Explain "washing" to me

[craiglieberman]

I've heard about this for weathering, but I cannot find a tutorial.

Someone please explain:
When do you do it...before or after the entire ship is built, or somewhere along the way?

What materials do you use?

What is the process?

Thanks in advance.

[Filipe Ramires]

Greetings Craig,

Well, it's a bit hard to find a proper tutorial on the "weathering" subject because there are many ways to do it and many of us do it different from the others. Anyway, here's my two cents on the subject.
Weathering is usually the rust, shadows, white salt marks, etc, etc. The part of the ship where the weathering is most common is the hull. Usually I build the hull completely and after painting it with it's colour I usually put a thin coat of white and black acrylic...must be very thin...and if I find that it's too much I remove it with a bit of water in a normal plain brush. Usually it works fine 95% of the times. Occasionally I also use artist oils and sometimes even enamel paintings for the rust. After the hull is done I move to the structures and it's easy if they are not attached to the hull already...I use the module technic here...in other words...I work the structures apart most of the times (unless there is no other way and the building process makes me glue it) and when finished I attach them finally to the hull. It's a bit like building multiple small models that put together gives a total "big" model.
But then others here might have different ways so keep looking for more replies and I am quite sure you will find the process that will fit your building strategy better.
Good work,

Fil

[Francisco P. de Nanclares]

Following on Filipe�s path, I usually paint hulls using enamels and I weather them by applying a bit darker or lighter paint very, very diluted with solvent always by brushing. The original paint must be perfectly dry. When you apply the diluted paint it just remains as a darker, lighter shade of the original paint colour. If you apply a rust colour also very diluted in some areas you can get some rust shade. And if you want a rust streak or a more rusted spot, then use the drybrush technique by dipping the brush in the paint and then brushing over a cloth or spare place until the brush is left with very few paint, then apply on the spot. Better go easy, since this way you can keep control of the amount of rust and not to overdo it.

Hope this helps.

Pachi.

[JIM BAUMANN]

Hi Craig

Below is a copy and paste from the HOW-TO section right here at MW.com

from my contribution thereto
Hope it helps!

JIM B
__________________________________________________________

Weathering Ship Models

by Jim Baumann


Most of my weathering/shading is actually done with wet washes of various colours. For example; If I have a light grey/white ship it is often difficult to give the ship a real 3-dimensional feel, as the various planes tend to blind/blend and as a result 3-D structures can appear very flat.To alleviate this on an angular turret for example, I brush down the appex of the angle the side of a PENCIL lead... This physically seperates the planes and provides a sense of visual depth!

Most early ships were coal fired and as soon as they were at sea will have produced copious quantities of soot, which deposits just about everywhere, when ship was hosed down or shipped spray/green water, this soot would have been carried along to scuppers/drains and would in short time have produced streaking down hull sides, this I simulate with dark grey wash streaked down slightly aft of vertical(apparent wind created by ships speed..!)

For darker grey ships I actually paint adjacent planes in different shades of the same colour to create depth and false shading, still using the pencil trick to differentiate planes. Streaking off portholes and scuppers is often done by sticking pencil in porthole recess,twisting slightly to create carbon deposit along the lower edge and the smudging down with finger; if the effect is too much paint with drybrush in vertical streak pattern using hull colour.

I personallly HATE the dark/light VERLINDEN method of drybrushing, it creates TOO much depth and makes the ship look like an AFV model or a TANK!!! I always wash the decks with watercolours, if I dont like the effect I can just wash away with good 'ol water. Putting the slighest hint of dish soap in the paint wash breaks up the surface tension and the wash flows more evenly. When I first paint the deck I use thinners and dark grey wash to create the caulking simulation, at the outset the condition of the deck needs to be considered when the build commences...





