Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

For those that use this, I have a a question regarding order of operations. If i wanted to use the same technique for weathering the vehicle markings as the base coat, what's the most effective way?

The way i see it, i can either completely finish weathering the base coat, seal it, and repeat the process with another hairspray layer for the markings. This way I feel would be hard to accommodate the spots that should get vehicle markings but are already heavily weathered/damaged.

Or the other way that I hope will work would be to do "base(rust) -> hairspray -> base color -> hairspray -> vehicle markings". Would that "chip" effectively? This way i essentially start with a clean fresh off Mars look and can go ham in the right order. My only fear is that i'm dealing with an incredibly thin margin of error between base coat and vehicle marking where it would be all or nothing.

Im excited to to experiment either way but if anyone had any time saving experience i would appreciate it!

The usual order of operation is:

Primer (red/brown ideally)
Allow to cure FULLY
Airbrush rust colours (brown / orange)
Dry
Airbrush gloss (important!)
Dry
Hairspray
Dry
Airbrush 'paint' colours
Chip with stiff brush / cocktail stick.
Dry
Airbrush gloss
Dry
Oil washes
Airbrush gloss
Dry

Yes, many layers. An airbrush is basically essential to keep those layers thin enough.

To weather in decals you've got a few of choices.

First and most foolproof is to apply them (including their gloss coat) last and hand paint in any chipping on them using a stipple of either the 'paint' colour, the rust, or both.

Second you can distress the decals while using setting solutions. Microsol works wonders here - it can soften the decal to the point where (once it's dry) you can rub it off pretty easily, but with thicker decals they can peel or tear in ways you might not want.

Third, you can use 'pre-distressed' decals, where they're printed with appropriate holes, scratches etc and you just apply them as normal. This means custom decals, but it can work very well and save some time and headaches. With some decals it may be possible to distress them while they're on the sheet - this is probably a better idea than distressing once applied as above as if you screw it up, you can simply use another decal rather than trying to fix it while it's on the model.

To weather in hand painted markings, you're again either going to paint the weathering on after finishing them, or you can use hairspray again (on top of the gloss after oils) before painting them carefully. This doesn't always work brilliantly as the hand painted layers can erode the hairspray more than an airbrushed layer, making it tricky to rub away. A really good, hard gloss coat is key (but that can come with its own headaches as far as painting on is concerned).

Interesting, thanks for the responce Winterdyne! Definitely intend on the hand painted markings mixed with a small number of decals (which i learned a billion years ago from you as well).

I'll try the rust/base finish, gloss, then marking and see where i end up!

Putting gloss (or any other varnish) on before hairspray or chipping fluid isn't necessary; hairspray won't do anything to acrylic or lacquer paint. In fact, I would recommend not using gloss because hairspray or chipping fluid has a tendency to bead when sprayed on top of it.

OP: you can do it the way to wrote, but there's a good chance you'll chip through to the chipping color, which will look fine if that's what you're after. If you just want the chipping to go down to the base color, you'll need to at least seal the area you want the markings to be to prevent water from activating the first layer of hairspray. (This assumes you're airbrushing vehicle markings and not painting them on using a paintbrush, which is doable but I don't think works as well.)

I've not noticed beading with hairspray on gloss. Might be the brand of spray or gloss?