Weathering - oils over acrylics

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

If you paint a model with all acrylics, is it necessary to clear-coat it with acrylics before using oils for weathering?

Thanks

Dave

2

I clear coat before using oils because it makes it easier for me to clean up the messes I tend to make. It protects my base coat against the thinner I use, enhances capillary draw for pin washes, and makes blending a little easier. Maybe not necessary for all, but the extra step makes my life easier in the long run.

3

Not essenstial but i do find it easier useing oils over a gloss coat.

4

If you have some scrap parts around to test on try it both ways. Sometimes the staining is nice if you can’t fully mop up when not using clear gloss. Just depends on the look you are after. But no you shouldn’t have to clear coat in terms of compatability. Thinks like panel lines can be sharper with clearing first when using flat colors.

I actually use an oil stain water clean up stain set on enamel and on acrylic. Don’t ask how they created them but it’s something my wife uses for washes in her ceramic painting so I just adopted them. I know a guy who uses acrylic ink for washes on acrylic paint. He asked me if it would work, I told him the same thing I just told you: test lol

5

All of the above. Plus one bit more… it depends upon what you’re doing with the oils. If you’re doing filters to alter the base color, don’t seal them. If you’re doing pin washes for panel lines and around raised details, a gloss sealing coat helps them flow better.

6

I never clear coat before I weather with oils, not even with pin washes. I use Tamiya acrylics and oils with Mona LIsa brand odorless paint thinner. It is always a good idea to test, as some paint thinners will have more solvent power than others (e.g. Humbrol enamel thinners).

7

I’m building the Haunebu II civilian version. In this video, his clear coat was satin. I guess you’d call that pin washing with the brush.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wy8dXPVuFI

In this video near the end, he mentions decaling and weathering. I can’t find the final video he mentions on weathering. I like the difference in sheen of the contrasting panels. I guess varnishing with satin would destroy that effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5OEgI7Sq40

Dave

8

Flat will work, it’s gonna wipe up easier with gloss or if you want staining it will do that better with flat. But there are ways to either with the other lol ! Like some mentioned I too have done it with no clear, I do that on older model car engines in particular to give the impression of use.