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I was just curious as to whether Tau armour can have its paint chipped off in battle to reveal a shiny (unpainted metal) beneath it.

I ask since I was showing my local GW manager a paint scheme that involved heavily weathered crisis suits with chipped paint, revealing a boltgun colour underneath. He agreed it looked awesome, but said it wasn't fluffy as Tau make their armour out of a unique material that keeps its colour throughout.

I thought this seemed odd as that would mean each Tau sept would have to manufacture their armour differently by including their colour in the process from the very start.

Is Tau armour originally a metallic colour (or even some other colour) which is then painted over or is the armour the same colour all the way through due to the scheme being included in the manufacturing process?

I'd like my weathering to be accurate so I appreciate the feedback!

I don't think the Tau's armor compound keeps it color throughout. Otherwise every Sept would have its own armor compound.

They most certainly use paint. As for what the material's natural color is, unknown. Its probably a ceramic compound, so a tan or grey color.

Portions of the armor may also be metal so its really up to you.

I think they are painted, so your good. Fifth Ed. Codex pg 60 at the top refers to tanks painted on camo schemes to match infantry. It also mentions in there somewhere how the ethereals sometimes dictate color and markings, the importance of traditional war paint styling, and some other references. Then the canon might contradict the codex. I'd keep em chipped either way. WAAAGHHH! Is for the rugged! Not the Pretty!

Well if you look at the picture on your codex cover it shows a commander and it has paint chips everywhere haha :p

It also has a silver colour to it so the guy at your games workshop doesn't know what he is talking about he should be fired just joking just tell him to look at the codex cover

Eh, I'd like to believe that Tau armor is made from an advanced ceramic composite that has color pigments saturated throughout it when it's being formed, so if you scratch it you just see more of the same color underneath.

That said, I want to think this because I'm attempting to make a desert Tau army and I have no idea how I'm going to do suitable weathering being a noobie painter and all (but I'm totally going to make green stuff hat/neck covers ala classic french foreign legion).

think of all the places in the galaxy - acid wastes and magma spitting craters to raidioactive atmospheres...

its gonna get chipped, and there is bound to be some metal showing

GA

As usual, we have a blowhard GW employee who thinks he knows everything about every aspect of the lore and hobby, and from his ivory tower strikes down ideas of the rabble who frequent HIS STORE.

Tell him to look at almost all Tau art. You see battle damage on tons of armor. Look at the art for the current Tau Codex and even the new Farsight Enclaves cover, the suits are both heavily damaged and absolutely covered in metallic knicks and craters.

General Annoyance wrote:
think of all the places in the galaxy - acid wastes and magma spitting craters to raidioactive atmospheres...

its gonna get chipped, and there is bound to be some metal showing

GA

If it is made of metal...

Well weather or not it matters

check out the forge worlds pictures for some of there suits.

its clearly metallic chips.

If you can paint it..then it can be chipped, even dense Nanocrystalline alloys.

And since the art, and fluff suggests that both they can be chipped, and the Tau vary the camo patterns based on terrain, lends credit to both painting, and this paint getting chipped.

My Tau just have very energetic paint drones to prevent the show of wear and tear.