Jump to content

Issues with salt weathering technique


Recommended Posts

Hi all,

 

I have successfully used the salt weathering technique  on a few models now, but my experience of it is that in my hands it is only any good for pretty extreme weathering. The reason for this is that it leaves the remaining top coat rough due to little bits and traces of salt getting trapped under the top coat. This means where I want significant leading edge erosion and chipping, but still want good paint on the rest of the wing, I lose a lot of the value of the method as it becomes less random. You essentially have to paint on the water, and then apply the salt specifically, so you get stripes rather than feathered chipped areas. The same goes for panel line chipping.

 

So it is clear I need to revisit my technique as other have been able to use if for some great models. I also am keen to hear of any other ways to do this, my focus is 1/48th aircraft so I know different methods suit different scales and subjects. I also want to know how you guys get around the problem I have with the salt weathering technique

 

Cheers

 

Les 

Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't know how much help this will be, but I find using a hair dryer helps.  It accomplishes 2 things,  first it dries up all the water and the second is that it blows off the pieces of salt that didn't adhere well.  You might have to repeat the steps a couple of times to get the "coverage" that you want, but it seems to pay off in the long run.  I usually use the hair dryer on the lowest setting and alternate between heat and cool setting.  

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
Just now, Napalmakita said:

I have some of those...Eschi I think?  Another guy, maybe here, used torn up scrubbing pads to make his own..pretty cool effect

Yep, those from Uschi are great. And also scuffed scrubbing pads are good choice too. 

 

Here are one of my examples. I used black and white over Mr.Surfacer... 

P1090037-web.jpg

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 minute ago, gregax said:

Yep, those from Uschi are great. And also scuffed scrubbing pads are good choice too. 

 

Here are one of my examples. I used black and white over Mr.Surfacer... 

P1090037-web.jpg

 

 

Uschi...that's it.  That looks great..I'm actually getting close to laying down primer on my Hase Rhino

Link to post
Share on other sites

I took a look at those Uschi masks, and they looked a good idea. However in the current climate it is difficult to get stuff from outside of Hungary, so I wondered if I could make something similar. 


I got some clip art pictures of raindrops, and random blotches, rust, tiger stripes, that sort of thing from the internet, then using a combination of an old version of Photoshop and Inkscape, was able to come up with some .svg files I can use on my laser cutter to make some similar ones. I tried thin styrene sheet first, but although it worked, it warped due to the heat plus the plastic tended to melt rather than cut cleanly. They work, but not the best.

 

I then tried some thin card, and once I got the cutting speed and power right, it works better than the styrene. The pattern cuts fine, but the edges can be a little less crisp which is OK most of the time for this sort of thing. The problem is when two blotches are close together it could lead to the card between burning away to nothing, plus there is not much physical strength to the card so they would be a couple of use only.

 

Then I hit on the idea of coating the card with cheap superglue, on both sides before cutting, and I can happily say that it works a treat, nice sharp edges and a reasonably stiff template, with the added bonus that the superglue stops the paint and thinners from soaking in and weakening it. So now I can in a short time produce my own weathering templates, including actually tailoring them to a particular airplane so that the weathering is different on the various panels, access panes etc.

 

But sadly it doesn't address one of the effects I wanted to reproduce, which is chipping of the paint revealing the primer or metal, so I am still eager to hear from anyone that  has found a good way to achieve that effect

 

Cheers

 

Les

Edited by lesthegringo
spelling
Link to post
Share on other sites
19 minutes ago, lesthegringo said:

I took a look at those Uschi masks, and they looked a good idea. However in the current climate it is difficult to get stuff from outside of Hungary, so I wondered if I could make something similar. 


I got some clip art pictures of raindrops, and random blotches, rust, tiger stripes, that sort of thing from the internet, then using a combination of an old version of Photoshop and Inkscape, was able to come up with some .svg files I can use on my laser cutter to make some similar ones. I tried thin styrene sheet first, but although it worked, it warped due to the heat plus the plastic tended to melt rather than cut cleanly. They work, but not the best.

 

I then tried some thin card, and once I got the cutting speed and power right, it works better than the styrene. The pattern cuts fine, but the edges can be a little less crisp which is OK most of the time for this sort of thing. The problem is when two blotches are close together it could lead to the card between burning away to nothing, plus there is not much physical strength to the card so they would be a couple of use only.

 

Then I hit on the idea of coating the card with cheap superglue, on both sides before cutting, and I can happily say that it works a treat, nice sharp edges and a reasonably stiff template, with the added bonus that the superglue stops the paint and thinners from soaking in and weakening it. So now I can in a short time produce my own weathering templates, including actually tailoring them to a particular airplane so that the weathering is different on the various panels, access panes etc.

 

But sadly it doesn't address one of the effects I wanted to reproduce, which is chipping of the paint revealing the primer or metal, so I am still eager to hear from anyone that  has found a good way to achieve that effect

 

Cheers

 

Les

For the general weathering, I saw a video where a guy basically peeled apart the layers of mesh scrubbing pad.  As for chipping, I've used the ammo chipping effects fluid several times with good results.  The other thing I do is paint the metal undercoat then gently scrape the top coat with a heavy grit sanding sponge..like 400

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...
On 10/3/2020 at 8:54 AM, lesthegringo said:

I got some clip art pictures of raindrops, and random blotches, rust, tiger stripes, that sort of thing from the internet, then using a combination of an old version of Photoshop and Inkscape, was able to come up with some .svg files I can use on my laser cutter to make some similar ones. I tried thin styrene sheet first, but although it worked, it warped due to the heat plus the plastic tended to melt rather than cut cleanly. They work, but not the best.

I then tried some thin card, and once I got the cutting speed and power right, it works better than the styrene. The pattern cuts fine, but the edges can be a little less crisp which is OK most of the time for this sort of thing. The problem is when two blotches are close together it could lead to the card between burning away to nothing, plus there is not much physical strength to the card so they would be a couple of use only.

Then I hit on the idea of coating the card with cheap superglue, on both sides before cutting, and I can happily say that it works a treat, nice sharp edges and a reasonably stiff template, with the added bonus that the superglue stops the paint and thinners from soaking in and weakening it. So now I can in a short time produce my own weathering templates, including actually tailoring them to a particular airplane so that the weathering is different on the various panels, access panes etc.

What about using playing cards? They're already plastic coated.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/30/2020 at 10:03 AM, gregax said:

Yep, those from Uschi are great. And also scuffed scrubbing pads are good choice too.

 

Might anyone have a link explaining/demonstrating this scrubbing pad technique? I'm looking to up my game and try something new on my current build.

Link to post
Share on other sites
On 10/3/2020 at 5:54 AM, lesthegringo said:

But sadly it doesn't address one of the effects I wanted to reproduce, which is chipping of the paint revealing the primer or metal, so I am still eager to hear from anyone that  has found a good way to achieve that effect

 

Cheers

 

Les

Have you considered the hairspray trick? Paint the metal layer first, then airbrush on a layer or two of everyday hairspray (Tresemme in the pump bottle works fine).  Spray your color layer- Tamiya works easily, but I've chipped Hataka Laquers. AK also offers their Worn Effects acrylic fluid.   As soon as it's dry, wet the paint with tap water and scrub at it with a stiff brush. You may need to pick a hole or two through the top layer with a toothpick, but the chips come off at random, even with a degree of depth. I'd suggest doing a test run on an old kit or sheet of styrene to get the hang of it. MiG21_033.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...