AMMO Washes and Hairspray technique

[Janissary]

I got two questions for those who have experience with these products:

(1) AMMO enamel washes (Example: My link). I want to use these for 'staining,' so not as a regular wash. Please see Diego's excellent work:

Diego Quijano F-18

At the bottom, I asked him a few questions, and you can see his responses.

In general, if you have experience with AMMO products, are they really much better than say Windsor Newton oil washes? Could I get the same effect with oil paints? I see a lot of great modelers using AMMO products, but I am not sure if it is that much better than regular oil paints, especially for staining purposes. In all honesty, I don't know what 'better' means here, because I don't have anything to compare against. All I know is the regular oils.

(2) Hairspray chipping technique: If I wait too long (say a day or two) after applying the hairspray, will that make chipping impossible? In other words, does hairspray 'cure' to the point that wetting it to soften the top color coat becomes impossible to chip? Based on what hairspray is used for, I don't think it should cure permanently, but I wonder whether it adversely affects the chipping process.

On a separate note, for those who are interested, here is a video benchmarking 4 different chipping techniques:

My ranking from best to worst effect is:

Hairspray (AMMO weathering effects) > Masking fluid > Brush painting > Sponge.

What do you guys think?

Thanks.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Janissary

[Lucas C.]

I got two questions for those who have experience with these products:

(1) AMMO enamel washes (Example: My link). I want to use these for 'staining,' so not as a regular wash. Please see Diego's excellent work:

Diego Quijano F-18

At the bottom, I asked him a few questions, and you can see his responses.

In general, if you have experience with AMMO products, are they really much better than say Windsor Newton oil washes? Could I get the same effect with oil paints? I see a lot of great modelers using AMMO products, but I am not sure if it is that much better than regular oil paints, especially for staining purposes. In all honesty, I don't know what 'better' means here, because I don't have anything to compare against. All I know is the regular oils.

(2) Hairspray chipping technique: If I wait too long (say a day or two) after applying the hairspray, will that make chipping impossible? In other words, does hairspray 'cure' to the point that wetting it to soften the top color coat becomes impossible to chip? Based on what hairspray is used for, I don't think it should cure permanently, but I wonder whether it adversely affects the chipping process.

On a separate note, for those who are interested, here is a video benchmarking 4 different chipping techniques:

My ranking from best to worst effect is:

Hairspray (AMMO weathering effects) > Masking fluid > Brush painting > Sponge.

What do you guys think?

Thanks.

I have the AMMO washes and they are nice, but I think that you could achieve the same effects with oil paints. It just depends on whether you have the skill and a good eye for the correct oil colors. What AMMO and all the other companies do is pre-make these washes for you in roughly the right consistency and a good color for each application. The Washes also dry faster than oils. In effect, they are a shortcut, and one that I, personally, use all the time.

As for the chipping technique, I believe that if you wait too long, it won't work. That is certainly the case with at least several of the purpose-made products out there (AMMO, AK, etc.) and I would hazard a guess that it applies to hairspray itself. As to which chipping technique is better, I would not necessarily put them in the order you did. Each technique can give results as good as the others, when used for the correct application and with skill. Get the Weathering magazine recommended in the video you posted and you'll see what you can accomplish with each technique--they have a tutorial/comparison.

[Janissary]

Lucas, thank you very much. It sounds like it might be worthwhile to experiment with the AMMO washes. I looked for this at the Nats nobody seemed to carry it. It's a little pricey but sounds like it is convenient. I applied hairspray on a metallic color and it has been about a day now. Hopefully it would loosen with water. Thank you for your thoughts.