Painting Decks on Ship Models
I used to (and still do) use MATT RADOME TAN by HUMBROL paints or TEAK by COLOURCOATS from WHITE ENSIGN MODELS this is brushed on ,when dry I overbrush again sparingly using the same paint mixed with mid grey, same again using deck colour mixed with light grey,always sparingly, almost dry, brushed on fore and aft only. THEN WHEN TOTALLY DRY and not a second before I make up a mix of Dark grey/black and thinners and wash the the deck down; this gives an impression of the caulking effect as it settles into cast on/moulded deck detail. If the planking detail is raised I use a pencil lead from a self-propelling pencil dragged across raised lines(ICM 1/350 Koenig for example) This mix MUST be very very thin, DO NOT overbrush it or the paint sediment will get brushed out, the thinners will soften the paint, and bingo, one wrecked deck.....Once you have washed with thinners hold model under lightbulb or heat source so that the thinner evaporates quickly, take no risks with softening paint. IF IT DOES wrinkle slightly DO NOT touch it .When DRY you should be able to press it flat and carry on the with build.


Painting White Ships, Painting Black Ships

For White hulled ships I have painted the base coats with revell matt white as this has VERY good covering power in one coat; unfortunately it is a little creamy and therefore not crisp enough. I overcoat two thinned coats of Humbrol to give a crisp "brilliant" white without too much paintbuildup obscuring fine detail.Most ships of this era were coal burners and even sitting at anchor with a small heaad of steam they were (in my opinion) producing sooty smoke, particles of which would land on the decks etc and even with regular scrubbing and hosing down would streak off from scupppers etc. As a result I streak the hull gently allover with a light shade of grey wash in a vertical plane, accentuating near anchors and natural water collection points.If I feel I have overdone it I "restreak" in white in shade of choice to lighten the picture; as I do not build "Dockyard " models the above is only from my experience of building ship models in an underway situation( when there are presumably more funnel emissions...!)

For Black Hulled ships(inc liners) I have always used a matt true black and then washed down( often) with watercolours in shades of grey(use distilled water to prevent limescale stains in hard water areas!!) with localized drybrushing in light grey or if the area has been highlighted already(around door/armour plate etc) to give sense of depth I use a very sharp very soft pencil to gain a crisp dark line to seperate the highlight from base structure(essential to overcoat with clear flat!)

I think I should mention that I do all my painting (except the flat varnish coats) with a brush by hand......

This is only a short summation of what I do to produce the effect that I BELIEVE to look lifelike and convincing and that I BELIEVE is borne out by contemporary photographs of the period.....( this is my disclaimer!!)

[kevinb120]

I'm surprised the technique of pre-shading does not seem very prevelent in ship building as it is in aircraft modeling. I suspect that it has to do with the smaller surface areas on ships. May have to try it on something like a 1/200th sovremenny or something sometime

[Ron Smith]

I build mostly "dockyard" style so my washes aren't heavy. since I use acrylics for paint and clear coats I use a different meduim for washes, artists' oils. I start with Payne's Grey (same Munsell hue as USN WWII camo colors), titanium white and mars black thinned with Turpenoid. I use a pinwash technique that uses a small pointed brush to flow the wash along lines and into details but doesn't flood the entire model. I'd rather have to go back and add more than have to try and remove excess after it's dried.

I find most 1/350 ships too delicate for drybrushing and it usually tends to make them look overdone if built dockyard style.

[tilbarr]

For a static model you can also do a wash with artist chalk. Using a fine point brush is small areas or crevices or a larger or fan brush for larger areas. There are two methods that I know of�..
1. You pick the color or colors you wish to use dip the desired brush in water wipe the brush over the chalk and apply to the desired area. This is the slower of the two methods. And harder to mix colors.
2. Pick the desired caulk color or colors and using a piece of fine sandpaper or file, sand the caulk into a small dish. Then using an eye dropper add water till you get a very thin paste. (Practice will let you figure out how thinned out you need to make the mixture) then dipping the desired brush into the mixture apply to the model. I personally like this method.

Using these methods you can shade a model or highlight areas using grays and blacks (such as deck plating or wood planking or apply rusting (with browns) that actually (when you let it run down the side of the model) looks like rust that has moved down the side of the ship from port holes or deck runoffs (not shore of the exact nautical terms).
When dry use a towel to wipe off excess. Any mistakes can be wiped off with water and tissue or paper towel and redone. No messing with paint remover to remove the wash.
Spray flat clear coat over the chalked area to hold chalk in place. (Just apply the clear coat lightly. If you get a drip from a heavy coat it will mix with the chalk and act like water pulling the chalk down the side of the model.