Model Forum / General / Models / April 2009

Hi,
I am wondering which paint type and perhaps additive to use so as to dry
brush very fine grain aluminium onto cockpit parts worn edges and and a
brighter effect (silver perhaps) onto nut and bolt heads on e.g Vectra super
quality cast resin engines and not find that the effect doesnt happen as
what little paint there is on the brush has fully dried out !

Perhaps even at 1/32 scale a light grey is better than silver, but I think
that would be too dead as I would expect a glint of metal from well worn
edges and polished edges, so perhaps at 1/32 and 1/24 a metallic paint is
better ? Artists oil paints would have to be mixed to such if they are best
for this.

We have Acrylics, both in pots of colour for modellers and artists tubes,
gouaches (art shops), enamels, artists fine grain professional oil colours,
Alclad and crayons...and printers silver paste, very fine grain and used by
figure modellers. I have a pot of that following advice from a figure
modeller but it dries quick, given its original purpose.

As one is about to leave the brush with hardly any paint on it, before
starting the dry brush action,  is it best to have a paint that dries quick
on the brush as I would imagine an acrylic silver would, or something a
little slower but still having wiped off almost all of it, it would still be
dry when using enamels or something like Windsor and Newton Professional
(finer than Students grade) oil paint, 617 silver for example, that normally
takes 3 days to dry if painted on, and that would give more dry brushing
time without the user finding that nothing was happening at all.

If following up with a second or third colour application, e.g. greyish
silver for the base coat of peak cap cording on a figure, then neat silver
for second stage highlights and then white for final highlights, are such
done in one session or best left for each dry brushing to set fully ? The
choice of oil paints then extends the build time  I presume.

Finally flat brush and artificial or flat and semi artificial or flat sable,
which works best if any.

Steve