Here’s how I do mine—pretty radical, for some people, but look at the finished pics later in the thread and see how you can really make something of it if you go through the trouble.
http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/3/t/119436.aspx?sort=ASC&pi240=2
One thing—NEVER use alcohol over acrylic paint. It’s a powerful chemical that can attack and frost paints.