Tried Speedpaints? Here’s What I Think

I’ve always liked the idea of painting miniatures, but not the hours it usually takes to get them looking half-decent. That’s where Speedpaints come in—and after using them for a while now, I’ve got some thoughts.

What even are Speedpaints?

Speedpaints are basically one-coat paints. You prime your mini in a light colour (white or grey), slap on a Speedpaint, and it handles the base colour, shading, and highlights all in one go.

Sounds too good to be true—but surprisingly, it works.

What I liked

• They’re fast. 

  Genuinely fast. You can get a decent tabletop-ready mini done in under 15 minutes, start to finish—including drying time. Compared to the usual basecoat → wash → highlight cycle (which can easily take an hour or more per model), Speedpaints cut that right down. I painted a group of five skeletons in the time it would normally take me to finish one—and they looked good enough to hit the table right away. For big armies or NPC mobs, this is a massive time-saver.

  
  

• They flow nicely. 

  The paint’s consistency is somewhere between a wash and a thinned-down basecoat. It’s thinner than normal acrylics, but thicker than something like a Citadel Shade. You load your brush, drop it on the mini, and it naturally runs into the recesses without much effort on your part. It’s a bit like Citadel Contrast, but I found Speedpaints to be smoother and slightly easier to control—less pooling around the feet and awkward bits. It also doesn’t dry as quickly, which gives you a little more time to move it around.

  
  

• They’re good for detail. 

  This is where they shine. On models with lots of texture—things like robes, fur, wood grain, muscles, scaly skin—the results look way more complex than the effort you’ve put in. The paint catches the raised areas just enough to give you some natural highlights, and the shading in the recesses does a lot of the heavy lifting. It’s not perfect, but if you’re painting a bunch of miniatures quickly and want them to look decent from across the table, it absolutely does the job. I wouldn’t use them for flat or smooth surfaces (like armour plates or vehicles), but for organic detail, they’re a win.

I used them on a few D&D miniatures and some scatter terrain, just to test the range. I didn’t spend more than 10 minutes on each one—just primed them light grey, picked a few colours, and got on with it. They weren’t winning any awards, but they looked fine—more than good enough for the table. The kind of paint job where you can hold them at arm’s length, squint a bit, and be perfectly happy with how they look on a battle map.

They’re not parade-ready, and they’re definitely not replacing proper layering or edge highlighting if that’s your thing. But for me, it did the job in the time I had. And that’s kind of the point—getting your minis painted and in play without spending hours on every model.

That said, I’ve seen some painters really push these further. With a bit of patience, careful brush control, and clever colour choices, people have managed some genuinely impressive stuff—good contrast, clean finishes, even glowing effects and gradients. The tools are there if you want to take it further. I didn’t—but it’s nice to know you can.

What’s not so great

• They stain. 

  Once it’s on, it’s on. These paints are designed to sink into the primer and stain the surface, which helps them stick and settle properly—but it also means you can’t easily lift or wipe mistakes away. If you go over a bit you didn’t mean to (say, you catch an arm when you’re painting a cloak), you’ve got two choices: live with it, or wait for it to dry and go back over it with primer to reset that bit. You can paint over it, but the colour underneath might show through, especially with lighter paints. It’s not a massive issue once you know to be careful, but it’s worth being aware of—especially if you’re used to more forgiving paints.

• First gen had issues. 

  The original Speedpaint line (pre-2.0) had a pretty frustrating problem: reactivation. Basically, even after it dried, if you tried to paint something over the top—another colour, a highlight, even a bit of drybrushing—it would lift the layer underneath and smudge it all together. Not ideal.

  
  

  Army Painter got a lot of feedback on it, and to be fair, they listened. The 2.0 version fixed that, and it’s much more stable now. You can paint over it without everything going mushy, which makes a big difference if you want to add details or layer up.

  
  

  But if you’re buying second-hand kits, grabbing clearance sets, or using old stock, you might still be dealing with the first version—so just check the label before you dive in.

  
  

  We only stock the updated 2.0 version, so if you're looking to try them out without the reactivation headache, you’re all good here.

  
  

• Limited control. 

  Speedpaints do a lot of the work for you, but they don’t always do it how you’d want. You can’t really control where the shading lands, and it doesn’t always behave the same on every model. Sometimes it settles beautifully into the recesses—other times, it pools weirdly or dries blotchy. You can’t feather it out or blend it in like you would with normal layering techniques. What you get is very much down to how the paint flows and how the sculpt is shaped. It’s more “trust the process” than “paint with precision.” That’s fine for quick jobs—but if you’re the kind of painter who likes control, you might find it a bit frustrating.

Should you use them?

If you’re after Golden Demon-level detail—probably not. Speedpaints aren’t made for ultra-fine blending, micro highlights, or showing off ten layers of colour theory. But that’s not a bad thing. Not everyone paints for display. If your goal is to get models painted, looking decent, and on the table without it turning into a second job, then Speedpaints are a solid choice.

They’re especially handy for:

Painting large batches (e.g. armies or mobs) - When you’ve got 30 skeletons or a swarm of goblins to paint, sitting down with your usual full-process painting routine can feel overwhelming. With Speedpaints, you can knock out batches quickly—basecoat, details, done. It’s a good way to build momentum and see progress fast. Great for wargamers, DMs prepping encounters, or anyone staring down a backlog of plastic.

Beginners who just want to get started - The traditional painting process can be intimidating: priming, basecoating, shading, highlighting, edge work… It’s a lot. Speedpaints strip it back. You can get a satisfying result with just a brush and a bottle. That first painted

Final verdict

Speedpaints won’t make you a pro painter overnight—but that’s not really the point. What they do offer is a way to finish models faster, with less hassle, and still end up with something you’re happy to put on the table. And honestly, that’s half the battle. Most of us have more minis than time, and Speedpaints help chip away at that pile without turning it into a slog.

If you’re on the fence, I’d say grab a small set—maybe a few core colours and a mini or two you don’t mind experimenting on. Don’t overthink it. Just see how it feels.

Worst case? You’ve knocked out a few models and learned what works (and what doesn’t) for you. Best case? You’ve found a new go-to method for getting through your backlog, painting at your pace, and still ending up with a collection that looks solid on the table.

It’s not about perfection—it’s about progress. And for me, that’s a win.