paint chipping effects

[LaNdStOrM]

Hello,

general question about paint chipping effects really. looking for opinions.

Silver pencils seem the obvious option but the one i have seems a bit smudgy, doesnt come out as crisp as i think i should be able to get it. whats the best technique?

I half read something about overspraying salt sludge and then rubing it off to reveal underneath, how does that work?

actually chipping back into paint with a tooth pick to reveal the under layer seems a bit daunting? how could i go about this?

discuss!

-Theo

[CBREEZE]

Theo,

I have tried the pencil and salt method for chipping. I aggree that the pencil is a little smudgy but doesn't look too bad. Problem might be using a soft silver pencil rather than a harder pencil. Harder pencil might be more crisp.

The salt method works pretty well but I have not been happy either. Basically you spray a silver (or whatever color you want) base coat. Once that dries, you moisten the surface with water and place salt crystals where you want your chipping. Once the water evaporates, the crystals are somewhat bonded to the surface and you spray your top coat. When that dries, you knock the crystals off and you get your paint chip. Problems I have encountered are this. You have to get the right amount of water on the surface. Too much and the salt crystal starts to disolve resulting in more of a puddle than a chip. Also, when spraying the top coat, too much air pressure tends to blow the crystals off of the model. I have read that Kosher salt works better than table salt but have not tried this yet. Might also want to try sea salt.

One technique I want to try is to substitute liquid mask instead of the salt crystal. Rubber cement might also work. I think using mask or cement you would have more control over where the chips would be and there is no way that the pressure from your airbrush will knock them off the model.

Also, come of the techniques suggested using a clear coat over your base coat before you apply your chip masks but I don't think it matters.

Hope this helps you.

Chuck B.

[smutz]

hi, i've used a karisma color silver pencil before, while its sharp its fine but it soon blunts. these days i mostly sprey any area where the paint will wear back to bare metal like wing roots, engine panals, sills

with a cote of silver dab maskol or mr neo with a fine brush spray the top coat & just peel off the maskol

job done. some armour guys use a sponge dipped in maskol/neo & dab away at the surface for a random effect....might try that out later

andy

[LaNdStOrM]

cheers guys,

I thought the salt method sounded like it could be a bit hit & miss.

I hadnt really considered liquid masks, i like the idea of the sponge particularly, a 'real' sponge could produce an excellent effect i think.

i think your right about the soft pencil, i picked up the first one i saw. I have boxes of bloody karisma pencils and not a single siver one! Doh.

-Theo

[Shawn C.]

I don't know if they sell the brand on your side of the pond, but look for Prisma-Color. Also, even if the silver pencil you are using get's a bit "smudgy", there's a way to avoid that. Just sharpen the pencil often during your weathering session using fine-grit sandpaper. This is really the only way to achieve a very fine line as your standard pencil sharpener just doesn't sharpen enough.

HPH,

Shawn

[LaNdStOrM]

cool,

im sure ive seen / had prisma-colour over hear in the past.

good tip about the old sand paper, for using pencils in general.

[jrallman]

I plan on trying the maskol and sponge method on my next chipping effort, but i have also seen some very effective chipping done with silver paint and a very very fine tip brush. I think the key to that one is to have some photos of the kind of paint chipping you are going after to use as a guide while you work.

[trojansamurai]

I've used liquid mask before with disastrous effects -- it either clung too well to the undersurface, rendering it impossible to remove, or when pulling the masking off with tape, it pulled the silver undercoat along with it.

A technique I've used with some success is melted candle wax. I light a candle and then use a wooden stick to transfer the melted wax to the model. This gives a great effect of flaked sections of paint. However, it's less effective in creating the hashed look found on some Japanese WWII aircraft. I've yet to try the salt, but it might provide the best answer for that type of look.

As we've all found in modeling, it seems like there is never one, universal trick -- but more of a combination of methods that work the best.

[Les / Creative Edge Photo]

What I do.

When a model is prepped and ready for paint I prime it with a good neutral enamel. I then spray all areas where I think paint chipping will happen on a real bird I spray silver type paint. I then let it cure for at least one day or longer. Next I then brush on (you can spray on if you like) a couple of coats of Future acrylic. Once that all cures I proceed to paint the model as needed for that model. Before the paint of 100% dry I put on some food prep plastic gloves and have a few small(er) pieces of masking tape ready. Where I want to get some chipping I rub on the tape and quickly pull it back up. This usually gets you quite realistic chipping effects. Try not to rub on the tape in HUGE areas, just press and rub on the tape in smaller areas so that smaller chips happen. Sometimes unfortunately you will lift the silver and primer back down to the bare plastic. But then you just go back in and lightly fill the are with more silver paint.

If you let your paint job dry to 100% rather than oh just say 90% dry it will be harder to near impossible to chip paint.

Link to one of my chipped birds

[ScottD]

I've had really good luck with using Tamiya's Spray Paint and Acrylic paint sprayed over it.

