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Hello,


I was just wondering what specific methods you guys use to paint scratches, scraps and chipping on vehicles?


I have heard of using a cotton ball or sponge, and dabbing it on the vehicle to crate a more "natural" look to it and then using chain mail or bolt gun to fill in some spaces.


Any other methods?




Thanks.

For sponge, try the little black padding that comes in the 40k blisters... it works great. Just rip it up a bit so it isn't so 'perfect'.

What I do is this... mark out your first dark spots with a dark color (scorched brown is good on most colors), you can use the sponge here.
Then pick your lightest/brightest highlight color... using this color accent the areas of the 'chip' that will catch light (usually the bottom).
Finally add some boltgun metal to the areas of highest traffic/scraping like corners and edges. You can take it further than this with washes and more highlights but this will get it done quick and dirty.
I made this for a friend, it might help:

I can't imagine a cotton ball working as well as open-cell foam - long, thin fibers won't give the desired random, splotchy effect. Also, if you try the sponge-weathering method, don't soak the sponge in paint. Instead, dab most of it off, as if you were doing a light stippling or a heavy-ish drybrush.

For slow and even metallic wear and tear, like that found on track links and ladder rungs, I'm a fan of using a soft pencil or graphite stick. Gives it a darker, more subtle metallic color than Boltgun Metal with a very even, muted sheen to it. Not necessarily the best for drawing on scratches, but it's great for textured surfaces and edges.

For simple paint scratches you'll want to get a colored pencil in silver and just draw the scratches on. Alternatively, you can use it to create many small dots in areas where crew would walk on the vehicle (around hatches) to show the wear that the constant foot traffic would have on the paint.