New to weathering... should I do a gloss coat first

[WPLGOODIE]

Hello all -

I wanted to ask if it's best to do a gloss coat over my WPL c94-uaz-469 before starting a wash? Everything on the web says to but I thought I should reach out.

Thanks!

 

[WPLGOODIE]

Also wanted to ask if there is a good weathering video or a post in here for getting started weathering. Thanks!

 

[WickedFog]

I never put gloss on my weathered stuff back in the day.

It used to have gloss thogh. But I sanded it all with 400 grit.

 

[Doom!]

Sounds backwards to me, I usually do my weathering on a matte finish. Might depend on what method and what materials you are using to weather.

 

[Doom!]

Usually you do a gloss coat before laying down decals. but weathering usually sticks better to a matte surface. if your drying to get paint to flow into panel lines a gloss coat would be better.

 

[WPLGOODIE]

Are there any special or good brushes to get to do a wash with or do you just use less expensive ones?

 

[Doom!]

Are there any special or good brushes to get to do a wash with or do you just use less expensive ones?

That depends, for weathering it's not critical, but I always prefer a good brush, if you take care of it properly it will last a looong time.

 

[WPLGOODIE]

Do you happen to have one that you could recommend? Thanks!

 

[Doom!]

Do you happen to have one that you could recommend? Thanks!

Watch some youtube vids, lots of good info on weathering and tools.

 

[Lukedavis]

If you want to see an amazing weathering job, check out Rolex's thread The Ugly Truckling. He was an amazing scale builder. Rest In Peace.

 

[WickedFog]

Think about it in layers. Your very bottom layer of your body will be metal. Likely dark, dirty brown rusted metal where exposed. So if I am starting with zero paint, I primer gray, then primer red in light coats. Sand between coat, make it tool terrible in spots. Grimy black, rust, dirt. just rough it all in. Very thin paint. In between coats, get a set of weathering chaulks. Then grind up some dark brown chaulk dust and dab a small, very fine horsehair brush into the chaulk and very lightly flick it at your model froom a couple feet away and let it fall naturally into crevices between paint coats. If you have an airbrush or two, very lightly set the dust in place with matte finish, thinned about 75% or so. Just dust it. Same as the chaulk - spray into the air from a couple feet away and let it settle on your model. You can also use hair spray.

There are so many ways to do it, but you will usually see the good ones are done in lots of stages, bringing the effect in slowly. Dab some paint here, springle some rust or grime dust here and there, etc. If you set the dust and the matte (or hairspray) lands on your model looking like dust as well, you are doing good. You don't want to see shiny matte or hairspray anywhere onless your creating buildup for chiseling a rust pocket into and you need an inside shadow around the edges.


So basically, rough it in, then start refining the details using lots of light layers. It is never the same for me. Every model I weathered in my past model railroading life was done with different techniques, simply because each model was different, sitting in a different environment on a diorama, and even creating these looks on supposedly different materials.

Research helps too!!!

For example:

Two ways to go...
1. Paint back to original, but completely flat paints. No rust. Then apply rust, building the textures layer by layer. Dust, streak, wash, rubs, more dust, etc. Each dusting, try to get a very dry coat of matte clear applied. You want to build up an armor shell over you textures. Then for your very last detail, Stand back with a bottle of hairspray and some loose, soft fluffy clay dust you found outside

2. Start from a white styrene or ABS body. To make it nearly an indestructible finish, see if you can dye the plastic dark brown, then a dip into black dye. That way if you scratch the finish, you're exposing yet another layer of rust. Same dusting, wahes, dusting etc as above.

Food for thought...

 

[WickedFog]

This is a guy I have known for a very long time from the model railroading scene. Back when he was an old man and I was still considered an anomaly in the hobby being a third everybody's age at 22 or so.
https://www.facebook.com/edward.traxler

Ed is great! And if you pick his brain every now and then... he loves to talk modeling. And he is a helluva great guy, with so many skills that you often only learn about by talking to him. He intruduced me to paper modeling like below. This fence is card stock that I printed and cut out. Very tiny details, like doubling up the card stock to create the 4x4 posts. The little dump truck was built for this diorama.

A little later in the build. Concrete pad was just a sheet of basswood, painted scored with an xacto, painted, scored, etc. Dirt is homemade sculptamold - shredded toilet paper and plaster. I destroyed some cheap 1" disposable paint brushes and created clumps of grass around the scene. It ended up being one of my best diorama builds that almost looked like a real scene in the final pics, but my ***** ex-wife made sure not a one of my best projects survived the trip from my hobby room to the pile of stuff she threw outside in front of my garage to sit in the heat, rain, and other weather for a year and a half while I battled her for custody of my son. She was also responsible for disappearing my favorite RC10 I ever built, amoung other things

 

[WickedFog]

Quick demos of the process

This one would reach the next level with some good dusting

This was quick and dirty

No item left in the weather can get to this condition without a couple 5 gallon buckets of dust accumulation. And even if you use matte clear thionned way down and sprayed from a distance, you won't achieve scale dust. It will be fine for RC use. But , no wet medium can mimic super fine dust.

Another tip when you grind your dust powder, don't use stuff like 80 or 120 grit sand paper. You'll get coarse sand and fine gravel sized scale dirt. Use 400-800 grit sandpaper. You want talcom powder fine.