How to Paint Chaos Knights — Step by Step Guide

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How to Paint Chaos Knights — Step by Step Guide

Learning how to paint Chaos Knights is one of the most rewarding challenges in the hobby. These are huge models with large armour panels, exposed machinery, trophies and spikes, so a small army gives you plenty to paint. This guide covers a dark, corrupted-iron scheme with brass trim and a sickly green daemonic glow, then shows how to adapt it to other colours.

Because a Chaos Knights army is only a handful of big Knights and a few Wardogs, you will spend more time per model than with most armies. That makes subassembly and planning more important than speed.

Complete Paint List for Chaos Knights

Gather these Citadel paints before you start:

Step-by-Step Painting Guide

Step 1: Preparation and Priming

Clean all mould lines with a sharp hobby knife or mould line remover and dry-fit the parts before gluing. Knights are ideal for subassembly painting: keep the carapace, arms and weapons, and the leg armour plates separate from the chassis where the kit allows. That gives you much better access to the machinery underneath.

Prime with Chaos Black spray. Hold the can about 20-30cm away and apply several thin, sweeping passes rather than one heavy coat. Let it cure before handling, and touch up any missed spots with Abaddon Black. A black primer creates natural shadows in the recesses and suits a dark, corrupted metal scheme.

Step 2: Base Coating

Apply Leadbelcher to the armour plates and Warplock Bronze to the trims, the chassis machinery, pistons and cabling details. Use a medium base brush (or an airbrush for the big panels) and apply two thin coats rather than one thick coat, letting each dry fully.

Base the daemonic glow areas, such as vents, runes, power cells and eye lenses, in Warpstone Glow. Don’t worry about being perfectly neat yet; you will tidy up later.

Step 3: Shading and Washes

Once the base coats are dry, wash the armour plates with Nuln Oil. On large flat panels, guide the shade into the recesses and panel lines rather than flooding the whole surface, or it will pool and dry blotchy.

Shade the brass trim and any leather straps or cabling with Agrax Earthshade. Let everything dry completely before moving on, or the shade will lift when you paint over it.

Step 4: Layering

Layer Ironbreaker over the armour plates, leaving the shade visible in the recesses. Layer Brass Scorpion on the trims and raised metal details, leaving the darker Warplock Bronze in the deepest areas.

Build up the glow areas with Moot Green, leaving Warpstone Glow at the edges so the light appears to come from the centre. Use thin paint and build opacity gradually: two thin layers always look better than one thick one.

Step 5: Edge Highlighting

Using a fine detail brush, apply Stormhost Silver to the edges of the armour plates, focusing on the upward-facing edges that would naturally catch the light. Highlight the trims with Sycorax Bronze, and use Canoptek Alloy for the finest highlights on rivets, spikes and bolt heads.

Hold the brush almost parallel to the edge and drag it lightly along so the paint only catches the very edge. Downward-facing edges can be left darker for a more natural look.

Step 6: Corruption, Glow and Weathering

Run a little Nihilakh Oxide into the recesses of the brass trim for verdigris. Apply Typhus Corrosion around joints, feet and the lower legs for grime, and add rust streaks running down from rivets. Keep the weathering heaviest low down, where mud and grime would build up.

Glaze Tesseract Glow over the glow areas and lightly onto the metal immediately around vents and runes to suggest daemonic light spilling out.

Step 7: Basing and Final Details

Apply Stirland Mud or Astrogranite Debris texture paint to the base, depending on whether you want an earthy or urban look. Once dry, drybrush with Tyrant Skull or Longbeard Grey, then add tufts or rubble. Paint the base rim with Abaddon Black or Steel Legion Drab.

Apply transfers to the large panels, using Micro Set and Micro Sol for a painted-on look, and paint any heraldry, icons or scrollwork. Seal the finished model with matte varnish to protect it during games.

Pro Tips for Painting Chaos Knights

• Work in stages: with only a few big models, it is usually better to finish one Knight at a time, or paint a matching pair of Wardogs together, than to batch the whole army. Write down your recipe so later Knights match the first.
• Wet palette: large panels need consistent paint thickness, and a wet palette keeps your paints workable for longer.
• Brush care: clean your brushes regularly and reshape the tips before storing. A good point makes edge highlighting much easier.
• Subassembly: paint the carapace, weapons and leg armour separately from the chassis wherever possible.
• Thin your paints: thin coats preserve detail and give smoother results, which matters on big flat panels where every brushstroke shows.

