How to Paint Steel
Hello hobby friends!
Welcome to another step-by-step painting tutorial from Ulverbite Miniatures. In this guide, I’ll show you how I painted the steel on my Dweghom Steelforged from Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings.
This is a straightforward true metallic metal technique that builds up several metallic tones before using an oil wash to create depth and definition. The final highlights bring the shine back and give the steel a strong, worn metallic finish.
Paints Needed:
Primer: Citadel Leadbelcher Spray or another suitable primer
Base: Vallejo Metal Color Exhaust Manifold
Midtone: Vallejo Metal Color Steel
Highlights: Vallejo Metal Color Dark Aluminium
Oil Wash: Black + Raw Umber + Thinner
Final Highlights: Vallejo Metal Color Aluminium
Step-by-Step Process:
Prime the Miniature: Start by priming the miniature with Citadel Leadbelcher Spray, or another primer of your choice. A metallic primer gives you a useful starting point and makes covering the larger metal areas much quicker.
Basecoat: Cover the steel areas with Vallejo Metal Color Exhaust Manifold. Apply an even layer across the surfaces you want to treat as steel.
Build the Midtones: Start building up the lighter areas with Vallejo Metal Color Steel. Focus on raised surfaces and areas that would naturally catch more light, while leaving Exhaust Manifold visible in the darker recesses.
Push the Highlights: Apply Vallejo Metal Color Dark Aluminium to the more exposed areas. Reduce the highlighted area compared with the previous step so the metallic tones gradually become brighter toward the light source.
Apply the Oil Wash: Now it’s time to let the oil wash do its magic. Mix Black, Raw Umber, and Thinner in approximately a 1:1:4 ratio and apply it over the entire steel area. I use Abteilung 502 oil paints, but any suitable artist oils will work.
Remove the Excess: Once the oil wash has had time to settle, use a cotton bud or make-up sponge lightly dampened with thinner to gently remove the excess from the raised surfaces. This keeps the darker tones in the recesses while bringing back the metallic finish underneath.
Restore the Highlights: Reapply Vallejo Metal Color Dark Aluminium to the lighter areas. This restores some of the shine lost beneath the wash and strengthens the contrast between the shadows and exposed metal.
Final Highlights: Finish with Vallejo Metal Color Aluminium on the most exposed edges and points. Keep these highlights small and selective to create a convincing metallic sparkle.
Conclusion:
And that’s it - your steel is done!
The oil wash is what really brings this technique together. It quickly adds depth around details and recesses, while cleaning it back from the raised areas creates natural-looking contrast without requiring complicated blending.
You can easily adjust the final result by keeping more of the oil wash for darker, more weathered steel or pushing the Aluminium highlights further for a cleaner and brighter finish.
If you try this technique, share your results with me on my Instagram page. I’d love to see how it works on your miniatures!
Grab this Conquest model from the Para Bellum eShop and use code ULVERBITE10 for 10% off. Using the code also helps support my work at no extra cost to you.
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