Giving copper bottom a tarnished look? Re-post update

Dale,

    It's been a while since I've done this, but I used to spray the lower hull with copper enamel spray paint.  Then, after it had dried thoroughly, I would apply a wash of thinned down black or dark brown, using a cotton ball to apply it in vertical strokes (but not so that it looked streaky).    Like so many thing in modeling, you just need to practice with it until you achieve the effect you're looking for.  I'd suggest using acrylic paints thinned down with water/alchohol.

Testors makes what they call a "multi purpose sprayer" (http://www.testors.com/catalog_item.asp?itemNbr=2207).   That may be what you referred to in your post.  I got mine at Hobby Lobby for about ten bucks, and it works great.  You can buy cans of compressed air,too (http://www.testors.com/catalog_item.asp?itemNbr=1197).  Now that's doing things on the cheap (which is the way I have to do things).  The neat thing about it is, the cap fits on a regular Testors paint bottle, several of which I have saved after they were empty and cleaned, so you don't have to use the large bottle that comes with the sprayer.  You can make different sized siphon tubes with small straws like the ones you see in convenience stores for stirring coffee and can be purchased at Wal-Mart in bulk.  The sphion tube that comes with the sprayer is the same size as the straws.

Why not just mix copper enamel paint with brown and purple until you get the desired effect?  I know what you're trying to achieve, and that would be my first effort to achieve it.

Put x number of drops of copper paint on a piece of cardbord.  Add one drop of brown and/or purple and mix them up.  Keep an old penny handy to compare the color.  Keep experimenting until you get the desired result.  Make sure you remember the number of drops of each paint you used so you can mix a larger batch in aproximately the same proportions.  I've had to do this with other projects.  This ain't rocket science, and it ain't high art, but it works pretty well.

Here's what I do for darkening a copper hull:

1) Paint entire hull area with copper.  I use acrylics.

2) Let dry overnight.

3) Take dark brown, or black, paint and water it down until it is essentially just black water, but not too thin.  You can also use a special type of paint that is used specifically for washes.  They are called "inks" and you can find them at hobby shops that carry Games Workshops miniatures.

4)  Now, I use a brush, but I know others have used paper towels, coat the entire copper area with this wash/ink.  Becareful not to let any serious runs happen.  Properly done, you will notice not only that the copper is now darkened, but that each individual copper panel is now more defined.

5)  Let this dry over night.

6) You can either leave the hull like this, or you can take a large brush, dip it into your copper, then wipe the brush off, leaving pigment inside the bristles.  Then lightly, very lightly, go over the entire hull.  This will highlight the edges of each individual copper panel, bringing out detail, while leaving the darkened areas intact.

7) From here is when I then go into adding the white/green mix for good weathering, but I read that you do not want to do that.

I'm not the best modeller in the world, and I'm sure that someone else has an idea or two that would work better, but this is just how I do it.  Good luck with your Cutty Sark.  I finished that very kit about 4 or 5 months ago.  It sits proudly in my boy's room and he loves it.  Once finished it is a beautiful ship...

 Grymm