Advice on Weathering?

[Krieg-Hammer]

Hello chaps. I am at the stage with a model that its all painted up and ready to be weathered.

Now I have read different threads, and most seem to have different opinions but is there anything wrong with the below weathering technique that I am thinking to try for the first time?

I have used acrylic paint on my tank.

1. Apply Clear Gloss varnish to seal the paint in.

2. Apply decals

3. Apply an oil wash? (502 abteilung before the gloss varnish maybe?)

4. Apply crushed pastel to act as dirt and stick it on the surface using Tamiya acyrlic thinner

5. Apply clear matt varnish to seal everything in.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated. I am starting small scale, so if I muck it up its not a problem. Can only get better at it through practise.

 

[AlanG]

I would apply a coat of varnish to the decals after you've placed them as well. This seals and protects them in before you do any weathering

 

[stona]

Wot 'e said ^^^^^^^. That extra coat of varnish will stop anything nasty happening to the decals.

Steve

 

[AFC]

hi everyone

should the "mud" be aplied after or before the coat of mat varnish? If after isn't it going to be "destroyed" by the varnish?

Cheers

 

[AlanG]

I applied my mud with pva glue so the varnish wouldn't have an effect on it. Maybe you could try it that way too?

 

[AFC]

Hi Allyne, applying that way cn you keep the texture intact?

Thanks

Cheers

 

[AlanG]

i had no problems with it. Just don't go overboard with the pva. by the way i watered down the pva a little to make it more flowing and easier to move around

 

[Krieg-Hammer]

I see Isopropyl Alcohol can be used to 'stick' mud and white spirit. Any issues with this?

 

[AlanG]

Not tried it personally but i'm sure other have on here

 

[Krieg-Hammer]

I've ordered some of that 502 Abteilung oil paint. What do you guys generally use to thin it out? I came across oil enamel thinner but not sure if that is the right stuff.

 

[Krieg-Hammer]

Ok, went to an art shop and the woman gave me artist turpentine (mineral) for thinning the oil out. What is the preffered ratio for oil paint/turpentine? Or maybe best put as what sort of viscosity do I want? Watery or like soup?

Furthermore, does the oil wash get left on, or do I need to wick it off? I bought an armour modellers book the other day, gives good enough guides, but doesnt go into specifics which is its biggest flaw.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Again no set rules, it depends on what effects you are after. I would start with a wash that should look something along the lines of dirty brush cleaner. It is easier to build up a wash of a lower opacity than it is to control a more dense wash.

The two options for washes are to either put it on the specific areas you want it to be such as paint it along engraved panel lines and then wipe the excess away with a cloth dampened with turps ( a pin wash) or paint the entire surface and allow the wash to find it's way into all the recesses. This will also shade the lower areas of flat panels as the wash falls to the lower parts as well as highlight surface textures and tone down the entire area. This is simply a general wash.

Experiment with both on scrap first before committing to the model.

 

[Krieg-Hammer]

Ooopsss

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[Bunkerbarge]

Could you let us know exactly what you have done. It looks simply like the wash is too heavy but, if it is an oil based wash over enamel or acrylic paint then a brush containing turpentine should easily 'wash' the 'wash' off and you can start again. You can use a fairly firm brush and you will find the wash will come off quite easily.

With a model like this you might find a pin wash along panel lines works better or, if you want to do an overall wash, or filter as they can be referred to, then you need to use a much lower opacity.

 

[Krieg-Hammer]

After 20 mins I wicked the semi wet wash off with a cotton bud. It was dry. Never put a drop of turps on it. May try turps later today though. Here is what it looks like now.

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[Bunkerbarge]

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I would strongly recommend that you get yourself set up with some sample pieces so that you can have a play off the model. Here's some that I used when building my steam coaster model. On these I can test out paint compatibility and effects before weathering and when I'm happy with the way it looks I then use the same paints and effects on the model.

If you get hold of some plasticard you can then paint pieces of them at the same time as you paint the base colour on your model. You can glue some pieces of sprue to it and score some recessed lines to see how your washes take.

In these samples I glued some heavy paper to plywood and then painted them with exactly the same processes as the base colours on my decks. I particularly wanted to enhance the rivet detail and get a wash into the bases of the bulwark supports. Using these samples I can determine the right density and colours of the washes I want as well as how best to apply them.

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[Bunkerbarge]

After 20 mins I wicked the semi wet wash off with a cotton bud. It was dry. Never put a drop of turps on it. May try turps later today though. Here is what it looks like now. View attachment 28325

It's difficult to tell exactly what it looks like but looking at the areas that are visible it doesn't look too bad. The gloss finish makes it very difficult to judge but, in the absence of better pictures, I'd be tempted to say a coat of matt varnish will give you a surprisingly effective result.

I'd leave it for a day or so then go back to it and try to be very objective when you look at it again. You might find you see it a bit more positively.

 

[Krieg-Hammer]

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Thanks for the tip with using some turps to give it a scrub! Big improvement!!! :D

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