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Hi all,
Looking for some advice on what I might be doing wrong with my hairspray chipping to end up with this:

I primed then applied the light tan varnished with a mat. I put on my hairspray and then my camo did my chipping and mat varnished it again and as the varnish dried I ended up with this.
could it be the hairspray was put on to heavy I tried to stay light but it came out of the can really heavy.

Don't varnish on top of the hairspray. Use a good hard gloss below the hairspray (Future / Klear is great).

Layers are:
Primer
Base colours / chip layer (usually a dark rust)
GLOSS
hair spray
Light Camo
Dark Camo (note that masking this layer is difficult, as you will dislodge the hairspray - if you need a masked layer, consider using a different method such as a masking fluid chipping (much more robust than hairspray), or sponge weathering (done after the main paintwork)).

Then scrub away and gloss again once done.

Ok thanks will give the Future a try. It chipped easy(a little to easy was taking off more in areas then I wanted) with the mat varnish and didn't affect the the tan base coat. Should I be wetting and brushing all of the model or just the areas where chipping is, the gloss won't dislodge the rest of the hairspray will it?

The purpose of the gloss is to protect the underlying layer. I use a mix of a toothbrush, moist cocktail stick, stippling brush etc to remove the hairspray layer.

The craquelure effect is pretty striking, however it would be better achieved with craquelure media.

Back on topic, I did a salt mask using water rather than hairspray. You dab the water on using a cotton bud and chuck the salt on top and let it dry. I used sea salt which has fairly large crystals, but it would work as well or better with plain table salt.

The salt comes off much more easily than with hairspray, so you need to handle the model carefully and spray on the covering colour. On the plus side, the salt can be easily removed with hot water once the top layer is dry, and this does not affect the paint at all.

Also ditch the gloss coat, go with satin at the most, matte is what I prefer the most. It provides better control, and contributes to a more durable overall finish.

Thanks for the replies after doing some more searching I think I will just sponge on the chips. I am using Vallejo paints have have read that most people have had a hard time trying to get them to chip right it likes to come off all at once like is got latex in it. After messing around more on another model I think my varnish coat over the finished paint job and chipping was applied to wet and activated the hairspray causing the camo to lift and crack. Might try replicating it on a base for a dried cracked earth though.

Roxvox wrote:
Thanks for the replies after doing some more searching I think I will just sponge on the chips. I am using Vallejo paints have have read that most people have had a hard time trying to get them to chip right it likes to come off all at once like is got latex in it. After messing around more on another model I think my varnish coat over the finished paint job and chipping was applied to wet and activated the hairspray causing the camo to lift and crack. Might try replicating it on a base for a dried cracked earth though.

Vallejo paints work fine for the chipping technique, the p3 paints tend to be a bit gummy. I honestly feel the problem here is the gloss coat between layers. If you do a matte one instead I feel the problem is going to go away. Sponge chipping is nice too, but that hairspray method works great once you master it. Remember, the guys that started the chipping trend, those military modelers, only had access to Vallejo, Humbrol, and Tamyia paints, it is not the paint, it is user error. Keep working at it, you will get it.


A.

Yeah I did varnish with a matte but will keep working on it now off to strip this model.

If your going to be sponging your battle damage, a great tip is to rip off a bit of sponge and stick it into one of those bristle protectors that come with paintbrushes. It gives you better control over how much and where you want to apply the chipping, as well as making it ten times easier than trying to grip a little bit of sponge covered in paint with your fingers!