Citadel Technical paints are not base coats or layer colors. Each one does a specific job, texture, rust, glow, protective coat, and the range only makes sense once you know which job is which. The Citadel Technical range currently holds 21 paints, and most painters only ever reach for four or five of them regularly.
What separates a technical paint from a base or layer paint
A base or layer paint covers an area in flat color. A technical paint changes the surface itself: it adds grit, simulates corrosion, glows under a wash, or seals a finish. Some go on with a brush like normal paint, some are stippled with an old brush, and a few are closer to a medium than a color at all.
Texture paints
Agrellan Badland and Agrellan Earth dry with a deep cracked-earth texture, useful for desert bases or armor damage. Astrogranite gives a speckled stone finish straight from the pot. Armageddon Dust is a fine sandy texture for basing. Martian Ironcrust and Martian Ironearth lay down a rusted, granular surface for industrial or wasteland bases. Stirland Mud is a thinner, muddy texture that reads as wet ground once drybrushed.
Weathering and corrosion effects
Typhus Corrosion is the one most painters reach for first: a thick, grimy green-brown that pools in recesses and reads as filth or decay on armor, hulls, and bases. Nurgles Rot layers a sickly yellow ooze over it for a wetter, more disgusting finish. Mordant Earth is a dark, dried-mud effect for boots and vehicle treads.
Glazes and glow effects
Tesseract Glow, Soulstone Blue, and Spiritstone Red are transparent glaze paints built to sit over a bright basecoat and fake internal light, the classic technique for glowing eyes, power sources, or crystal formations. Waystone Green does similar work in a cooler tone. Nihilakh Oxide gives a patchy verdigris effect for aged bronze or copper, painted straight over a metallic base.
Mediums and protective coats
Ardcoat is a gloss varnish medium, often used under a glaze to keep the glow effects above looking wet and saturated, or as a protective coat before decals. Contrast Medium and Lahmian Medium thin Contrast and standard paints respectively without breaking their finish. Stormshield is a protective clear coat aimed at models handled often, like gaming pieces that see a lot of table time. Blood For The Blood God and Valhallan Blizzard are pigment-heavy technical effects for pooled blood and packed snow.
| Group | Example paints | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Texture | Agrellan Badland, Astrogranite, Stirland Mud | Adds physical surface texture to bases and armor |
| Weathering | Typhus Corrosion, Nurgles Rot, Mordant Earth | Simulates grime, rot, and dried mud in recesses |
| Glow and glaze | Tesseract Glow, Soulstone Blue, Nihilakh Oxide | Transparent color over a basecoat for light or patina |
| Medium and coat | Ardcoat, Lahmian Medium, Stormshield | Thins paint or protects a finished surface |
| Pigment effect | Blood For The Blood God, Valhallan Blizzard | Heavy, textural pigment for a single specific effect |
Because these are effects rather than color-matched paints, cross-brand equivalence is a weaker question than it is for a base or layer paint. If you are trying to match a Citadel Technical effect in another brand's lineup, the closer comparison is usually AK Interactive's effects paints, which are built for the same job even when the exact texture differs.
How to apply texture paints without wrecking the pot
Stipple, do not brush, thick texture paints like Agrellan Badland with an old, cheap brush kept just for that job. A synthetic detail brush set gives you a disposable option so your good sable never touches a texture paint. For mixing thinner effects like Stirland Mud with water or Lahmian Medium, a ceramic mixing palette keeps the pigment from staining a normal palette permanently.
FAQ
What is Nihilakh Oxide used for?
Nihilakh Oxide is a patchy blue-green glaze painted over a metallic basecoat to simulate oxidized bronze or copper, the verdigris look on old statues and weathered brass fittings.
What is Citadel Ardcoat?
Ardcoat is a gloss varnish medium. It is most often used under glow glazes like Tesseract Glow to keep the effect looking saturated, or brushed on as a protective gloss coat before applying transfers.
Is Blood For The Blood God a wash?
No. It is a thick, pigment-heavy technical paint built to pool in recesses and on flat surfaces as simulated blood, not a thin wash meant to shade recesses evenly.
How do technical paints differ from Contrast paints?
Contrast paints are single-coat shade-and-highlight colors applied over a white or pale undercoat. Technical paints are effects, texture, glow, weathering, or protective coats, and most are not meant to cover a model's whole surface the way a Contrast paint is.
Buy the synthetic detail brush set(affiliate link) for texture work and a ceramic mixing palette(affiliate link) for thinning glazes, so your regular brushes and palette stay clean.