Washes

Beings this is the Black Swan (Pearl), not many pipes (none), but there is two anchors I'll try it on. Main part I'm worried about is the deck, gunnels, etc. Am gonna give her a shot tho, thanks for the tips.

The wash I use on ships the most is rust color.  It is not necessarily darker or lighter, just a big color contrast with most warship color schemes.  Even for ships kept in very good condition, there are frequently rust stains below hawse pipes and anchor gear.  Don't overdo it, but a little in these areas looks nice.

And the idea of practicing to see what it looks like is a very sound idea.  Paint some scrap plastic in the main ship colors, and try some washes on it.

And as with the Black Pearl, most of the ship is black, so I would paint most of the parts black, using a lighter grey wash, except for the cannons (paint them the wood colors, etc., sails, etc.)? I know this is probably to one's taste and the Black Pearl lessens the amount of paint I would have to purchase. Just trying to cut corners but yet not lessen the appearance. This is all new to me. As with the Constitution and Sark, I painted them just like they had been just launched. And I didn't install the sails on them, but will this one due to the fact that the yards and sails are all one. Any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

Yeah, there's plenty of that. I just want to try and replicate the Black Pearl, somewhat. Thank you for the tip, I'll give that a shot.

Kind of like to make the Black Swan a Black Pearl. Studied some pics so want the surface black, then go with a grey wash(?). Never done this so should be a chore, but will go for the gusto, thanks for the tip.

It depends on the base color and the type of weathering.  In most cases the wash is going to be darker than the base color.  How much darker?  That depends on how dirty you want it or the substance that is causing the stain i.e. dirt, rust, hydraulic fluid etc.

With dark colors like Navy Blue, dark grey or black you may want to use a lighter grey color for the wash.

Try it on the sprues, especially where the identifying numbers are.  From what I have read, most washes are darker.