I’ve taken the plunge and started using artist’s oils for weathering.
I’ve started with a tube of Rowney Payne’s grey which is a very similar shade to the Tamiya Panzer grey I use for washing panel lines.
So I’ve diluted the oil 10:1 with Rowney low odour thinner, dripped it in and waited 15 minutes before blending it in with a clean dry hake. So far so good, but I have a couple of questions for the Oil Barons here

C|:-) Is there a ready made shade that I can use straight from the tube that looks like my fave mud shade Tamiya Flat Earth..? I was looking at Mars Yellow or Brown, but I’m not there yet, any ideas please..?
The other thing, and this is may be for people on the UK side of the pond – any idea what thinner I can use that’s cheap and available by the gallon? The thinner I’m using has a street value higher than gold :-)
Also as I airbrush basecoats in acrylic, and then over coat with Future / Kleer to decal I need something 'cool' that won't eat into my undercoats...

Hi Howard,
Although I build aircraft I always use artists oil paint for washes. If you can bare to look I have an article on the very subject in the features section. Although it's based around WWII aircraft you may find something of interest. Black Gold Washes, Oil Washes That is
The thing to remember about artists oil colours is that you can get some very unexpected colours when mixing them. Paynes grey is a blue grey, if you were to mix it with, say yellow ochre, you would probably get an olive green. Mixing yellow ochre with davey grey ,a brown grey, may give you an earth shade. I will try and fit in a few trial mixes, drop me a PM, please, to remind me.
As far as thinner goes, use white spirit, the cheapest you can find. The last time I bought some it was 99p for 5 litres Apply another coat or two, of Klear over your decals and you wont have any prblems using white spirit.
Mal

Hey Howard,
I use acrylics and future clear coats also.. I use 3 basic oil colors for armor. I use Raw Umber, Raw Sienna and Paynes Gray.. Those 3 typically cover a broad range of needs from grease to rust. I also use Turpenoid which won't hurt acrylic finishes.
Hope this helps..

I don't know of an exact match for Tamiya flat earth, but raw umber with a dash of white is a very close match for Xtracolor dark earth, which I guess is a similar colour.
Incedently, paynes grey and yellow ochre do produce olive green, davy grey and yellow ochre do produce an earth shade, but raw umber and white are the closest match to dark earth. Obviously the shade can be varied depending on the amount of white. HTH
Mal

I've been using dollar a gallon hardware store thinner for years, Howard. Sounds like Mal's "99p for 5 litres" white spirits.

Maybe I should repackage it in .1 litre bottles, give it a fancy name and sell it at $2 a bottle. I could get rich! :-)