Trying some "washing"

I've found a very good wash medium that doesn't require mixing. Games Workshop has a line of inks in their paint line that work wonders, are water based so they thin easily (not that it's needed) and covers very well with good flow down panel lines. Colors include green, black, red, magenta, brown, and many others. They should be readily available at most hobby shops that stock the GW line of miniatures. Just my 2 pennies' worth.

demono69

Hey nand,
Cool, lookin forward to seeing your jug. Remember NEVER say NEVER..
Flaps up, Mike

Yo Butz...

Maybe just saved her...

I'll send you her pics asap.. dont look all that good though... Thanks to my airbrush's spitting problem.... however more on that in my email...

Hey Dana,kansan,
Maybe this could help ya out a bit.!! This is how I bring out my panel lines w/ a method called "Smudge wash". Paul Boyer explained this method in an FSM issue a few mopnths ago.
1. Make sure your a/c has a gloss coating(or semi gloss) on her inorder for this method to work. You can go ahead and put you decals on before you apply the wash. Basically you kill two birds w/ one stone. (No birds injured in the typing of this post)
Putting on the gloss coat(or semi) also helps to protect the under lying colour so the wash method wont harm the painted surface.
2. I use a mixture of water based paint thinned w/ distilled water(you can also add a lil dish detergent). I prefer to use "scale black" when I go to high light.
3. Using a fine artist brush, start applying the wash over the panels and other surface detail that you see fit(including landing gear)
4. Let the wash dry for about 5 minutes or so then go back over the affected areas w/ a soft moist cloth or Q-Tip.
5. You can always reapply this method as many times as you would like or up until you get the look that you want.
6. Once all is said and done, spary a flat coat so it can protect the wash and the decals.
The color that you use for the wash also can depend on the color(s) that you use for the a/cs scheme.
In general though "scale" black or a dark gray would work out perfectly in any scheme that you would use.
This sounds like theres a lot to do but it really aint nothing to lose sleep over. If I can do it, so can you my friend.
If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me at Falcon42177@yahoo.com or Falcon174th@aol.com
Flaps up, Mike

PS
Hey nandman,
Thanx for the nice shout out!! So what happened to your jug my friend??
Can you still save her??

Forgive me, but I tend to sort of 'disagree' with the use of Future or any other varnishes as a 'barrier' between base camouflage colour(s) and washes (and even the final steps of drybrushing, 'dusting' and weathering)...

You pay a lot of money to get kits manufactured with recessed panel lines and super-details and then you give the model a multitude of coats (even if light ones!) that just tend to fill in panel lines and flood in details...

Most of my AFVs are normally painted with flat enamels. I normally use an airbrush for this as it allows for the best light overal 'coverage'. Next I'll paint on my markings (decals are just too thick) then use a wash made of watercolour (the artist's kind, in tubes), water, dish-washing detergent and vinegar. My usual mix at this stage is sepia and black. I might need one or two, sometimes three applications of the wash, depending on what I'm trying to acheive. Next is a thick wash of pure black that will go into grills, mesh, vision slits,... That will dry for a day or so, then I'll drybrush with artist oils (normally shades of yellows, greens, browns and/or white) then add stains and rusty spots: tiny dabs of burnt sienna on some rivet heads, bolts, hooks, and other locations. Use a clean dry flat brush to drag the fresh paint down. Do the same for oils/grease stains but with a darker colour (black + burnt sienna). Next with the airbrush and Humbrol's 29 Flat Earth colour (or sometimes just with a fan-shaped soft brush and pastel dust), I'll 'dust' the model. The oils used in the drybrushing part will make the flat base paint come alive, leave a certain shine that really looks good on AFV models.

For my aircraft, I normally use cans of automotive acrylic paint to do the base colours. I might use some enamels, either brushed on or airbrushed for anti-glare panels, ID markings and the like. Here, I'll use, after a couple of days after decalling, artist oils to do the wash. This is right before this stage that I might use varnishes or Future... But only to make sure the decals are protected and that the overal finish is uniform rather than having decals being WAY more glossy than the rest of the plane for instance. Anyway, back to the wash! Not slopping it all over like I would do on a tank, but I'll apply it directy onto the model with a fine brush. Turpentine or other white spirit alows me to thin the paint to the point where when applied into the recessed line, capillary action will take the paint all the way down the line. If not, I'll help along the way by nudging the paint once more along the recess. Any excess can be cleaned with a clean dry soft flat brush. Stains can be spread along the same way I'd do on an AFV model. Dark greys, brown and black in various mixes are what I use most on aircraft, but the shade you need depends on the colour you have on your model.

I think I get pretty good results with those techniques. It's fast which is good because I do not have much patience. And it saves messing about with gloss then flat varnishes (I've had my share of problems with yellowing varnishes and those that never seem to get flat enough...)

