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Made in cn
Regular Dakkanaut




Hi guys.

Is there anyway to avoid this? I primed the tank and then have tried to put a base coat of black on it (Black Legion) but it just looks so damn streaky!
Too much paint? Too thin? Bad Black (Chaos Black)?

I was using a big ol Tank brush - does brush size matter?

Cheers guys

 
   
Made in us
Anointed Dark Priest of Chaos






Zanderchief wrote:
Hi guys.

Is there anyway to avoid this? I primed the tank and then have tried to put a base coat of black on it (Black Legion) but it just looks so damn streaky!
Too much paint? Too thin? Bad Black (Chaos Black)?

I was using a big ol Tank brush - does brush size matter?

Cheers guys


Why wouldnt you just use black spray primer and save yourself the trouble?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/09/17 16:17:55


++ Death In The Dark++ A Zone Mortalis Hobby Project Log: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/663090.page#8712701
 
   
Made in us
Drop Trooper with Demo Charge





Define streaky.

Post a picture for maximum vend.

   
Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







Brush size doesn't matter so much, but I think you'll find that if you try to brush paint onto large surfaces you won't get a perfect finish. You might just need to put a few thinner coats of paint on to get proper coverage, rather than trying to cover it all in one go.

Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
Cadre Coronal Afterglow w1;d0;l0 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut






As was mentioned - black spray will solve the problem for you. Either in the form of a rattle can or an airbrush.

When it comes to brush painting anything large though, you will be torturing yourself.

However, should you want to go down that route - the same principles in general apply to your tank as do to other large objects...like walls. You will want to maintain a wet edge while you work. This allows one band of paint to blend into the next. You also want the brush to be as large as possible (the one I used to use years, and years ago was a 1" flat). Chances are good with all of that that you will still need to do more than one coat. Alternate brush stroke direction to help minimize the appearance of streaks.

If the streaking looks like a whitish powder - you may also be seeing the result of mineral deposits from your water source. They tend to not show up as readily on small objects - but jump out at you when you paint large dark areas.

In the end though - snag a couple of cans of black spray paint or pick up an airbrush and be done with it. Far less of a hassle.
   
Made in cn
Regular Dakkanaut




Cheers guys.

I am using a black-that-isn't-quite-black because it seems like the only one i can find atm in China... Though its a Japanese brand so that might disappear soon ;-)

I want to get an airbrush so that should fix but i'll give it another few thin layers and try to post a pic tomorrow.

Thanks!

 
   
Made in us
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





After painting my Leman Russ mostly by brush, I can say a few things that help with streaking...

http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/385442-.html?m=2

1. Yes, large brush is better. Some of the streaks you get will be from the side of the brush carving a path along the miniature. You can reduce that streaking by swiping back across areas rather than just doing a single stroke, but none the less using a larger brush reduces those streaks. But don't go too overboard, if the brush is larger than the details then you'll struggle to lay down the paint neatly without obscuring detail (though I found using a large brush in circular motions over detailed areas, just going round and round in circles both clockwise and anticlockwise managed to stop the paint gathering where I didn't want and spread it evenly over detailed areas).

2. Use a soft brush. If you're getting streaks from the brush itself, it might be that your brush isn't soft enough. I have no idea what the GW tank brush is like, I've never used it, but if it's not a very soft brush or if you've used it for drybrushing (which tends to make the bristles go a bit stiffer over time) then that might be a problem. I used a couple of big brushes I bought from an art store and I straight away noticed the one I used more often was leaving streaks because the bristles were stiffer than the one I hadn't used as much.

3. Water down the paint to a good level. Too watery and you might have problems other people have mentioned above, but having a nice thin paint allows it to self smooth to a certain extent. So play with the consistency.

4. Multiple thin layers. You WILL get brush strokes within each layer, the best you can do is make sure the paint is thin enough so that it's not actually creating a texture, so the next layer will hide the strokes from the previous layer. For my Leman Russ I found I was doing 3 to 4 layers over most of it to get a solid coat while remaining smooth.

5. Don't use too much paint on your brush. It's very tempting when you have large areas to just use lots of paint to get it finished quicker, but you'll also be more likely to leave streaks.

I'll probably think of other things later, but that's what comes to mind. I also suggest going for a spray. I painted my Leman Russ by hand because I couldn't find sprays that matched my needs and didn't want to buy an airbrush because I was going overseas, but it took ages to lay down solid coats of the grey I was using so I'm definitely looking at buying an airbrush when I get back home rather than brush painting the next Leman Russ.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/09/17 22:49:59


 
   
Made in gb
Jovial Plaguebearer of Nurgle




England

That was done with a brush? Damn. That's impressive. I feel a little less daunted by the vehicles I have to do knowing that.

Did you know? The Reach belongs to the Forsworn. 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





That is why I like to prime light and use inks. No brush strokes.

http://www.utrechtart.com/Acrylic-Inks-Pen-and-Ink-for-Drawing,Liquitex.utrecht?9gtype=search&9gkw=liquitex%20ink&9gad=16100203028.1&9gpla=&9gag=4945774388&gclid=CM_HsOv3vbICFQjf4AodFn8AUA
   
Made in us
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





I've personally struggled with inks on large flat surfaces like you see on tanks. I find inks need some texture or crevices or something for excess to seep into to balance it out and give a nice finish, when it's just a big flat surface the ink doesn't know where to go and just ends up blotchy (opposed to streaky). Do you have any examples of vehicles that have had inks used on them? I'd be interested in knowing how it comes out, after that Leman Russ my next avenue is just buying an airbrush to do my shading/highlighting and dusting, but if inks can do a good job too, I'd be down for that.
   
Made in fi
Regular Dakkanaut




Nice Tank Skink. You really did get a nice flat texture (where needed).

Inks - can't really get a true black with those though surely?

 
   
Made in us
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





It's a pretty mediocre looking tank overall, but it shows you can definitely achieve a smooth coat of paint with brushes and without resorting to sprays. That was white sprayed undercoat and the rest was done by brush.

I found the limitation on brushes wasn't getting a smooth coat, more so getting a smooth shade and highlight, that's why I want to get an airbrush before the next Leman Russ. So I can give it a bit of shading and add some dust to compliment my water streaks rather than it looking so flat and clean.
   
 
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