Flat finish on figures painted with oils?
Mike J. Idacavage
this is my first figure wearing a normal cloth uniform as my previous
figures were wearing space suits. The semi gloss obtained after the
oil paint dried that looked great on a space figure does not look
realistic for a USAF uniform. What are the recommendations for getting
a flat or semi flat finish on a figure painted with oils? I would like
to use a brush to apply the flattening agent as some parts of the
figure ( such as boots) look pretty good with the level of gloss
obtained from the oils. I also want to slightly vary the level of
gloss on different parts of the figure.
Thanks!
Mike
Ralph Nardone
> to use a brush to apply the flattening agent as some parts of the
> figure ( such as boots) look pretty good with the level of gloss
> obtained from the oils. I also want to slightly vary the level of
> gloss on different parts of the figure.
> Thanks!
Mike, try PollyScale acrylic flat. It seems to work well over oils if the
oils have been allowed to dry for a few days. Check, though--some oils do
take a lot longer to dry that others. Reds and blacks seem to take forever
to fully dry, so it might be best to wait a week or so......
Another method is to use Dorland's wax medium, but you need to mix that with
the paint before you apply it. We have a master figure modeler here in
South Florida, and he gets flat finishes this way: he primes with Floquil
Reefer White, and uses only English Distilled Turpentine to thin the paint.
He also makes a teensy dab of paint go a loooong way. I was mesemerized
when I took a class from him--I compared his method to mine by saying that
he used pint cans while I used 55 gallon drums!
Ralph
Aripin L. Sunardi
to speed up the curing process.
How well does it work ?
Thanks,
Aripin
"Ralph Nardone" <r.na...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:911iag$fr2$1...@slb1.atl.mindspring.net...
Val Kraut
Mike,
Not much help at this point for this figure - but some techniques you
may consider for the future.
Many of us undercoat the figures with spray -on white or gray - depending on
the brightness of the final effect you desire. I use Floquil gray primer or
Reefer White from the RR line. I let this dry for at least a week. This
gives a good surface to paint on and absorbs some of the oils in the oil
paint. Next when painting with the oils, I put the oil paint on a white
index card. Let the card absorb oil from the paint. (this could be 15
minutes, a half hour - depends on the brand of paint. Use turpentine on your
brush to dilute the partially de-oiled paint. two rules - use a good grade
of oil paint - Windsor-Newton is expensive but its worth it. Use a good
grade of artists turpentine. This process is more an application of a series
of washes then painting on a thick creamie layer of a single color. Oils
give you significant time for blending highlights and shadows. In some cases
a base coat is painted on and left to dry for a day and then blended with
highlights etc. After panting some folks put the figue in a low heat oven,
crock pot or on a shoe stand in the clothes dryer to speed drying and
further flaten the paint. Others use acyrlics to paint the base colors then
highligh with oil washes. There's whole books on the subject. You should
also look into some of the military miniature sites.
Val Kraut
Ralph Nardone
"warm-box"
> to speed up the curing process.
>
> How well does it work ?
Well, Aripin, I haven't used one. I know some who have tried using a box
with a light bulb in it to speed drying, and from what I gather, it works
well. I know one person that used a crock-pot to do the same, but he had
trouble with some figures, specifically a D.F. Greive figure--it melted!
If you need to try it, be careful. I have had good results by letting the
paint cure on its own......
Oh, another modeler used to use Dio-Sol to thin his paints...not sure I like
that approach, either......
Experiment, as it usually results in a solution that works well for you.
R
Mike J. Idacavage
Thanks Ralph for the lead on the PollyScale. I'll go
searching for it at my favorite modeling haunt later today ( AAA). I
definitely know what you mean about the slow drying oils on occasion!
I learned the hard way a few figures back.
Aripin: Continuing with the trend from the slow drying comment by
Ralph, I went out and bought an inexpensive food dehydrator last year
and now use it for speeding up the drying process with my models. I
model in a cool, damp basement so my models definitely could use the
help on occasion! It does help the drying time for the oil painted
figures. I do not see the consistent trend of low gloss after
accelerated drying though. I get more like a semi-gloss.
Mike
Mike J. Idacavage
Thanks for the hints! Your comments are a rather good primer
on painting oil figures!
Mike
On Tue, 12 Dec 2000 00:33:28 GMT, "Val Kraut" <mar...@optonline.com>
wrote:
bob.l...@mindspring.com
Bob Lessels