This is my first post and I am fairly new to the hobby. I have made several models, mostly tanks and some light viechles which were all painted with an airbrush. I do use weathering powders, but I am looking for some good techniques to bring out the grime and rust in my projects. Any suggestions on light and heavy washes and what I need to make them and how to apply them.

Hi!

Welcome to Armorama. I'm relatively new here too and I'm sure you'll find the "Big A" to be a helpful and almost infinite resource and a great community just as I have.

I'm sure others here can enlighten you on a wide range of weathering methods - washes, dryburshing, paint chipping,etc.
One I've found to be particularly easy and effective is called a sludge wash. Basically, you coat your entire model with Future to get a smooth, glossy surface. Two coats is probably best.After the Future has dried cover the entire model with the sludge; let it sit for about 15 to 30 minutes and then remove it from large spaces with a cotton swab of soft, lint free towel. Of course, you'll need to put a mat finish on the model when your done
The sludge consists of 5 parts water, 3 parts dish soap and 2 parts acrylic paint (black, burnt umber - whatever color you want really)I found it in FineScale Modeler and I think that you can get the article from their website.

Goody luck and happy modeling!

Scott

Thanks for the reply, i hope this is not too stupid of a question, but what is future exactly. Is it like a thinner or alcohol based substance? Thanks again.

Yank
Try this site, it has a few nice articles by a really good model builder. Gives you a few pointers, some explanations and lots of ideas.

BTW, Future is a floor wax. You can find it at most grocery stores in the US.

Good luck.

Ryan

http://www.missing-lynx.com/rareworld.htm

Future...

everything you wanted to know:

http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

Johnson's Future Floor Finish. It's a clear, acrylic floor polish made for "no-wax floors". You can get it at Wal-Mart, grocery stores, etc

I would also suggest that you search the Feature articles here for information about weathering (and about Future). Armorama has a lot of good instructional materials.

Glad to help,

Scott

Yank,
Before appliing washes you should secure the painted surface with a gloss coat, this could be done with Future or any other clear laquer. Don't worry if you can't buy Future, most gloss coats would do (I myself use Tamiya Clear).

You have to be sure that the thinner for the wash is different than that for the coat. For that reason I use ModelMaster enamel paints for washes on acrilic coats. You may try using highly thinned paints for washes, adding soap is not necessary.

Hi Peter, does that mean if i'm planning to use Mr Color clear (gloss), which i presume is acrylic. I should wash my afv with enamel paints? I'm kinda confused..

As far as washing goes I a huge fan of oil paints. The tubes you get in the fine art sections.
This is the rig I use


Paint at the top terp in the bottom. I pull paint down and mix it in the bottom. No mixing ratio, just mix light, you can always add paint later (harder to take it away). I Then apply it to the kit. If I want an all over filter wash I use a wide brush, if I want pin wash I use a fine brush.

Thank you for replying and posting such good tips, I look forward to applying a good wash to my next model. :-)

I use.. oil washes and acrylic washes over Future (acrylic gloss coat)

So long as you give the gloss coat lots of time to cure you can get away with washing with the same type of paint.

The benefit to washing with enamels or oils over acrylic is that you can start washing within an hour or two after your acrylic gloss coat, because the different type of paint/thinner won't affect the gloss underneath.

I always wait a day minimum to be sure though... seriously.. no point in being in a hurry.


Martyn

Well, as a second thought, I would rather say, it needs a bit more care to apply acrylic washes on acrylic coats. It's not impossible, but as SKurj also noted, you should let the coat dry for a long time before the wash. Problems may occour when you remove the excess wash from the surface, this time use your brush very gently, as the coat underneath may have softened!

I personally like enamel paints for washes. Once I made a test with two acrylic and one enamel paints to see which is better for washing, and my enamel turned out the best for many reasons: dries faster, leaves less stain on the margins, and it also builds up more dinamically in the recesses and corners. You should test your paints, and see yoursef!

Hi Peter... thanks! I'll give both a try in my next build...