Alternative Colour Schemes for Chaos Knights

Chaos Knights fall into two broad types in the lore. Iconoclast households are tyrants who rule mortals through fear and display grisly trophies, while Infernal households have bound themselves to the Dark Gods and their daemons. These are household types, not individual houses, but they are a good starting point for theming your army: an Iconoclast army might lean on trophies and weathered, brutal metal, while an Infernal army suits daemonic glows and god-specific colours.

Khorne red and brass

Base the armour plates in Khorne Red, shade with Nuln Oil and highlight with Evil Sunz Scarlet. Keep the brass trim from the main scheme, or use Retributor Armour for a brighter gold. Swap the green glow for orange or red.

Purple and bone

Base the armour plates in Naggaroth Night, highlight with Xereus Purple and edge with a lighter purple. Bone details in Wraithbone or Ushabti Bone contrast well with the dark purple and suit a Slaanesh or Tzeentch theme.

Nurgle rust and green

Paint the armour plates a muted green, then go heavy on Typhus Corrosion and rust streaks. Keep the brass trim and push the verdigris harder for a rotting, neglected look.

Frequently Asked Questions

What primer should I use for Chaos Knights?

Chaos Black spray primer is the best choice for a dark corrupted-metal scheme. It provides natural shadows and works as the deepest shade colour. For lighter alternative schemes, or if you plan to use Contrast paints, consider Grey Seer or Wraithbone primers instead.

How long does it take to paint a Chaos Knights army?

It depends heavily on how many big Knights you take and the standard you’re aiming for. A single big Knight to a solid tabletop standard is a project of many hours, and a display-standard Knight can take several times that. The upside is that a full army is only a handful of models, so you’ll finish far fewer models than with most armies.

Can I use Contrast paints for Chaos Knights?

Yes, on the coloured armour plates. Over a Grey Seer or Wraithbone primer, a Contrast paint such as Blood Angels Red or Black Templar covers big panels quickly. Metals aren’t a Contrast job, though: for the chassis and trims, use a metallic base such as Leadbelcher or Warplock Bronze and shade it. On large flat panels, apply Contrast carefully to avoid streaks and pooling.

What are the most important colours to buy first?

Start with the essentials: Leadbelcher, Ironbreaker, Nuln Oil, and Warplock Bronze. These four paints alone will let you get a solid base-coated and shaded army on the table. Add the highlight and accent colours as your budget allows.

How do I paint the eye lenses and viewports on Chaos Knights?

Paint the lens or viewport with Abaddon Black first, then carefully paint in the lens colour, such as Moot Green to match the daemonic glow or Evil Sunz Scarlet for a more aggressive look. Add a tiny dot of White Scar in one corner for a reflective gleam. Use your finest brush and brace your painting hand against the model for stability.

Should I use an airbrush for Chaos Knights?

An airbrush is excellent for Knights: the big armour panels are exactly where it saves the most time and gives the smoothest transitions. However, it is not required, and every technique in this guide can be done with standard brushes. If you do use one, it pairs well with zenithal priming for natural lighting effects.

How do I make Chaos Knights look corrupted and weathered?

Add rust streaks with Typhus Corrosion and Ryza Rust running down from joints and rivets, and verdigris on brass with Nihilakh Oxide in the recesses. Sponge chipping in a dark brown onto armour edges as well. Keep the weathering heaviest on the legs and lower hull, where mud and grime would build up. A little glowing green or red around vents suggests daemonic corruption.

Can I paint Chaos Knights in Chaos god colours?

Yes, and it’s one of the most popular ways to theme the army. Common choices are red and brass for Khorne, rusty green and bone for Nurgle, blue with gold or pink for Tzeentch, and purple and pink for Slaanesh. Pick one main armour colour and one trim colour, then repeat them across every Knight so the army looks unified.

Learn More About Chaos Knights

Now that you know how to paint your Chaos Knights army, make sure you understand how to play them on the tabletop. Check out our Chaos Knights faction guide for the army’s background, units and tactics.

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