How to weather with oil washes?

[FokkerFodder]

Hi - as a newbie I feel I can ask a couple of very dumb questions without too much shame!! I have a couple of builds under my belt and like a fairly weathered look ( I imagine these bags of wood, string and linen aged fast!). My attempts however are fraught with danger as my oil washes which seek to bring out surface detail, panel lines etc often seem to act more like a spray of concentrated acid on my paint job - not the look I'm after!  I use acryalics and coat with matt/gloss (again acryalics) etc but I wonder whether there is something I'm missing in terms of protecting the paint from the wash, or am I just too heavy handed!

cheers for any help....

[gcn]

Indeed pictures would be useful.

From what I understand you are using a wash to create shadows.

Normally you would need an oil based wash quite heavily thinned with thinner ( I use Winsor & Newton oils thinned with their odouless thinner sansadour plus a dash of their drying agent liquin. This can then be applied over an acrylic base and shouldn't harm what you have already done. I'd give the acrylics 24-48 hours to harden first.

Most people say you need a gloos base to apply the wash so you avoid the tide mark effect, but you don't. A flat finish is equally suitable if you lay down some thinner on the area where you are applying the wash and then apply your wash. A gloss surface is easier to manage re clean up though but a cotton bud soaked with thinner soon clears up anything you're not happy with.

From what you say your wash is reacting with the acrylic base so a couple of pictures and a list of the paints etc that have been used would be a useful starting point.

[pepperman42]

I agree with gcn. Flat paints will not allow the wash to "travel" as well across surfaces which is fine for fluid stains of various types but for panel lines thin washes should be ok. Wash and wipe might also stain the surface more on a flat finish depending on how vigorous you are on the wiping.

Steve

[FokkerFodder]

Thanks all - your responses make it clear that I shouldn't be getting this result!

The paints are standard - Tamiya, MK and GS. I will try and get a photo but the effects are really the paint bubbling up or the clear coating being 'wiped' off.

Living in Qatar its very hard to get artist supplies and I notice my turps is a) old, b) running out and c)  has become rather dirty - I've probably contaimated it with all sorts of stuff when I've had to try and clean something quickly while running off to deal with some emergency of my kids. Perhaps this is the problem?  I will try to find some new artists turps this weekend in Doha and see if this helps.... or even better the odourless W and N thinner mentioned  by gcn (to assist with doemstic harmony) and make sure the paint has had time to cure.

cheers

 

[uncletony]

Surface prep might be a factor. Your parts need  to be clean of course (no oils, dust etc) and, imo anyway, primed. I wash parts to be painted in isopropyl alcohol and/or Windex(tm). A lacquer based primer will bite into the plastic and will make an excellent foundation. You can also thin GS, Tamiya etc with lacquer thinner and use that as a primer; the lacquer thinner gives it some bite--  give it over nite to cure and it is quite tough.

[coyotemagic]

Also, if you add too much drying agent, it can attack the paint.  Hard learned lesson.
Cheers,
Bud

[kinnies]

Hi there,
I am not sure if this is what you are after, but I'll add my two cents regardless:)
But first a qualification - I'm no expert and find washes difficult - but I've been experimenting with oils and oil washes. What I do is typically apply an oil wash over gloss coat (Future) which should be thoroughly cured. Then I wait until the thinners have evaporated, but the pigment is still wet, and with a Q-tip slightly dampened with thinners, wipe of the excess. This will hopefully leave the recesses filled with colour. Sometimes I have to do it more than once. I've never had the oil thinners damage the undersurface, except if it hasn't cured, but even than, nothing like you are describing.

I have also been experimenting with blending oils to create shades (off topic I know). For instance, the Tripe has lots of woodwork in the pit, so while my basecoat is still wet, I dabbed some dark brown along some of the corners and edges and blended that with the base colour, which creates a shadow effect where desired. Likewise, on higher planes, I dab a lighter tone, blend it in and voila. To blend I dab the brush - a quick but gentle stabbing motion - rather than drag the brush as you would when painting normally. This is a common technique when painting figures with oils.
Cheers,
John

[GAJouette]

  FokkerFodder,
I too am uncertain of the exact problem without photos. But I gather from what you report you may not be allowing your paint to fully cure before applying the oil wash. Believe me I'm fowled up many a finish with an oil wash over an uncured paint my friend.
I hope this and all the other tidbits in this thread are of help to you. You can count on our members for good solid advise and please never worry about asking dumb questions,remember we all were newbies ourselve at some point. Best of Luck to you in your modeling projects my friend.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

[FokkerFodder]

  thanks all for the advice - I feel almost ready to 'wash' the panels on the DVa over the weekend....