weathering Sequence

TZombie

Hi All- I'm finishing up a Dragon SU-100 and have the base coat applied. With all the color options available I'm going with dark green. Should I drybrush the raised surface areas before I apply the gloss coat and then proceed with the washes etc or should I dry brush after the gloss coat? I realize there is no wrong or right way, I'm just wondering what you folks prefer. thanks for your time. 

I'd probably wait to do any drybrushing till after applying a gloss coat, and after decaling, too.  Because the gloss coat may negate the effects.  It's not a hard-and-fast rule, of course, more of a guideline.  Some cases may be better handled by one or the other.

Dry brushing is best done on a flat paint or flat top coated surface. Are you planning to dry brush just a lighter color for highlights of the base color, or dry brush on your weathering such as sand or dirt?

The way taught to me by a couple of armor & ship modelers ...

Rule 1:  Always remember to mix your media.   Acrylic gloss coat, oil based washes/filters.  In this manner the later items run a lesser chance of affecting earlier coats.   You can do oil/lacquer gloss and acrylic wash/filter if that is the way you swing.

1)  Paint and apply a gloss coat.  Apply decals and apply a gloss sealer coat.   This gloss coat facilitates moving washes & filters.  If there is a flat finish the wash particles settle among the flattening agent particles and makes a 'shadow' that is hard to remove (i.e. repaint?).  The gloss coat is also easier to clean up mistakes.   Wipe off and start over (see Rule 1). 

2)  You may apply several sealer coats between layers of washes.   Avoid build up though

3)  Happy now?  Apply a flat coat which seals everything in and gives a good surface for drybrushing.    Apply just a bit of paint to a broad flat brush.   Wipe on a paper towel until nothing shows -- then wipe another half a dozen times more.  You can always add more -- its really hard to add less

4)  Pastels/chalk -- you may want to seal these to prevent them from being removed by finger grease. 

As I expected some great stuff here... Thanks

Stikpusher- I was planning on drybrushing a lighter shade to accent the raised surface areas and use a wash to accent the recesses and all the nooks and crannies. As it sits right now it is a big dark green blob. (Sounds like a good premise for a movie.)

EdGrune - That was my plan of attack. I don't want to overdue do it so I will build up layer by layer slowly.

I've done drybrushing  on both gloss and flat paints.  Sometimes I want to weather a vehicle with a glossy finish.  I have not had any problems putting either glosscoat or dullcoat over the finish, though I generally do the dry brushing afterwards.  I do find I can get a lighter shade of drybrush on a gloss finish.

TZombie

Stikpusher- I was planning on drybrushing a lighter shade to accent the raised surface areas and use a wash to accent the recesses and all the nooks and crannies. As it sits right now it is a big dark green blob. (Sounds like a good premise for a movie.)

In that case I'd suggest doing your gloss coat over the base coat, add any decals at this point, gloss coat over decals if added, do your washes, which flow better over a gloss surface, clean up the excess, seal it with a flat coat, then do your dry brushed highlights. After that add any dust/dirt/mud with your preferred method(s).

TZombie

I was planning on drybrushing a lighter shade to accent the raised surface areas and use a wash to accent the recesses and all the nooks and crannies.

That reflects the way I usually start things. I do an all-over dry-brush to 'tone' single-color blocs...the intent being to mimic natural light on full-sized surfaces, where the eye rarely perceives large areas of stark monotone color. This is mostly separate from dry-brushing mud, chipping or other actual 'weathering,' more a starter optical effect. Then I would follow with clear protective coats, washes and so-forth.

And, a friendly word of caution, should you end up doing any dry-brushing after decals have been applied: be careful of those decal edges. Even under a 'leveling' clear coat, dry-brushing can often catch on the decal edge, leaving a strange-looking outline that will 'give the game away.' Just ease up a little and go patiently, and it should be no problem.