Righto; after getting some great advice from Figure Freak on adding rust and rain streaks to my Marder I’ve picked up a nice set of oil paints from town today to try the dot filter method.
I’ve never done this before so I’ve been searching on You Tube and using the search function on here etc I’ve come across some videos showing how to do filters but I’m struggling to find anything that explains exactly what I want to do.
I’ve got a selection of 12 nice colours including white, burnt sienna, burnt umber, vermillion, green etc…
I understand that I need to add very small dots of the oli paint to the required areas. For example, if I want to ‘rust up’ the rivets do I add a tiny dot to each rivet? How long do I need to leave the oil paint in place for before I touch it again? If I want to make rust streaks do I go back with a thinner coated brush and ‘pull’ runs of rust down from each rivet? Do I need to use enamel or acrylic thinner?
Also, when trying to lighten up these grey panels do I apply random tiny dots of different light oil colours over the panel and again using a thinner soaked brush do I work all these colours together to highlight the panel?
It’s all pretty confusing tbh!
I’d REALLY appreciate a newbie proof guide on this as I don’t want to mess this one up!
You’re essentially asking about two very different techniques/methods. In terms of recreating rust streaks (which I personally would caution you against doing at all from a realism standpoint but if you must do it, do it very lightly as rust leaking out from rivets is something you would only see on abandoned or wrecked vehicles exposed for years to the elements and not actual in-service vehicles), your best bet there is to use a thinned wash and apply it to the rivet and then use the brush to “pull” the streak downward.
In terms of applying a filter or lightening panels, what you want to do is apply very small dots of paint and then use a thinner-dampened (not soaked) brush and use repeated downward strokes until the dots virtually disappear. I find that a square-tip brush works best for this and it takes a lot of patience and time to do it right, so I will work in small sections at a time as a result. Some oil colors are more powerful than others and a little bit will go a very long way. You don’t want to leave the oil dots sitting any time at all, so don’t worry about starting to work with them after you’ve applied them. When working with oil paint, you need to use a good turpenoid or similar odorless thinner and not try to use enamel thinner or acrylic thinner as those could produce some very unpredictable/nasty results.
HTH and feel free to ask away if you have more questions.
That’s very interesting about the rivets (and thinking bout it, very true aswell). I’ll have a rethink regarding how I tackle them.
I’ve just found Doog’s tutorial which nicely covers the dot filter method…
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I’ll be trying this out for sure-great tutorial Doog!
Anyway, I’ve got my selection of oils now-will white spirit be okay? All I have here at present is Tamiya acrylic thinner, Humbrol enamel Thinner and a tin of Cellulose thinner.
I’m thinking far ahead at the minute-the build is barely underway. I know how I want her to look, tired and weatherbeaten-just like the Hetzer in Doog’s tutorial. The running gear and lower hull are pretty much identical to that of my Marder anyway.
I’m thinking about tackling this build differently. This is build #5 for me now & I want to get it right (as right as I can anyway), so I’ll get the basic build complete and keep the WIP thread updated and I’ll probably be asking you guys for advice on the next steps to take each time I reach a certain point. Up to now I’ve been doing what I think is right, posting pictures and then being told that I’ve done something wrong and I should have done something else. I know it’s the best way to learn but on this build I’m going to ask the question before making the next move.
for thinner, I use mineral spirits and it does seem very confusing but once you try it, youll be hooked and suprised at how easy and how good it looks when done, good luck my friend
I think you’ve hit on a good formula for asking questions Ben! [;)] I don’t use oils myself since I work with enamels but Brian has pointed you in the right direction and of course you have Doog’s toot to help you out as well. [tup]
To reiterate a point that Bill made, it is critically important to be aware of the compatibility of the materials you use.
Oil paints can be thinned with enamel thinner or white spirits (aka mineral spirits in the US, or mineral turpentine here in Australia), but if you do use them over an enamel finish, it will lift it. People often use a clear acrylic gloss coat as a barrier to protect the underlying paint. Oil paints thinned with enamel thinner can be used directly over most acrylics with no ill effects.
Acrylic thinners are ineffective with oils and will not mix.
Cellulose thinners (aka lacquer thinners) are damaging to both enamels and acrylics and should be avoided.
You may need to visit an art supply store to find a suitable odourless thinner.
As to highlighting the rivets, I agree that rust is often overdone. You may consider a subtle pin wash of a suitable colour to suggest dust/grime accumulation around the rivets though.
PS: When trying something new, it’s preferable to try it on something expendable first rather than a live build. [:)]
So, are we saying it’s probably not a good idea to use this method over enamels (which is what I currently use as I don’t have an AB) and to use on acrylics only?
It’s no problem as I’ll be using acrylics soon as I’ll have my AB up & running for the new year-I wouldn’t like to do any damage to my kits and I’ve got plenty of other techniques at my disposal (and which I’m still learning). The oils can keep for the new year.