I have a question about Tamiya smoke and metallics

[Phil5000]

Hi there. I read that some people paint metallics, like armour plate, in silver and then use Tamiya smoke to tone it down to make it look more realistic. I'd like to give that a try but not sure if you use a brush or do you airbrush? And do you use it neat or thin it? What do you guys usually do?

Ta very much.

 

[Christos]

I use gunge smoke and I apply the paint with a brush in thin layers.I dilute it with tamiya thinner or windows cleaner.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Hi Phil!

You could use an airbrush as well. But I prefer thinning the colour as Chris suggests and apply it with a brush as it then not only deepens the colour but also acts lika a wash outlining detail.

Cheers

 

[carpo]

Hi again phil,
I use Tamiya gun metal - very similar to smoke but with a light metallic flake.
Simply thin and apply liberally with a brush.
check out my V-bench and my gallery (use the links below) to see the results.
It is a very easy approach and if you get a hard line where the wash dries, just blend this out with a little of the base metal colour you painted the metal with in the first place.
Carpo

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Phil5000@Feb 3 2006, 08:31 AM
I'd like to give that a try but not sure if you use a brush or do you airbrush? And do you use it neat or thin it?

You can do it with a brush. Try to use one large enough for the area that you're painting that you don't need to mess with the paint much on the surface as Smoke dries quickly - one smooth stroke if possible.

A couple of thinned coats is better than one heavy one as a rule.

Einion

 

[DaveCox]

I use 'smoke' straight from the bottle, applied with a brush. If it isn't dark enough make sure the first coat is really dry before recoating or it marks badly.

 

[ghamilt1]

I usually burnish armour if it's a metal figure, but I did pluck up enough courage to try a new thing on a resin Landsknecht a while ago. I used some Alcad II metalizer applied with an airbrush. Went on spotlessly and you can buff it to a shine after its dried. Worked really well!

 

[KeithP]

You can also try toning down with lamp black. First apply a thinned lamp black to shade areas and gently brush away from raised areas of the armor. When this is dry, outline with neat lamp black.

I really really like the GS Mr. Metal white metals for armor. IMO, nothing give better depth and polish to plate than the GS. I used those on both the black prince and grand master in my work bench. GS is SO easy to use.

Keith

 

[Phil5000]

Originally posted by KeithP@Feb 3 2006, 12:06 PM
You can also try toning down with lamp black. First apply a thinned lamp black to shade areas and gently brush away from raised areas of the armor. When this is dry, outline with neat lamp black.

I really really like the GS Mr. Metal white metals for armor. IMO, nothing give better depth and polish to plate than the GS. I used those on both the black prince and grand master in my work bench. GS is SO easy to use.

Keith

Thanks for all those awesome tips. It's great how quickly folk respond on this forum.

Hey Keith, I looked into the Mr. Metal Color paints but they're laqeur, isn't that right? And I heard they remain soft even after the've dried. Do you find that?

I've never used lacquer before, I don't know if it's any different to other hobby paints. Is it more toxic? Do you apply it differently that you would other paints? Are there any tips you can think of?

Thanks again fellas.

 

[KeithP]

Phil-

Here is a link to Augie's article on the use of the Mr Metal. I can only say that I heartily agree with everything that Augie says.

The only downside is the shelf life of the product. Once the carrier starts to evaporate it becomes more difficult to work up the shine of high quality steel. The newer lids are also crappy and easy to over crank and break.

It is a lacquer. You would want to use in a well ventillated area.

I have buffed with toilet paper, q-tips, and burnished with toothpicks. I have found this to be a very forgiving medium.

Apply with brush!

Keith

http://members.aol.com/MMSI2K/newmmsipages...esarmor.htm#Top

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Phil5000+Feb 3 2006, 11:43 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Phil5000 @ Feb 3 2006, 11:43 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>...I looked into the Mr. Metal Color paints but they're laqeur, isn't that right? [/b]

No, they're enamels (unless there's more than one type of Mr. Metal in the same jar style and with the same labels!)

Originally posted by Phil5000@Feb 3 2006, 11:43 PM
And I heard they remain soft even after the've dried. Do you find that?

Not in my experience (used over an acrylic undercoat). If you wait for them to cure they are very tough - more resilient than Alclad II, but the coat is thicker to be fair.

<!--QuoteBegin-Phil5000@Feb 3 2006, 11:43 PM
I've never used lacquer before, I don't know if it's any different to other hobby paints. Is it more toxic? Do you apply it differently that you would other paints? Are there any tips you can think of?[/quote]
True lacquers are more toxic than enamels so good ventilation is important, especially if you're spraying them.

As a rule lacquers can't really be applied properly by brush because the solvent lifts paint underneath so easily, but you can do it if you're careful - safer to spray them and the results would be smoother though.

Einion

 

[Einion]

Anybody else notice - SnJ is looking for a buyer!

Also, found this link just now which has a bunch of good tips on it:
http://www.graphicshangar.com/wwm/MetalShop.htm

Einion