Dipping woes

Today I finally completed the first batch of Abyssinians. Sixty of them - it should amount to five units for Piquet - Din of Battle, or three units for The Sword And The Flame. I still need to base them, but the work is, by and large, done.
Nonetheless, I had to face some turbulence in the process. Apparently, something did not go the way I expected when the time came to dip the figures. I have to say: I was feeling pretty good when the painting job was done: this is how the miniatures look before I dipped them.

In general, I really like the effect of dipping: it adds depth and realism, and it covers up the small "painting sins." So I did not hesitate twice to proceed in what is by now a routine a step.
And yet... the miniatures came out very, very dark. I have a couple of explanations to account for the disappointment. Before dipping, I stirred the dip very thoroughly, and as a result it became rather thick, more than usual. Or maybe it was because I primed these miniatures in black, which tends to darken the final look of the figure. Anyway. I was not happy. I liked the white the way it showed in the newly painted minis, and I did not like to see that effect taken away by the dip. Fortunately, I had a second jar of dip in a much lighter color, and I promptly switched. The contrast was stark, as shown in the two following pictures.


The good news was the dip on the first group of mini had not dried yet, so I was able to repeat the process and use the lighter dip to clean up the excess of darkness. The final result was not bad at all, as you can see.

Actually, I am very happy with the final result, even if I took a circuitous way to get there. I am still ot quite sure about what lesson to learn for the future, though. Double dipping? Dilution of my Tudor Satin dip? I need to think about this.