Justin Gauthier July 13, 2026

How to Paint Space Marines (Warhammer 40K)

So you’ve built your models and scraped the mold lines. step with a detailed step-by-step guide below walking you through it from A to Z, so you can take your grey plastic Intercessor and transform it into a true work of art.

But if you haven’t already, stock up on all the essentials here at Danireon. From the Warhammer 40k miniatures themselves to the full lineup of Citadel paints for every stage covered here. We’ve got it all under one roof, ready to ship anywhere in North America!

Some Background on the Space Marines

These genetically engineered super soldiers have been the poster boys of Warhammer since 1987. They’re covered in power armor and are a full head taller than the average human being.

Most starter sets include these specimens, and for good reason. They’re among the easiest Warhammer 40k armies to paint. You get massive flat armor panels to work with. You have hundreds of color schemes at your fingertips thanks to the deep chapter system, too. For example:

Ultramarines - Blue
Blood Angels - Red
Dark Angels - Dark green
Black Templars - Black and white
Imperial Fists - Yellow

You could also take matters into your own hands and let your creativity take control. Nobody said you have to follow the established lore. Come up with your own chapter and whatever colors you want! The steps on how to paint Space Marines are the same either way.

What You’ll Need For Painting Space Marines

You might already have all the essentials for painting Space Marines on hand. If not, step away from this guide and order it all. You don’t want to find out halfway through your process that you don’t have the right shade. Here’s what you’ll need:

Spray primer (Chaos Black for darker schemes, Wraithbone for lighter-colored chapters or Contrast painting)
Whatever base paint colors your chapter calls for
At least one shade paint (we like Nuln Oil for most Space Marines)
Layer paints (you’ll use these for highlighting)
A metallic base (Retributor Armour or Balthasar Gold) for aquilas and trim
Paintbrushes - 1 medium (base coats), 1 fine detail (eyes/edgework), and 1 cheap brush you are prepared to ruin on drybrushing
A palette (wet palettes preserve paint better, but you can get by with a ceramic tile or wax paper)
Water cup
Paper towels

Other than that, you might want a painting handle or grip so you don’t accidentally smudge a finished panel with your fingertips. That always sucks. Make sure you have good lighting in your workstation, too. You might want to buy a desk lamp with a daylight bulb if not. It’s easy to miss mistakes when you’re working in warm yellow lighting.

You can stock up on most of the actual paints and brushes right here at Danireon, the same place you buy all your models. We carry the full Citadel Color range in our Warhammer paints collection. You can even find complete kits with brushes, a mold line remover, clippers, and a starter paint selection if you are starting from scratch.

How to Paint Warhammer 40K Space Marines: Step-by-Step Guide

Learning how to paint Space Marines isn’t rocket science. We’ve broken it down into six simple steps. Each builds on the last, so don’t jump ahead or go out of order. Here’s your simple guide to painting Space Marines.

Step 1) Priming

Paint can’t stick to bare plastic very well, so priming comes first. Otherwise, you’ll spend twice the effort fixing patchy base coats. Don’t cut corners here.

We always recommend spray primers, really just because of speed. Spray from a distance of 8-10 inches. Work in short bursts as you sweep side to side. You’ll find that 2-3 light passes get you a better base than a single heavy coat. Thick priming just hides all the sculpted details and fills in those crisp edges on your Space Marines.

You can’t go wrong with Chaos Black. It’s the most forgiving primer for Space Marines. Any spots you miss end up disappearing into shadow. This primer naturally deepens nooks and crannies to give them more definition, too.

The only exception is if you’re painting Space Marines of a lighter-colored faction (Imperial Fists or White Scars) or using Contrast paints. In those cases, you might prefer bone primer (Wraithbone).

Let the primer cure for 30 minutes - longer if it’s humid. You’ll pay for it later if you rush this step.

Step 2) Base Coat

This is where your chapter’s identity actually comes to life. It’s also the easiest step in painting Space Marines. You’re just covering every armor panel in your primary color.

The golden rule in miniature painting: thin your paints before you get started. Squeeze some paint onto your palette and mix in a drop of water until you’ve gotten to a consistency resembling whole milk. Two smooth coats > one thick coat. Always. Thick coats just end up filling panel lines and burying all the detail that makes Space Marines unique.

