When using an alcohol wa***o weather a building or car, does it matter whether (or would that be weather) the paint is acrylic or enamel for the desired effect?
Not surprising, the enamel (solvent based) paint tends to separate from the alcohol fairly quickly. The acrylic (water-based) paint should be more soluable in the alcohol, thereby stay in solution much longer and spread more evenly. (If it isn’t obvious, I experimented for the first time with the enamel/alcohol solution last night and made these discoveries - hence, the inquiry.)
The enamel/alcohol wash (1:25 ratio) seemed to work okay. I had to mix it up constantly and it tended to leave the grimey black paint on the side of the brick building in larger “globs” rather than in finer specks, as I was expecting.
Anyhow, I appreciate any words of wisdom any of you weatherers can pass along to me. [:)]
I would thin the paint with the appropriate thinner…
If you are using water based paints (e.g. acrylic) you may wi***o add a wetting agent in the form of a little (tiny) drop of dish soap, or a few drops of alcohol.
What you are describing seems more like thinning the paint with alcohol, which leads to the “non-mixing” results you noted.
The only wash I use straight alcohol (actually a 50% isopropyl version) is the tried and true India ink wash.
I generally either use 70% isopropyl with a few drops of India ink, or water and craft paint for all my washes. Both work well, but the india ink can sometimes dry with a bit of a shine to it (and I haven’t figured out why…)
When you say a few drops, to what ratio of isopropyl? I like to use medicine bottles as I have a ton, if I filled it say half way, would that then be a few (3) drops?
I have tried doing the india ink washes but they always come out splotchy. Is it better to dull the surface first, but then that seems to lead to the weather technique of spraying dullcote and then isopropyl mist to get a faded look, so with an india ink wash with isopropyl, wouldn’t that make fading like I just noted? I really would like to get it down, I bought some black, brown and white, can see a lot of neat ways to apply this mix to.
Use a different thinner with the enamel. Alcohol will work because of the alcohol content: the higher the content, the better it works. Most stores have up to 70% alcohol solutions. Look around to find alcohol of 90% or better. But for the best results, use the thinner the paint manufacturer recommends.
Alcohol will work fine with water-based paints, mainly because there is water in the alcohol! Liquid detergent will help break the ‘surface’ tension, causing the paint wa***o spread out thinner.
Adding a layer of Dullcote to a model before you weather is usually a good idea, and is a must for washes. Shiny, smooth paint will act like wax on the hood of your car; the wash will run to the low spots and look horrible. Even then, sometimes Dullcote doesn’t help much. My all-time favorite cars to weather are Accurail, since they come dead flat with a textured surface that are perfect for washes.
As for ratio, I really have no idea what my wash ratio is. I just add a few (3-5) drops to a shotglass-sized amount of alcohol, and adjust if necessary. I generally prefer a lighter wash over a heavier one, since it’s easier to control shading and special effects with light washes.
At the Big E show last year, I bought some pre-made washes from a company by the name of Model Tech Studios, and it works fine every time! Now I’m off making my own washes. Anyone else?
I have good success with washes using acrylic paints like Polly Scale.
Though I like using the airbrush, I also get some nice results by using slim paint brushes for the following:
For weathering the lower sections of freight cars, locomotives and the trucks, I prefer to thin the paing with 70% alcohol or water. I don’t always use a ratio formula in thinning washes, but rather add “drops” to the paint in a separate container as mentioned above by OrsonRoy. I alternate with grays and rust colors. I get some very nice results quickly since “capillary action” allows the wa***o run into nooks and crannies. It’s especially noticeable on truck sideframes. [:D][;)][8D]
Can anyone suggest why my washes tend to settle happily in the middle of large sheet areas and avoid all the corners - such as the ribs on hoppers and boxcars. Is it surface tension? If so, is the answer in detergent?
It takes forever to weather into the corners so getting the washes to stay where I want them would really help.
thanks in advance. (And there’s some great stuff above [8D] )
I have had the same problem in the past, due to a too-shiny base coat. Adding a layer of Dullcote sometimes helps, but not always. What usually works on a shiny, gloss surface is changing the wash medium you’re using. My washes are usually India ink or Polly Scale, but if I’ve got a problem surface, I’ll switch to Apple Barrel (or similar) crafy paints, thinned with tap water. The heavier texture of the craft paints seems to grab the gloss surface a little better, giving an even coverage. Even so, you have to fiddle with the paint to water ratio to get it to work well. And be sure to heep the model completely level while the wash is drying!