Ola people,
Here are some pics from my M577 wih the salt technique. A complete disaster. I used kitchen salt and apparently I should have used another type. Any comments on which type would be welcome. Maybe seasalt?
Greetz,

Bepie,

''sea salt or popcorn salt''

Look at this topic about a T55

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/13702&page=1

Dirk

Too bad that this experiment turned out bad but I still like the effect of it.
You know they say often that some great solutions and tricks were found by accident. Well in my eyes this is one of those examples. When you look at this pic:

youll see the dotted effect produced by the salt?? That is exactly what paint starts to do when a tank is not touched for a while. (let`s say in a museum where they are a bit lousy in restoring and keeping the vehicles or at a junkyard) the paintchips that were produced in the time that the vehicle drove around are weak points in the paint and these will corrode quite quickly then you get the effect visible in the picture.
The idea behind it could be that the vehicle was abandonned and more or less got lost. then this pic suggests the same vehicle but then 3, 4 maybe 6 years further.

although it is not meant to be it looks kinda cool

my two cents.... Nice vehicle by the way what have you done with the lights??? they seem to glow.

I agree.. I think that photo of the front end looks Excellent!

Hello bep
The effect you got may not have been what you were looking for, but I think you have hit upon something :-)
That is exactly the way paint looks when it starts to chip off an aging vehicle when rust gets under the paint and causes small bubbles that chip away.
I can think of a number of uses for this look :-)

I think it was a happy accident #:-)

I have to agree with everyone else. I do not know what the salt technique is for or how you do it, but from your pics all I can say is WOW! I would like to get this effect for say a Pershing in KOrea that has been on the line for a year or a Sherman that went through Normandy to the end.

i agree, the front end looks great not sure about the sides though.

Hi bep

Well I've only done a quick test, but I used a cooking salt on an old vacuform aircraft wing and it seemed to work pretty well...

I must agree with the others though... that front end looks exactly like rust breaking through the paint! :-) Really neat!

All the best

Rowan

Dirk, I concur with what the others have said above, but have a question---are the front lights --lit???, and if so, can you briefly describe how you did this? Thanks.

Steve

Ola Faust, Steve,

Sorry to disappoint you. The lights are not lit. Just a side effect from the lightning when I took the picture. The lights are painted with Tamiya Flat White. I did a wash with burnt sienna if I can remember it well but it gave an orange shine to it. Maybe this resulted in the effect.
Greetz,

Hi Bep. I have the article in finescale modeller at home and it recommends table salt. So that cant be the problem. Could you describe your method? It looks like when you scraped off the salt, the undercoat is too similar of a colour to get the chipped paint effect you were after ... Im guessing here!!!!!
But I have to agree with the others..... what an amazing effect. It may not be as convincing on the wooden sides, but the doors and front look amazing in my opinion.

You can use kitchen salt.

Having done a couple of them using this technique (including the T-55 referenced above), let me tell you a couple of things I've discovered.

1. Too much water causes the salt to disolve all together. Go light on the water. It also helps to add a small amount of soap to the water to break up the surface tension of the water. It also helps to apply the water to a flat coat. I suggest using a fine misted spray bottle or spray water through your airbrush. You want to avoid the water beading and puddling. This will prevent the problem of some salt dissolving too much.

2. Water and salt and acrylics interact with each other. In those areas where the salt dissolves more, it will interact with the paint. The result is that it bleaches the color a bit. This means that if you water pooled in some spots and didn't on other spots, you will actually see a hard edge where the color is different due to the bleaching and the actual color of the paint.

3. Salt that dissolves too much, but not fully, can be hard to remove. However, it results in it looking like the paint is lifting. An affect, which actually occurs when thick paint, such as that used on armor, is applied to a surface that is not properly prepared. Look at an old house that has had several layers of latex/oil paint applied. Notice how it lifts from the surface in big chunks that can be peeled off.

4. Sprinkling it on through the salt shaker is going to give you less than satisfactory results. A little more effert is needed in pushing it and pilling it along the edges and other areas you want it. I suggest using the smallest measuring spoon in your kitchen drawer and applying it by sprinkling/pooring it on the spots you need and pushing it together. That's how I achieved some of the larger gray areas on the T-55.

5. After number 4, sprinkle a little bit of salt through the salt shaker. This will help in getting some random chaos to the effect. Nature isn't always organized and exact.

6. You'll get different results depending on whether you use acrylics or enamels.

7. Mix salts (kosher, table, etc.). This will give you a random variety of chip sizes and patterns.

Class dismissed. #:-)

Mark,
Thanks a lot for your lesson. I think I used too much water. I attached the salt with my fingers and maybe that's not the way. Anyways, I'll give it another try on my next project.
Greetz,

Good luck.

As with any model built, they can sometimes come out the way you want or sometimes they end up being a learning experience.