Basically you apply the spray, let set up over night, then apply the acrylic paint, let that set up an hour or two then take a toothpick and "chip" away at the paint to get your chipping effect.

[tisoy505]

For what it's worth I really like the salt method. I have had the most realistic results from it and it's cheap, cheap, cheap.

As previously mentioned you can lose some salt with an airbrush, but I think that adds to the randomness, which may be what your going for.

If you try it keep this in mind:

When you put down the water use a small brush to make a couple of small drops and then lightly blow on them in different directions, ideally the water droplet will change shape and hold the shape.

Don't worry what the salt glob looks like initially some of the bonds won't be that strong so some will fall off, all the better, smaller chips look better to me.

When you spray around it make sure you hit it from every angle, sometimes it can get more of a feathered effect if you hit it only from one side.

Lastly just experiment, all these methods have pro's and con's, the first time I did this it went okay but on subsequent times, it looked better and better.

Good luck and feel fre to ask more questions if you need.

Edited December 20, 2006 by tisoy505

[Miccara]

I use several methods but like mentioned earlier, silver paint with a coating of Future under the main paint, has worked well for me as well. The difference for me is that I don't like the masking tape pull because it doesn't give me enough control.

I use my artknife to "flick" the paint off. It really doesn't take long to do at all and looks better. All the chipping in the picture below is done this way.

[LaNdStOrM]

I think i now plan to do a beat up looking plane so i can have a play with ALL these methods! i can see where some would be better for doing chipped paint with another layer of paint underneath ie markings, and others that would better suit chipping that goes right through to the metal, wing roots etc.

the 110 i was planning on seems a suitable candidate. it'll probably look unflyable buy the time ive finished with it!

thanks all.

-Theo

[Thommo]

I've tried-

1.Silver paint applied with fine brush

2. The salt technique

3. Spraying first with a BMF colour, then applying top coat colour & removing via masking tape ripping

4. As above but removing topcoat with sandpaper or toothpick

5. Silver pencil

IMO No.5 is fastest & easiest for subtle small areas of chipping but keep the pencil point sharp & just apply in very small touches slowly building it up. Pic below is a 1/72 mustang with wing root scuffing done with pencil.

For large areas of exposed metal, I thought No.3 would be best, but my tape would not repove enough paint! So i've not cracked this one yet.

[Barneydhc82]

If the model is a bit battle weary, I spray on the metalizer and allow to dry overnight. Then use liquid mask applied with a pointed toothpick and allowed to dry thoroughly, I then spray the acrylic paint and when dry, I use painters masking tape to pull the acrylic off leaving very authentic looking paint chipping.

Barney

[mybmw60]

Hi Team "MERRY CHRISTMAS"

Im with the sticky tape method, let your under coat dry 24/48 hrs, top coat probably no more than 3 hrs apply tape and let rip works fine first time i tried it i let both top and under coat dry for more than 24 hours the top coat was a pain to get the desired effect but i won in the end.

cheers

Jesse

[boscosticks]

yeahh the tape method usually works for me too. if you wanna get some cockpit panels 'chipped' up, try using some silver pens [you can find these almost anywhere] and go over the edges that would be roughed up.. it adds a nice effect !

[David Walker]

Very well sharpened PrismaColor pencils seem to work the best for me.

[illithid00]

I prefer using a silver gelpen. They're cheap and fairly easy to find at most places.

[ron]

There is the spong method also (I didn't see it mentioned here?)

I prefer the 3/0 brush and silver paint myself

link

[Pete "Pig" Fleischmann]

I have only 2 paint chipping techniques in my quiver:

-1st is a sharp silver colored pencil

-2nd- I'll apply silver "Rub N Buff" to the bare plastic prior to painting..Just rub it on straight out of the tube and buff it with a cloth. Paint your color coat, then when the paint is dry, you can use the tape method to pull of the paint to expose the silver underneath, or better yet, chip the paint away with a sharp toothpick.

HTH

Pig

[LaNdStOrM]

thanks!

keep em coming, im still watching!

-T

[f14peter]

Another good effect with silver pencil is to replicate not chipping/flaking, but where paint is wearing thin (such as at the wingroot), a very different effect.

I'll take the pencil and lightly dab it straight down where I want the effect. Then I'll rub it in gently with my fingertip, making sure not to get too much in one spot.

Give it a try.

[Hawk10]

A technique I learned back in the late 70s or early 80s uses white paint applied over the top coat (works very well on 1/72 or smaller scales). It's a variant of dry brushing.

Take a pointed sable brush (#1 thru #3, your choice) and cut the bristles off until they are 1/8" or a little shorter.

Barely dip it into white paint (I use the paint left in the lid after you shake the bottle)

Wipe it off on a piece of paper until there is barely any paint left (3 x 5 file card works well for this)

Gently stipple the area you want the warn areas to be (wing walks, leading edge of cowling, around panels etc)

continue the dip, wipe and stipple until you get the effect you want.

It takes some time and practice to get it right, but I feel it's worth the effort. (apparently the eye can't tell the difference between a small spot of white and a small spot of aluminum)