Hmmm..correct mixture to do a good wash? Paint tips needed..
HeadRusch
I've been experimenting with doing washes....paint washes that
is..........and I'm not having very good results, maybe I'm using too much
water?
I mix the paint and water (acrylic paint, water soluable) in a dixie cup and
then apply it. Now...if I let it sit there, it tends to form "dirty water
droplets" and not sink into crevaces and such.....if I wipe it off, it ALL
comes off...even the stuff in the cracks and crevices :)
Help...what do I do? Use less water and wipe immediately, or use less water
and 'let it dry'. I thought when you did a wash you covered the entire
piece rather generously with the solution and let it dry.....
??
I've got 2 things I'm trying to wash right now. The first is a painted Gas
Mask Canister for one of my Krauts, the other is a pair of repainted 21st
desert boots.
The Boots:
I painted them all over with Model Master SAND color, then I painted the
soles Dark Tan. A VERY nice contrast, but hte Sand is a little BRITE.
Also, I want to distinguish between the color of the canvas portions and the
leather portions of the boots.....
I was wondering, at this point should I just use a fine-grit sandpaper and
scuff the outer areas along the boots (ie: the leather portions) which would
leave the "canvas sides" which are recessed a more natural brighter color?
Or should I think about doing a paint wash of some color?
PS: I also dabbed a bit of silver on the boot eyelets and drybrushed the
laces in a dark tan as well to make them stand out a bit. IMHO I'm 3/4 of
the way there, I just need to know how to finish.
I repainted a Hasbro Shotgun with a brown stock and a brown pump......then I
painted the barrel and receiver in Tamiya gunmetal. Now I know some of you
hate gunmetal, but then I took some fine grit sandpaper and sanded it all
down...it took away the gunmetal sheen and left me with a VERY convincing
USED shotgun (very used, actually). I added silver drybrushing and sanded
that a bit as well, finaly adding more silver to the receiver plate itself
to show extreme wear.
Last thing I did was that gas mask canister...since it was going on a
fallschirmjager, and I have no idea how to make the soft gas-mask-bag some
of them had, I painted a 21st one a dark grey color and then highlighted it
all over with silver.....what I need to do now, however is give it some dirt
in those recesses...I guess I need to do a black wash for that, but what
mixture to use?
Any help would be great...thanks all.
Richard A. Lewis
do your wash as you used to do your base? Cant do that, bro. Also,
waterbased paints make for terrible washes if done over the top of
non-porous paints like Model Master enamels. Imagine painting a
styrene model airplane with watercolors and you see the point. It
beads up and does nothing but waste your time.
If you paint your base using non-porous medium like enamels, youll
need to either let it dry TOTALLY and then use a wash of enamel
carefully over it or use a clearcoat of matte and then apply the
acrylic, or use oils.
If you paint your base with acrylics, the best wash would be done with
model master enamels.
One thing to remember is whenever you mix two different types of paint
in layers on a model, you can end up with some strange effects if the
basecoat isnt totally cured before you add the wash.
On something flexible like the boots, you come out best by using
acrylics and then wash with enamels....but make sure the base acrylic
is TOTALLY cured before you apply the wash.
ral
HeadRusch
> do your wash as you used to do your base? Cant do that, bro. Also,
> waterbased paints make for terrible washes if done over the top of
> non-porous paints like Model Master enamels. Imagine painting a
> styrene model airplane with watercolors and you see the point. It
> beads up and does nothing but waste your time.
No no..let me clarify here, since I'm a newbie I must have left out some
important info here:
1) I am using no enamels at all.....had the "paint that never dried"
syndrome once and, as such, am sticking to acrylics
2) I am using a mix of Tamiya, Model Master Acryl, and some of those Wal
Mart stores Acrylic paints....I am thinning with water in all cases, tho
I think Tamiya you need to use a thinner....
I am doing washes on both acrylic-painted items and on some items that have
no paint on them, save for what the factory provides.
IE: Trying to do a wash on some costwold items without putting down a layer
of paint first, ie: just to dirty up whats already there.
> If you paint your base with acrylics, the best wash would be done with
> model master enamels.
Enamels to wash then......
> One thing to remember is whenever you mix two different types of paint
> in layers on a model, you can end up with some strange effects if the
> basecoat isnt totally cured before you add the wash.
Can't I just stick with all acrylics?
Richard A. Lewis
>No no..let me clarify here, since I'm a newbie I must have left out some
>important info here:
>1) I am using no enamels at all.....had the "paint that never dried"
>syndrome once and, as such, am sticking to acrylics
>2) I am using a mix of Tamiya, Model Master Acryl, and some of those Wal
>Mart stores Acrylic paints....I am thinning with water in all cases, tho
> I think Tamiya you need to use a thinner....
