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Weathering pigments vs. washes

9K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  Brunal 
#1 ·
Hi all:

The recent thread about the FW weathering effects has inspired a few questions, but I thought I'd start my own thread instead of hijacking Kuffy's.

1) The effects you can get look interesting, and I'm particularly interested in the "dripping rust" look, which has been done on the famous Tau army done by Bruno Rizzo, for those who have seen it. I've heard of similar effects done with washes (mixing Devlan Mud and Blazing Orange, actually), and I know many of the effects you can get with weathering pigments can be duplicated with washes. For those who have used both, which is better? Is it worth getting to know how to use powdered weathering effects? The process certainly SEEMS simpler than glazing/washing the "soot" on in certain places. Is it?

2) Danjones suggested simply grinding up pastels for a much cheaper solution. Does it really produce the same effects? What's the preferred method for this? What do you use to grind it up? Any other tips on doing it this way?

3) While I've read some about sealing, I'm still very concerned about getting this right. Unlike most people, I don't spray-seal my models. I use a brush-on sealer. Won't I ruin my nice effects by doing this? How, exactly, does the dry, dusty effect of a powder treatment NOT get washed away or otherwise wrecked by liquid sealers/finishers?
 
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#3 ·
Well I am also very interested about weathering powders! Although i have used washes extensively to create rust so I can provide some insight! On my desk I actually keep a special pot of paint (more like a special wash) for rust effects. I combined blazing orange, devlan mud wash, a small bit of badab black wash, and a tiny bit of red gore (really tiny!!!!) and a medium amount of water. I use this for all my rust and it provides a good effect. I don't just put it on and let it dry, I put a medium amount on, wait 5 seconds and take a paper towel and lightly take off some of the watery excess. This works for me but as i said before i'm curious about the weathering powders.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Hi, perhaps I can shed some light on the powder matter. I have been using weathering powders from MIG since a while and they are a great asset...
You could grind up your own powders but the ones you can buy are of such a fine and consistent consistency, almost like flour, that they're very hard to reproduce using pastels. (You'll almost always end up with tiny chunks here and there)
Unless you'd really need massive and massive quantities of the stuff I'd suggest to buy a few pots of the desired colours and save yourself the hassle. You really don't need that much powder for weathering models so a little pot will last a long, long time.
Price-wise, MIG's powders (superb quality) cost around 3.95EURO here in Belgium from www.minitair.be (great, great webshop for materials). FW asks 2.70pounds per pot. Weak pound vs strong Euro make this a good buy but as of yet the actual quality of FW's powders is unknown. Most likely it will be good though...

As for using the powders, they're a great, great medium, definitely worth applying to your large models that you want to show off a bit.
If you want, take a look at my FW Marine WIP from my signature, go to last page, last set of pics, and examine the backpack of the marine, notice the black soot around the backpack's vents. I used black weathering powder for that and I know of no other medium that can produce such a fine texture and matte finish. (I sealed mine with satin varnish though).

Powers can be used dry but I prefer using them with turpentine. Take the effort to to buy a pot of odourless Turpentine from an arts shop, you do NOT want that stink in your face... you could also use water or acrylic thinner but the turpentine has nicer fluid properties and evaporates more cleanly. What I did was: brush the surface damp/wet with turpentine and then gently flick on the powder using a dry, old brush (not touching the wet surface with the brush). the damp surface will help spread out the powder slightly in a very natural way, you can adjust some powder with a toothpick or a fine, old brush and then let the rest of the turpentine evaporate.
Because the powder is so fine it will stick to the surface without being sticky so when it's dry you can gently drybrush and smear open the powder anyway you want, blending it to a nice gradual effect, streak it down a bit with a toothpick etc etc. And then fixate using matte or satin varnish.

As for you third point: Do NOT seal with a brush, you WILL ruin your work. Use a spray can (like the varnishes from Tamiya, good quality), or better yet, spray on the varnish with a airbrush. I personally prefer a spray can for fixating, good compromise between quality and speed .

Any more questions are always welcome.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Thanks much for all the replies! You're opening my eyes to a new technique.

