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Hello dakka, not sure on how to ask this but here goes. I recently started painting my primarch vulkan and wanted to get a similar appearance to the forgeworld's image of how they got there armor that 2 tonned black to green opalescent/pearlescent effect. The only step i can assume involves a gloss coat at the end to achieve the shiny..ness. It kind of looks a little like marble in some spots but i cant seem to make out HOW they did the effect...any help would be appreciated as I havent been able to find any guides on a similar effect via google

forge worlds vulkan doesnt have a pearl effect really, it looks more like its been pre shaded before the green armour coat was applied, most likely with an airbrush. then some particularly tidy freehand work.

FWs paint scheme is not pearlescent it just ends in a very bright green, combined with the recessed shading and a satin varnish (could also use gloss) gives it that high polished iridescent look without it being so.

Now, if you want a pearlecent or shifty green there are a couple ways to go about it:

First a bright Metalic undercoat (think Citadel Runefang steel/VMA steel or aluminum)
Shaded with darker metalics (think leadbelcher/VMA Gunmetal)
Finally apply coats of Clear Green until happy. (FW has a clear green, Minitaire Ghost Tints work, and Tamiya Clear green as well)

The next option is getting some pearl medium and mixing it with your green to desire as your final coat. (This option can be a bit trickier but it comes out nice when you get it right, Ive used it on Eldar Jetbikes.)

The last option is metalic medium/pigment mixed with your choice of green. But I do not think this is the look you're going for.