Don’t try to do it all at once. We like working through the model in stages. Paint the armor panels your chapter color first. Then comes the metallics - Retributor Armour or Balthasar Gold for aquilas, chest eagles, and shoulder trim. Iron Warriors for gun casings. Mournfang Brown for leather pouches and holsters.

We’re not advocating for sloppy work, but try not to stress about perfection here. The wash (next step) is going to hide a lot of minor bleeds that you think are a problem.

Step 3) Washing and Shading

Understanding the role of shade paints is a pivotal part of learning how to paint Space Marines. Also known as washes, these thin, pigmented liquids flow into the fine details of your model and settle in place to create depth and shadow.

If you only own a single pot, it should be Nuln Oil. Spread it over your entire model. Watch as it fills the gaps between armor plates. You’ll be amazed at how the details start to fall into place all on their own. It’s like magic!

You only need a single coat over a clean base coat. This will do more for the dimension of your models than an hour of careful shading ever could. It feels like cheating, but everyone does it. It’s how you build your Warhammer army at scale.

You can swap to Reikland Fleshshade for gold and metallic areas. It brings out a warmer, more natural shadow on gold trim than Nuln Oil.

Whatever you go with, be patient as you let the wash completely dry. Touching a wet wash can smear pigment across flat panels and pull it out of the recesses where it’s supposed to be creating definition. Watch for the surface to go fully matte - that’s your sign that you can begin the next step.

Step 4) Layering and Highlighting

You’re probably thinking to yourself by now…why does my model look so muddy? Totally normal. Layering is the step in painting Space Marines that brings color back to the raised surfaces, while leaving shaded recesses dark. It’s where everything starts to look more realistic.

Repaint the flat armor panels and raised areas with your base color. Be very careful to avoid touching recesses. Then, follow up with edge highlighting. Load a slightly lighter version of your base color onto your fine detail brush. After wiping excess off on a paper towel, drag the side of the bristles along armor edges.

The goal is to only let the tip of your brush deposit paint. You’ll know you either 1) used too much paint or 2) applied too much pressure if the lines look thick. We recommend practicing this on the back of a leg so you can go through a little trial and error somewhere discreet.

Step 5) Fine Details

It’s time to really bring your painted Space Marines to life with some detail work. Here are some quick tips for the most important details:

Lenses and eyes: Start with Mephiston Red (unless your chapter has a different lens color). Follow up with a smaller dot of Evil Sunz Scarlet toward the front of the lens. Then a tiny white dot in the opposite corner. Voilà - your Space Marine’s helmet is powered on.
Purity seals: Red base for the wax blob. Wraithbone for the parchment ribbon, then a thin Reikland Fleshshade wash to make it look aged. Don’t try to paint the text lines on their scroll. Use a .005 micron pen for more control.
Metallics: Drybrush Stormhost Silver across gun barrels and any other mechanical parts to make the raised edges pop. If you’ve never drybrushed before, it’s easy. Load paint on your brush, wipe most on your paper towel, and drag across the surface. It’s subtle.
Chapter markings: Thin the paint more than you think you need to if you’re going to paint chapter symbols freehand. Trust us on that one. Otherwise, you can use waterslide decals.

There you have it, how to paint Space Marines! There’s just one more thing to do before you can say you successfully finished your first model…

Step 6) Basing

Spread texture paint over your model’s base with an old brush or a sculpting tool. You don’t need to waste good brushes on this step. Let it dry, then drybrush a lighter tone over the raised texture.

That’s good enough for most people. Or, add a little more character by gluing down some little rocks or sand before you prime. Then, paint them along with the model. You can also press some grass tufts into a dot of PVA glue.

The base should match your chapter’s lore. That might be grey rubble for urban combat, or red earth for a Martian battlefield. That’s all there is to it. You’re finished!

Parting Thoughts on How to Paint Warhammer 40K Space Marines

We hope this guide on how to paint Space Marines has left you clear on bringing your first models to life. Don’t sweat perfection. Your first model might look a little rough, but it gets easier with every model thereafter.

The goal is to get a finished squad. You can play the game with a finished squad that’s imperfect. You cannot play with a perfect, unfinished squad. So get to work painting Space Marines and enjoy the process - and pick up whatever you still need from our Warhammer shop!