What I did was: brush the surface damp/wet with turpentine and then gently flick on the powder using a dry, old brush (not touching the wet surface with the brush). the damp surface will help spread out the powder slightly in a very natural way, you can adjust some powder with a toothpick or a fine, old brush and then let the rest of the turpentine evaporate.
Sounds like it makes a HUGE mess! Guess I'd better be careful. Do you do this where you paint everything else, or do you head outside or the garage or something? It sounds like this stuff could get EVERYWHERE!

Having started using the MIG pigments recently on my titan, I have to say use them use them USE THEM!!!! they are awesome. The pigments your buy are very pure, if you grind them down from pastels you might be saving yourself money but the resulting powder will be not as pure as as far as I know they add elements to make the pastel but that could be wrong.

basically everything meph said was true, he did neglect to tell you that MIG also make a fixer medium which, well fixes the pigments in place and sort of negates the need for varnishing if like me you dont varnish your models just take good care of them :D

Damien
This is my only hangup, the sealing part, I mean. I do NOT spraypaint anything. After many, many failed attempts to get the coverage I was looking for from good old Citadel spray primer (and no, there was nothing wrong with the can), I have LONG since given up on spraying, well, anything. Is the MIG fixer medium a spray medium? How does it work?

I'm guessing the powders have to be sealed, or else the foam trays will rub them off, but is there a way to seal without spraying? Any way at all?
 
#7 ·
Indeed I meant airbrush... that's what happens when posting from the office, barely past the crack of dawn and not yet enough coffee in the corpus. Reading my post again I see it's riddled with typo's. I'll edit them out so not to confuse the new readers. :D

The Paint Monkey, if you ever pass by Belgium, I owe you a burger. ;)
 
#9 ·
Having started using the MIG pigments recently on my titan, I have to say use them use them USE THEM!!!! they are awesome. The pigments your buy are very pure, if you grind them down from pastels you might be saving yourself money but the resulting powder will be not as pure as as far as I know they add elements to make the pastel but that could be wrong.

basically everything meph said was true, he did neglect to tell you that MIG also make a fixer medium which, well fixes the pigments in place and sort of negates the need for varnishing if like me you dont varnish your models just take good care of them :D

Damien
 
#12 ·
Hmmm other ways of sealing... how's viscous is your saliva?

But seriously, there's a few quick guidelines for decent spraycoating anything:
1: Keep enough distance from your models: around 30-40 cm (closer to 40 is better)
2: Do not hold your can still at any point, 'wave' it around your model, more misting than hosing your paint on. Never focus on one point of a model, mist it on, turn around, mist a bit more. Work with short-medium controlled bursts instead of constant hosing.
3: Preferable work with 2-3 layers, keep 'm thin using the misting technique. (especially for priming or base-coating, for sealing 1-2 is enough)
 
#15 ·
Thanks again for all the replies!

I'm still curious, though, as to how working with powders compares to more "traditional" methods, like washes, or even just stippling with a drybrush. Do powders get the job done better?
 
#16 · (Edited)
the fixer is a medium that you brush rather than a spray mate

if you look at my templar thread in my signature I have recently finished up a Land Speeder using the fixer meduim for do the scorching effects on the engines and the guns, I think that the pigments end up with a more realistic effect than regular washes etc

Damien
 
#17 ·
Hmmm do powders get the job done better... Hmmmm tricky one... I'd go for a definite yes! :D

The thing is that with those powders you can have an incredibly fine texture with a superbly matte finish that you simply can't get with washes/drybrushing/sponge-stippling.
The first time I applied them with some turpentine, let it evaporate for a few hours and then gently went to work woth a soft and dry drybrush... I almost wept because the black soot around the marine's backpack exhausts looked so damned real... thàt's how good powders can be. Hell yeah! Makes grown men cry! :beer:
 
#18 ·
If you really want to avoid spraying, one way to do it is to use the MIG pigment fixer.
Just load a brush and gently dab in one area. The viscosity should do its work and spread it without disturbing too much of the pigments. I do that for small areas to fix the pigments befor applying another coats of whatever comes next while avoiding to cover the whole mini with varnish. Its delicate work though.
 
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