How do I paint metal armour and edges on Warhammer models?
Paint metal in three moves: a metallic Base paint, a Shade or thinned Contrast over it for depth, then a lighter metal along the edges. Gold looks richer over a white spray. For coloured metal, put a thin Contrast over silver or gold. On large flat plates, pick out the edges with a lighter metal.
Four metal looks and the recipe for each
| Look | Recipe | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Worn steel | Leadbelcher basecoat, then a Shade. Ratling Grime over working metal gives it the patina of age. | Guns, barrels, engines |
| Clean, polished armour | Leadbelcher basecoat, then Basilicanum Grey thinned a little with Contrast Medium. | Armour that should look clean |
| Rich gold | Spray White Scar, then Retributor Armour. Brush Stormhost Silver lightly over the top, then two coats of Reikland Fleshshade. | Gold armour, trim, icons |
| Coloured metal | A thin Contrast over the metallic: Akhelian Green or Aethermatic Blue over Runelord Brass or Retributor Armour for verdigris, or a thinned Kroxigor Scales over Leadbelcher. | Wide metallic panels, magic weapons |
What the 11th Edition set gives you
Paints & Tools: Warhammer 40,000 (11th Edition) holds two metallics, Leadbelcher for steel and Retributor Armour for gold, plus Agrax Earthshade, a Shade. It is £22.83 against an RRP of £27.50, and is sold out at the moment. That is enough for the Classic method on metal, which Games Workshop describes as Base paints followed by a Shade: Leadbelcher first, then Agrax Earthshade pushed into the recesses.
A trick for a whole squad, from Adam, one of the Games Workshop painters: he undercoated Stormcast Eternals black, then sprayed Leadbelcher from above at an angle. The angled spray left shadows without extra work. He shaded the metal with Drakenhof Nightshade and finished with an all-over drybrush of Runefang Steel.
Catching the edges
- Hold the model up to a lamp. Look at where the light falls on each edge.
- Pick out the sharpest edges first with a lighter metal, such as the right angles and panel edges on power armour.
- Take a brighter metal and go over the top three quarters of each of those edge lines. Stormhost Silver does it on steel.
- Put your brightest colour as a tiny dot wherever two edges meet. It makes the surface look reflective.
For worn armour, chip it instead. Painter Tyler Mengel dabbed Stormhost Silver on a piece of foam, tested it on paper towel first to check how much paint came off, then dabbed the high-wear areas and edges. He adds that it is easier to do too little and come back than to overdo it.
Coloured metal: keep the Contrast thin
Contrast over metallic paint is a quick way to colour metal, and the beginner advice on Warhammer Community, Games Workshop's news site, says it works in many combinations. Our advice for a first try: thin it with medium, load the brush lightly, and use a small brush to guide the paint round the surface, because a heavy coat goes blotchy. A trick for a sickly glow on Necron and Skaven metal is Warp Lightning over Leadbelcher, followed by a swift drybrush of Flash Gitz Yellow.
Our page on Contrast pooling and patches covers the application in detail. We list these metallic paints, a Shade and a Leadbelcher spray:
Common questions
How do I make metallic paint look shiny and not flat?
Give it dark and light. Shade the recesses, then add a lighter metal to the edges and a dot of your brightest colour where two edges meet. A metal basecoat on its own looks flat.
How do I tint silver or gold paint a colour?
Put a thin Contrast over the metallic, as the Warhammer Community team often do. Thin it with medium and keep the coat light.
Why does gold look dull over grey plastic?
Gold needs a bright base. Games Workshop's painters spray White Scar first and then Retributor Armour, and find the gold much more vivid than spraying onto bare plastic. A white or very pale undercoat does the work.
How do I weather metal?
For working metal such as barrels and engine parts, Ratling Grime gives the patina of age. For corrosion, Games Workshop's painting guide names a Technical paint, Nihilakh Oxide, as the metal weathering paint.
Worn steel, polished armour, coloured metal and Contrast over metallic paints: Warhammer Community, 18 February 2025, plus 26 August 2022 for the Kroxigor Scales panels. Gold: Warhammer Community, 20 March 2026. Chipping: Warhammer Community, 2 July 2021. The squad spray trick: Warhammer Community, 4 July 2024. Edge highlights: Warhammer Community, 14 July 2023. The Classic method: Warhammer Community, 28 June 2022. Metal weathering: Warhammer Community, 29 June 2022. Contents of Paints & Tools (11th Edition) and the paint types in the 10th Edition set: this shop's listings. Prices and stock: this shop, read live.