Well I am embarrassed. I was reading through threads here, and there was one with a link to a site where someone had put together a very nice description of using salt crystals to simulate paint chipping.
I can’t find it again! I swore I bookmarked it, but no.
I have searched, but apparently not using the correct search terms, as I am not finding it.
Can anyone help?
Thanks for your patience.
Salt weathering is pretty simple. Ive done it on several of my Japanese A/C builds...really works well for their late war aircraft. I paint on a metalic color first...aluminum usually. After that cures, I take a brush or paper towel and wet the model down. Then, I either sprinkle a little salt where I want the "wear" to occur or I dip the wet brush into a pile of salt and dab it around where I think the paint would come off naturally. Good reference pics are a great help for this. When that drys, I paint my top colors over the salt. After that drys, I slowly start to rub the salt off. Where thesalt was applied heavily , alot of the NMF will show thru andwhere the "sprinkles " were applied will look like minor chipping. Thats how I do it. Im sure other people will have their own methods but basically its the same.
You could try searching the site…I know there were several articles in back-issues of FSM on salt weathering…maybe you could purchase that issue? The other thing you can do is experiment with it…if you dont get the results youre looking for just wash the salt off and do it again…lol.
Good Luck!
Len
might this help?
Wow! Way more detailed explanation than mine but basically the same idea…[:D]
I wrote that for the guys on Aeroscale, figured it was pertinent here too
It sure is. I only ever used salt weathering on Japanese aircraft…thus my simplified explanation. Your post was very informative and the model came out great. I always wanted to try a tarp and your method seems like an easy way to do it .Thanks for posting it!
Len
Love your signature Shawn M!
I am beginning to feel a bit over-whelmed. It is about time for me to just try a few techniques and see what happens. I still do not have a model at that stage.
I very much like the weathering look, it is one of the key things I want to learn to do, even more so than fit. I hope I can get my fit to look good also, but my shiny black prop just does not look right :).
I will look through that thread.
Many thanks!
Great article!
That is/was EXCELLENT!
Reminded me of that Japanese float plane (I misremember the designation) stashed at Willow Grove, PA, (textbook salt corrosion).
What Jap float plane? Was it in their little air museum out front or was it on the base somewhere? Just curious…I`m originally from Philly and my Bro-in-law lives around the corner from WGNAS.
Responding to troublemaker66: When I was busy contriving the Internet (among my many interesting lives, I was Acquisition Certified Level 3 and occasionally a Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative), I spent an inordinate amount of time in North Philadelphia, overseeing the sins of one of our contractors. At Willow Grove, there was a movie theater (the Red Barn? something like that) that was convenient (I hadn’t invented NetFlix as yet).
Driving back and forth, I saw four old aircraft (grouped 3 and 1) along the chain-link. The three were (I believe) F7U Cutlass #129642, YF2Y-1 Sea Dart #135764, and F8U Crusader #143806 (the odor you’re smelling is from my burning synapses), but stored separately, there was a Japanese float plane sitting on a transport dolly.
I suspect (but cannot swear) that that Japanese fighter was a NIKI Kawanishi Shiden (Violet Lightning, codenamed George), and bluntly, it was a mess! As I wrote: textbook salt corrosion.
Under the BRAC 2005 law, NAS JRB Willow Grove will continue supporting its mission through Sept. 15, 2011, at which time the 850+ acres will be redeveloped by Horsham Township Authority.
The salt weathering method is a variation on the old-school stand-by of using rubber cement to mask chipped areas… Rubber cement is applied in stabbing, stippling motion with the applicator brush over the metalic color (or base-color if you’re doing an over-paint) then when it’s dry, the model is painted. After the paint’s dry, the rubber cement is rubbed off, exposing the under coat…
!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Screenshots/Models/D3A Val Fujimi/Val005-Copy.jpg?t=1305115554)
!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Screenshots/Models/D3A Val Fujimi/Val004-Copy.jpg?t=1305115570)
I find it’s easier removing the rubber than trying to get salt off a paint job… It also allows you to do precise masking of specific panels when combing with masking tape.
Rubber cement is a great way of masking for sure!
MGH, pick up a cheap-o kit of any sort to practice stuff on. I always grab random model bits from other forums to practice on.
This was my first time trying the technique and it turned out great in the end! Numerous times however I thought I ruined it, but you have to persevere and move on.
If you use an airbrush here is another great tutorial on how to do it from another forum:
http://s362974870.onlinehome.us/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=171765
While we’re on this topic, can anybody confirm or deny if using iodised vs non-iodised salt makes a difference?
I’ve used the salt chipping technique only once before - results were great. BUT, i did get a few faint white blemishes on the paint job. I noticed they were in the area where the salt was. In the end, they were largely cleared up by putting on a gloss and matte coat, and also from my further weathering.
I was told later that i should have used non-iodised salt to avoid those blemishes.
Has anybody else encountered this before? I haven’t tried the technique since, and i don’t really know what non-iodised salt is/if it’s hard to find.
Chris.
Not too difficult. McCormick Sea Salt Grinder (purchased from my local Safeway) says “This salt does not supply iodide a necessary nutrient” so it would do. The ocean is 35 parts per thousand, and nobody bothered to iodize it. (Raw sea salt is too bitter for most people.)
I don’t know what grocery stores you have in Brisbane, but someone must be selling non-iodized salt near you as some persons have to limit their consumption (unfortunate folks with autoimmune thyroid disease or dermatitis herpetiformis).
I use table salt all the time. I also use a gloss clear coat before I apply the salt…maybe the staining happens on matte finishes? Never had it happen to me…YET!!
Good point.
I just wonder if iodized vs non-iodized really causes the blemishes though?
In any event, next time I use the technique, i’ll indulge myself with some fresh salt and see if that makes a difference.
cml
Hmm, I wonder if it does need sealing like that.
I simply applied paint, salt, paint then removed. I started to see the white marks as soon as the top coat was dry.
cml
use less water.
I also run a scotchbrite pad over the model after the salt is removed to knock down the edges and remove the salt staining if any.
Ive read where guys use a little water to remove the salt after painting. I dont and may be the reason I`ve never gotten the staining while using table salt. I think wiping the salt off dry gives it a little more bite like sandpaper and helps the weathering process.
On a side note, have you tried spraying a little clear gloss over the stain? Sometimes things disappear under a clear gloss coat, especially CA glue smears, maybe the stain will do the same?