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So, up till now I did all my weathering with paint & washes. I got ahold of some good weathering powders and I'm about to start using them. I've also experimented with custom printed decals and I plan to use decals a lot more too for lettering, etc, but I don't want them to be all crisp & perfect I want them worn and scratched up.

So first, what are some good techniques for weathering decals? I read somewhere that fine sandpaper works good, but I don't want to just rip the decal off, and I also don't want to sand off my paint job. So, would I varnish / dullcoat the model first, then add decals, then dullcoat again, then sand? And then what about adding the powders? Before decals or after? I would think the dirt from the powders should be on top of the decal, but if I sand the decal, i'll sand off the powder too. So, do I do 3 layers of varnish? Varnish, then decal, then varnish, then powders, then varnish? seems like a lot of steps maybe I can skip the middle varnishing, but wouldn't the alcohol I use to apply the powders have a chance of making the decals come off?

just looking for some ideas & tips

Hi alienid! here is a page linked recently , scroll down to the videos. It'll show you the products and exactly how they work.

Its perfect , easy , and looks 100% pro.

http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87080weathering/index.htm

Mind you, while the Tamiya weathering kits are super, they require a lot of patience and some practice to get right.

BrookM wrote:Mind you, while the Tamiya weathering kits are super, they require a lot of patience and some practice to get right.

Any place online i can purchase these?

yeah I tried the tamiya stuff and didn't really like it. I think I'll do better with the powdery stuff. I guess I'm just wondering if I want to weather my decals a lot am I gonna need all that extra varnish. I don't like to varnish stuff a whole lot because I've heard so many stories of people messing up their models when it didn't come out clear or it was fuzzy or something, so I try to give it just enough to not rub off stuff when I play.


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You should be able to find the tamiya stuff in any decent hobby store. I got mine from a Hobbytown USA.

If I remember correctly the best way to weather a decal is to put it on normally let it dry then take a new eraser one on a pencil works best push lightly and twist on the part you want distressed.
it has been a while since I read about this you might want to try it on a test subject first before you do it on a final product piece.