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So I've painted a few models so far, and they've all been very clean-looking. Just a little bit of drybrushed-on graveyard earth for a dirt effect, and a little agrax on the metallics to dull them down. I want to take it to the next level though, particularly for when I start painting vehicles as opposed to just space marines. Where are some good places to go to get tutorials on different weathering effects like burnishing, mud splatter, exhaust, soot, paint chipping etc?

Note: I've tried the sponge-on-rhinox chipping method, and I havne't liked the effect so far. Is there a trick to getting it right? Also, is it possible to weather a miniature after sealing it w/matt varnish?

the simplest trick that literally anyone can do, is to use a pencil graphite on your vehicle edges. the ever so slight metallic sheen will give you a nice subtle wear to the edges.

as for tutorials, AK interactive/Ammo Mig are the kings of weathering supplies, and also do tutorials.

I'm a big fan of weathering personally, and would be happy to provide technique information if you want anything specific. streaking, oil washes, chipping methods, rust etc.

One youtube channel I can recommend for weathering is Plasmo. He largely paints tanks and aircraft, but his techniques are applicable to Warhammer also.

From what I've seen, it's generally better to weather your models after sealing, so you don't ruin your paint job if you happen to make a mistake.

In terms of your chipping method, make sure you've removed paint from your sponge/foam sufficiently before applying it to the model. Less is more and you can add more if you please. Add scratches to the edges of armour panels and make chip marks with a brush for damage deeper in the panels.

I have a scale model in my gallery with plenty of weathering if you fancy checking that out.

I started diving a bit into weathering in the last year and spent a considerable amount of time testing different techniques, watching videos, and trying different products with differing results.

The whole topic is pretty large, so I'll just list some methods, and what i personally found to be the best.

Paint Chipping: Hairspray, Chipping Medium, Manual scratching/painting.

Best results: chipping medium - but requires way too much effort. I usually do manual scratching/painting.

Rust/Dirt: Sponge + Paint, Citadel 'typhus corrosion' + 'ryza rust', drybrushing/manual

Best results: Citadel paints. They really allow you to layer the effect well and it's fast

General Grime/streaks: self-made washes, citadel washes, streaking grime + mineral spirits.

My best results were the purpose-made 'streaking grime'. This one is like a miracle and can do some really great effects.

Another generally handy weathering aid is pigments. Great for adding a dust-covered look to areas. Really great around feet, tank-treads, etc.

There are a whole bunch of purpose-made weathering supplies, but a solid 90% of them aren't needed and can be created with other supplies/techniques. However, a handful are invaluable or huge time savers.

Yeah I forgot to mention scale modellers are really the experts when it comes to weathering. That's how I learnt all my weathering stuff

I can offer up some some tips, starting with chipping because it's probably the most varied kind of weathering. There's really three ways to get paint chipping and each has its merits. Which one I personally use depends on the look I'm trying to achieve.

Method 1: masking fluid/liquid mask

This is using a liquid, usually liquid latex, applied to an existing layer of paint to protect it from another layer of paint. For a paint chipping effect, it's usually applied with a piece of torn foam or sponge to keep it somewhat random. You paint the color you want "exposed" by the chipping, sponge some liquid mask where you want it, let it dry, paint the next layer on top, remove the dried liquid mask with your finger or a piece of poster tack.

This is the effect you're after:


The "skirt" has a couple of layers. I started with the medium grey, sponged on some Vallejo liquid mask, painted the light pink layer, sponged on some more liquid mask where I want the pink to show through, painted the hull red on, then removed it all. The green "fender" chipping was also done in a similar way, except I put the liquid mask on an old toothbrush and then flicked it on the light green to give it a speckled look before painting the dark green over top of it. I find the liquid mask method works the best if you need large areas of random chipping and you don't really care about being precise. It's also relatively fast, hard to screw up, and gives good results.