>I am doing washes on both acrylic-painted items and on some items that have
>no paint on them, save for what the factory provides.
>IE: Trying to do a wash on some costwold items without putting down a layer
>of paint first, ie: just to dirty up whats already there.
>> If you paint your base with acrylics, the best wash would be done with
>> model master enamels.
>Enamels to wash then......
>> One thing to remember is whenever you mix two different types of paint
>> in layers on a model, you can end up with some strange effects if the
>> basecoat isnt totally cured before you add the wash.
>Can't I just stick with all acrylics?
Acrylics to me have always had the old watercolor problem of beading
when thinned, guy. I almost never use acrylics unless it's on a vinyl
model.
You said youve had probs with Model Master enamels not drying or was
it just enamels in general? Only time I ever had that was the one
time I broke the fitting on my moisture trap off the compressor and
tried to airbrush a model anyway.
Id say stick with your acrylics if you feel most comfortable with
them, but try your washes with enamels. You could also try diluting
your acrylics with other than water as an experiment too....denatured
alcohol makes an all around good dilute and it doesnt have the beading
probs waterbased does. Ive only ever used it on model master acrylics
though....never to this day tried tamiya's paint.
Life-long fan of the old testor's paints and the stuff you can do with
them that no other paints can.
ral
MERK
"HeadRusch" <head...@earthlink.net> wrote
> Can't I just stick with all acrylics?
>
Yes. I`m not quite sure what all that other advice is about, but here`s
mine...If your wash disappears, next time...add less water to the wash.
Too opaque? Add more water...simple.
One other thing, Most of those model paints that people call "Acrylic" are
actually *Acrylic Enamels* (ie: Acryl is a Acrylic ENAMEL). The difference
is the base...on soft plastics you NEED to use a water (or alcohol) based
paint. On styrene type plastic (hard, brittle,plastic) you can use petroleum
based paint.
--
MERK!.........Deeds Speak!!
mer...@home.com
Richard A. Lewis
>Yes. I`m not quite sure what all that other advice is about, but here`s
>mine...If your wash disappears, next time...add less water to the wash.
>Too opaque? Add more water...simple.
I think the "other advice" was about beading probs with water-based
acrylics and how to avoid them, as I think his original question was
about.
Did i miss something?
Ill still recommend enamels as the best wash for an acrylic basecoat
no matter what the model is made out of.
ral
BLKTHANE
>I've been experimenting with doing washes....paint washes that
>is..........and I'm not having very good results, maybe I'm using too much
>water?
Jimbob talks about this very problem on his website
(http://home.flash.net/~jimbob1/index2.htm) in the articles about "Dirty Dave".
The idea seems to be to work the paint into small areas with the brush before
it has a chance to pool up. You may want to experiment with washing your
plastic in soapy water before painting, both to remove manufacturing residue,
and so that the soap can act as a wetting agent to help spread the paint.
As an aside, has anyone experimented with using Kodak Photoflo to with
water to thin acrylic? I've long wondered about it, but haven't gotten around
to trying it.
Best of luck.
jason
Blkthane
@aol.com
Jimbob
this stuff too. One thing I believe is that you shouldn't get so
complacent with your techniques to assume that there's a single best way
to do anything. It's by trying ideas which seem weird that we broaden
our horizons, and we may find a way to extrapolate the idea and use it
in other areas. There's no substitute for personally experiencing the
learning curve, and it does require persistence.
There are additives available for water-based paints: color float and
extenders change the drying time; this allows you to do better blends.
I can't say that I use them much (partially because I'm lazy and I'm not
in the habit). Also, soapy water has a surface tension-breaking
property, so that might be useful in some situations.
In the case of using oil-based and water-based paints, familiar
practices are often driven by other factors besides the results. I hate
the stink and cleanup of oil based paints, and don't have the patience
for the drying time. My energy drives me linearly, and so I generally
don't work feverishly on 5 projects at once. For me, the process is as
gratifying as the end result-- it's gotta be fun for me-- so I'm
inclined to use materials & techniques which are most compatible with my
personality. But the oil/water technique does bear investigating!
Jimbob
Scott Klauder
problems. They're called BASICS and you can get them at an Art store or
Staples.
Scott Klauder
Following is a shameless plug for my comic book web site.
<A HREF="http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/CraniumPress/">Cranium Press Independent
Comics</A>
Karl Clapp
plastics being used by manufacturers for the web gear, boots,
helmets, weapons, etc. on these figures. So an acrylic must be
used, at the very minimum for the base coat.
I have only recently gotten into this type of enhancement on the
1:6 scale equipment. So far I've had most of my success with
drybrushing. I'm gonna continue trying the wash, however, as it
is a great way to age and dirty web gear.
Karl
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