There is another tachnique that I have recently discovered (I was not the first to discover it of course, but I didn't kjnow it.
First give the model 1 or 2 coats of flat, then let it dry. After that you paint the lines with a very very thin architecht pen, and let dry. After that use 1000 or 1500 sand paper on all the surface, to remove the excess ink. I hope it is understandable, you will find a better and clearer description of the process in a recent number of FSM, where the author does it on a F-14, the article was about weathering planes.
Giulio

Thanks Summerkc for all the welcomed information. Sorry I was unable to get back to you yesterday. You went to a lot of work, and it is certainly appreciated. You have given me a lot to work on including patience! tnx again.

Gary

If you are using an acrylic wash, you need to use a enamel clear gloss, if using an enamel wash use an acrylic clear gloss, like Future. I personally don't use acrylic washes, they don't seem to run as well and don't wipe off as well.

In my opinion this is the best way and best wash to use, for armor or aircraft. FIrst start by airbrushing Future floor polish on the model using light coats and letting it dry for at least 6 hours between coats. I'd recommend at least 4 or 5 coats, it is a pain in the butt, but it is the most important step in getting the wash to run correctly.

Next mix up GLOSS black enamel paint and a little brown (enamel) paint, just so the color is an off black (unless your model's base color is really dark then use plain black). Next add at least an equal amount of QUALITY thinner, I recommend the same brand thinner as the paint (like Testors thinner for Testors paint, this is also a very important step cheap bulk thinner from a hardware store doesn't work as well.) Next take a very fine brush and begin touching the models panel lines and raised detail. If you are having trouble with the paint not running in lines thin the wash some more.

After the entire model is washed let it dry for at least 12 hours then using soft rag dipped in thinner wipe away the excess wash, in hard to reach areas use a very soft brush with thinner on it, cleaning it reguarly. After the was is removed spray it again with 1 coat of future, let it dry, and then apply decals.

After decals are applied spray again with future, let dry, then spray with multiple coats of clear flat. After 4 or 5 coats of flat I usually use artists chalk pastels (no oil!) to put stuff like dirt, dust, and exaust stains. Just scrape some off with a hobby knife and apply with a large brush. I will try to post a picture of a recently finished F-15 to give you an idea soon.

Have fun, weathering is the funnest part of buliding a model to me.

Good Evening, Hope you don't think me rude, but couldn't help over hearing your conversation. I generaly use the acrylic,water, liquid soap wash, but I have trouble getting the wash to travel along the panel lines for any distance. Seems like I end up swabbing every inch of the model. Do you know of any surface treatment that shoul be used in prep of the wash?

Tnx Gary (Kansan)

i agree.
one bottle is a lifetime supply.
great for improving clear parts.
can be used to glue clear parts.
and on and on . . .

It's just cheaper, probably easier to apply (you can do it with a brush without risking getting brush strokes) and has a milion more (or so) other applications!

That generates another question: Why do you guys use Future floor wax as opposed to just say Testors gloss coat. I've used it for years and never had a problem. I have an airbrush and can use Future...I just never found a reason to do so.
Dana

Dana,
after giving my Tamiya Wildcat a wash last week, the only advice i can give is:
make sure that you have a good gloss coat on your model.
because the wash will not want to wipe off the places that are not so smooth!
apparently when i shot the future, i either missed a few spots or did not get a good even coat down.
other than that (ho, ho) it went as planned.

oh! the other thing i learned:
if there are a lot of raised detail (rivets, etc) choose what you wipe the wash off with carefully. or you may be spending a lot of time picking snagged cotton fibers off your bird! >:-<

Hey there Bones and I'm glad to meet a fellow weathering beginner!!

I too asked the same question to a very good finescale friend named Butz.. He gave me some some simple yet wonderful techniques for weathering including the same acrylic wash mentioned above in a simlar question that lurks somewhere in this humongus forum!! Hope you can find it!! .. I have yet to try my wash cos I botched up my Jug!! (More on that in a few days time!) however if you're building 72 scale aicraft you might try to give a coat of dark grey before you put on the actual colours to give it an "oldish" look..

Have fun(believe me its fun)

Cheers,
Nandakumar

You know, in terms of washes, I'd try first on a few armor projects... It's much easier to get a decent weathered look on AFVs than on planes, because there's much less recesses, angles, ridges, grids,... On a, AFV you can be sloppy and still get a great looking model, on a plane, it's much harder.

The easiest one to try is an acrylic wash or a sludge wash. Take some darker paint (water based of course), and mix it about 50-50 with water. Then add some liquid dish soap. about 10%. ok a few drops are fine. mix duh. Have an old brush to slop on the wash all over. In the gear bays and all. let it dry about 20 minutes. moisten a soft cloth or Q-tip and wipe the excess off in the direction of the airflow. this will leave some darker streaks and the wash in the recessed lines. experiment with the mix to get the effect you are looking for. this is easiest over a gloss coat.

good luck
Drew