Citadel black wash

Nuln Oil Equivalent: Vallejo, Army Painter & AK

No close cross-brand equivalent is currently indexed for Nuln Oil. Use the page as orientation rather than as proof of a direct substitute.

Citadel (Games Workshop) Citadel Shade paint
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Why can a close wash behave differently?

A wash must also be judged on transparency, flow and the way it settles into recesses. A close average colour is not enough.

Top paint matches

Delta-E shows colour distance, while the Type column highlights the paint family or any application difference worth checking.

No cross-brand equivalent is currently close enough for this paint in the indexed catalogue.

Which equivalent should you choose to replace Nuln Oil?

How to stay in true wash territory

Prioritise products made for recess shading. Even a close black paint does not replace that behaviour.

What colour difference should you expect from Nuln Oil?

No cross-brand candidate currently stays below the retained threshold, so the remaining comparisons are better treated as orientation than as direct substitution.

For a wash, transparency, flow and the way the pigment concentrates in recesses matter as much as the average colour sample.

What is Nuln Oil used for?

Nuln Oil is meant to shade recesses on metals, armour and mechanical details rather than repainting a surface as an opaque black.

To judge a substitute, you therefore need to separate average colour from flow, transparency and the way the product concentrates in recesses.

Other close alternatives

Use the filters and extra results below to inspect more brands or widen the Delta-E tolerance.
No cross-brand equivalent is currently close enough for this paint in the indexed catalogue.

Methodology

ChromaStack compares paints with the CIEDE2000 formula: the lower the Delta-E, the closer the average colour match.

That score helps rank alternatives, but it does not replace a real miniature test or checks on primer, finish and thinning.

Metallics and washes need extra caution because their behaviour also depends on flow, surface build-up and reflected light.

Read the conversion guide

FAQ

No Vallejo option currently stays below the ChromaStack colour threshold retained for this pilot page.

No. Nuln Oil is a wash, so transparency, flow and recess behaviour matter more than a similar average colour.

No. Delta-E only compares colour distance, not the way the liquid settles, dries or pools.

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