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Made in us
Slippery Ultramarine Scout Biker





Chicago

I just started painting my armor for imperial guard, and among other techniques I'm learning, I would like to buy some weathering powders from forge world. I am not sure how to appropriately apply them or what colors are best to use. I've heard you put them into cracks and then use some sort of oil to spread them out. My armor color is adeptus battlegrey if that makes any difference to what color powder I should use. Any advice would be most welcome, thanks! (also I can post a picture of a sentinel I'm working on if that would help too)

The heat of a thousand suns shall destroy you!

We are the Imperial Guard! It's time we started acting like it!  
   
Made in fr
Tzeentch Veteran Marine with Psychic Potential





France

After a quick search on the same topic, I ended up with 3 methods:

- Dilute with water, apply, seal.
- Dilute with alcool, apply, seal.
- Dilute with specific pigment fixer and apply.

(A quick search in tutorial for weathering got me all these answers)

   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut




#1: don't buy weathering pigments from forgeworld, buy from Secret Weapon Miniatures. They're equal to better quality, cheaper (after currency conversion and shipping anyway), arrive faster, and they have a much wider selection. Additionally if you are totally lost on what to do, you can e-mail them and they'll probably try and help you. Unlike FW who will probably tell you to buy their masterclass book.

#2: Secret Weapon Miniatures instructional video:


3#: The models featured here were actually made with SW pigments, not FW. So even GW agrees they render good results (though they'd never admit it).
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/blogPost.jsp?aId=17900003a

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/02/28 15:08:54


 
   
Made in us
Willing Inquisitorial Excruciator






Utah

This is a HUGE topic. It is kind of like saying "paints, how do I use them?" Weathering powders are an incredibly powerful tool, and will have some great applications for an IG army. This article from Forgeworld is very helpful: http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF//w/weathering-powders.pdf

The Forgeworld Imperial Armor Model Masterclass has even more in depth information and was a really indefensible guide for me.

Before getting into weathering powders I should mention, starting with weathering powders is a perfect opportunity to start using oil washes, because they require the same prep and finish, e.g. sealing off the acrylics and sealing again when you are done. As I mention below, paint thinner/spirits are the superior sealing/mixing medium for powders, so you are already using it. Oil washes are a truly amazing tool for weathering, with tons of applications. They are easy to create, just mix oil paints with some thinner. Burnt umber (a beautiful brown) and black are your go-to colors here. The umber wash really has a mind of its own, and has a lot more depth and richness of color than any acrylic. Just load up your brush and touch it to a seam, crease, or any detail, and marvel at how it races into every nook and cranny. The black, being an oil paint, has a fantastic oily sheen to it, perfect for oil leaks, seeps and drips on engines, caps, and moving joints. You place a few dots randomly on the surface and gently scrub in and off with a thinner soaked rag to really bring out the detail in the model.

I'll go over just a few tips and techniques:
Alcohol or paint thinner/spirits are your best choices as fixative, with thinner/spirits being superior due to its low surface tension. For a display model that is good enough. For a game model you will need to varnish seal it or it will wipe off over time.

Sealing with varnish will dull many of the effects, so if you are going to seal go for a little stronger effect than you want in the final product.

You can apply dry with a brush, either in cracks for rust effects, or on surfaces for gentle shading effects.

Always try to use 2-3 colors for any given effect (2 reds and a brown for rust, 2 yellows and a brown for sand, etc.) It adds depth.

You can (and for many techniques, should) wipe powder off after you apply it. Even just doing it with your finger will provide very realistic wearing.

Apply dirt tones to corners for nice shading.

Mix with ard coat or some other varnish for a mud effect.

Dry apply black around vents, engines, etc. for soot effects.

If you have an airbrush (a spray bottle might work too): Mix a little with thinner/alcohol, apply it to a brush/toothbrush and flick it onto the side of your tank. Then spray a coat of thinner/alcohol over it, place it upright, and let it sit. The spots will slowly dilute and run, creating great rust spots.

If you don't have a way to spray: 'paint' the area with thinner/alcohol first, then do the flicking technique. It will run, though not quite as well.

Black will REALLY sell blast effects and impacts. A good blast effect has 3 layers: exposed 'primer' (an important step for selling the effect), exposed metal, and scorch. So for a beam or glancing impact you would: paint an elongated oval with a dark grey (chardonite granite foundation if you are using GW products). Next create a smaller steel/silver oval towards the 'front' of the original oval. Later, during the weathering process, apply a little black weathering powder in front of the painted area, and more behind it. Blast impacts can be created with a similar technique, but instead of painting circles, randomly apply the grey with a sponge, then carefully, and lightly fill in the areas with the most grey with metal, and surround with powder.

Hope that helps. Here are a few pictures of those techniques in action.

Spoiler:






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My Necron Nihilakh Dynasty blog: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/416131.page 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut






I've done a good bit of experimenting with this very thing and posted all my results on my blog.
Might help you in making a decision about how and if to use them on your models.

http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2010/10/powders-verdict-part-1-of-2.html
http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2010/10/powders-verdict-part-2-of-2.html
http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/04/start-with-clean-model-before.html

http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/08/making-your-own-weathering-powders.html
http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/10/using-metallic-weathering-powder-on.html
http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/12/brushes-i-use-to-apply-weathering.html

http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/11/effects-of-varnish-on-weathering.html
http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/11/effects-of-hairspray-on-weathering.html
http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-ive-learned-about-varnish-and.html

Hopefully this can save you some time and work.

When people ask me, "How do you build your army?"
I tell them its "The ten-zero factor, coolness ten, combat effectiveness... zero."

Founder, From the Warp
A blog dedicated to modeling and painting in the 40k universe 
   
Made in gr
Torch-Wielding Lunatic





i personally use them with water as a wash and then it goes dusty again,not adviced for play models if you dont use some kind of seal on it.Sometimes i put them strait from pot in the cracks to paint some rust on.There are a ton of uses,depending color and what effect you want to get.
   
Made in us
Slippery Ultramarine Scout Biker





Chicago

Wow, you guys have been so helpful! Thanks a ton, I'm gonna get started asap!

The heat of a thousand suns shall destroy you!

We are the Imperial Guard! It's time we started acting like it!  
   
 
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