheap shop. They tend to split into their constituent parts when you water them down, which is in a way good as it means you get nice variation over your terrain. However, not good for doing high quality things like inside a pristine space ship or something.

As said above, hardware stores can mix you a pot of whatever colour you like, but it costs and then you have a whole load of it. Better to use cheap acrylic, as its easier to store and better quality to use.

Remember, you can just mix any paints that are water based too, so house paint and acrylic and kids powder paint all can go in the pot together. Just go for what is the cheapest and you will be ok.


My personal technique is to dry brush scenery with white house paint, then wash with dirty brown black mix, then drybrush again, then wash again and repeat until it looks good. The more layers of work you do, the "richer" the finish will be, with more texture and a nicer quality to the end result.

[Centaur_Seducer]

Okay.  I'm sure its the same stuff or close enough.  Just never heard it called that.

Its not the same here at all. But it might be in the US
Check the tin and look for thinning advice, if it says white spirit or something else than water, its probably not a good thing to paint your terrain with. If its for outdoor use, it'll probably shrink, and that might warp your stuff a lot.

Edit: Bloody iphone and auto spelling in a different language...

[Gluteus Maximus]

And most paint companies (in the UK at least) sell small "match pots" for a pound or so. You can then try it out and see how it covers and what the "dry" colour looks like before you shell out on a large tin. I've got a couple of match pots I use for drybrushing highlights that have lasted a couple of years, so it becomes even better value 

[Red Orc]

I second the matchpots/tester pots idea. You can sometimes pick them up at about 30p (I reckon about 40c in US?) when they are end-of-range stock. Last time I was in the DIY store I got a bunch of sandy-coloured ones for my desert board.

Obviously, they're still sitting unopened on a shelf somewhere, but hey ho, it was still a good idea to get them...

[Gluteus Maximus]

I second the matchpots/tester pots idea. You can sometimes pick them up at about 30p (I reckon about 40c in US?) when they are end-of-range stock. Last time I was in the DIY store I got a bunch of sandy-coloured ones for my desert board.

Obviously, they're still sitting unopened on a shelf somewhere, but hey ho, it was still a good idea to get them...

And unlike GW paints they won't dry up after the first time they've been opened 

[Antenociti]

Hmm.  Would this emulsion stuff be the what I might know as Latex house paint?  Does it offer any extra protection for pink or blue foam? 

Yes.

Latex-Acrylic emulsion aka House Paint...as you get from Homebase, B&Q etc. They also do the textured exterior versions which are very useful, although you can achieve the same by just mixing in some sand to the normal stuff.

It's excellent for covering styrofoam: tough and slightly felxible and it grips styrofoam very well.