Method 2: hairspray/chipping fluid

(Not the best picture, but it's TRESemme Tres Two Ultra Fine Mist)

This method is popular with armor modelers and probably gives the most realistic chipping because in my opinion, there's no beating actual paint chipping! Some modeling companies make chipping fluid which work just like hairspray except they have no scent, however, I think that the Tresemme Ultra Fine Mist is the best option. Plus, it can be found at the grocery store. With this method, you paint the underlying color (usually a rust color or metallic), spray the hairspray over it and as soon as it's dry, paint the outer color. When that's dry to the touch, you get the area you want to chip wet with a little bit of clean water, let the water soak through the outer layer of paint for a couple of seconds and "activate" the hairspray, then a variety of tools (an old toothbrush, stiff bristle brush, or even toothpicks) carefully work the surface to make scratches. The end result should look something like this:


Those particular pieces have a base coat of a dark steel color (to show the armor being made of cast steel), a layer of "primer," which in this case is red oxide, then the two camo colors on top of that; pretty much how an actual piece of metal armor would be painted. I painted the steel color, sprayed on two light coats of hairspray, then the red oxide color, they another coat of hairspray, then the camo colors, and then chipped it. This makes the chipping a little unwieldy (and I did it as test with these parts), so I would recommend dividing each layer by a clear coat to keep the all of the layers of hairspray from reactivating as you move up, which is what I'm doing here:


A third layer of battleship grey will be added for the upper surfaces for a countershading camouflage effects and similarly chipped with hairspray.

Method 3: sponge chipping


Sponge chipping is probably the easiest technique but it can be difficult to master. The keep is to take it slow and add a little bit at a time because it's way easier to add more if you want it than it is to remove it if you've gone overboard. Personally, it's my least favorite way to do chipping but that doesn't mean there's no place for it or that I don't do it. I think it works best in combination with other weathering effects, including other chipping effects because it looks different than the other two methods. I really like to do it when painting multi-color camouflage to show areas where the camo colors have been chipped away to reveal the main body color, like on this Renault FT I did:


If you go to the picture in my gallery and zoom in (it's a large picture), you can see where the brown and green have been chipped away on leading edges (like the return roller support, drive sprocket, and engine cover on the rear) to show the light brown base color. This was done after the camo colors were painted, using the base light brown color and a piece of torn sponge to simulate where paint had been rubbed off. I then went back with a smaller piece of sponge used a dark brown-black to add ever more chipping to show wear and tear down to the base metal (that had since darkened with oxide from being exposed to the atmosphere). This method tends to be the most common with wargamers because it takes the least amount of work to do (theoretically) and doesn't really require any special tools or techniques.

SirWeeble wrote:
There are a whole bunch of purpose-made weathering supplies, but a solid 90% of them aren't needed and can be created with other supplies/techniques.

While technically correct, I don't agree with the sentiment. To me, it comes down to ease of use and time spent doing it. Yeah, I could ground a bunch of pastel sticks down to make a pigment powder, but it's a better use of my time and effort to buy a bottle of pigment from Vallejo, Mig Productions, or AK Interactive in the exact color I want and in a handy jar. Same goes with washes and other stuff because I'd just rather pay for the convenience of having exactly what I want in an easy to use package. I'm painting something in a cool dark grey? Awesome, I'll grab my bottle of Ammo of Mig blue-black panel line wash and go to town without having to mix two colors together and hope that I get it right every time.

That's a superb summary @ScootyPuffJunior thanks for taking the time

I'm new to weathering myself as I was never a huge fan but I've been asked to do it a couple of times of late and it's one of the skills I need to work one a lot before I can do it with real skill/confidence.

I agree with sponge weathering that less is more. Start small and slowly build it up. I get rid of most of the paint and test it on a piece of paper first, that way you can easily see what pattern you get.
It's also worth thinking about where the heaviest weathering is. For a Stormtalon I did recently I concentrated it on the front armour panels and edges. It was my first true attempt at weathering and I think it turned out pretty well. It's also a good idea to mix up the sponges.

Packing sponges, like we used to get in blister packs, work really well for bulk work and make up sponges can do finer work for where you don't want large scratches/chips. I've also found out that a very soft careful drybrush (using an eye makeup brush) can hit the more heavily sponged areas just on the surface should you wish to darken them up a touch.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
the simplest trick that literally anyone can do, is to use a pencil graphite on your vehicle edges. the ever so slight metallic sheen will give you a nice subtle wear to the edges.

I absolutely love the visual effect, but haven't been able to preserve it, it rubs off to the touch without varnish, but any I've tried means I lose the perfect dull metal effect and it gets undesirably "smudgy". Any tips?

Use a spray varnish is all I can suggest. I don't really handle my models much so I don't have the problem of it rubbing off. But a spray varnish should preserve it, along with careful handling

For light weathering I use FW or comparable dry powders, around the boots/lower end of a long coat(dark or light brown), tank tracks(wet earth), gun barrels(black soot), exhausts(rust, black soot over top), areas you want a lite metallic look but don't want to actually apply metallic paint(I paint it dark and apply gun metal powder), bones(grey ash). Its a simple and easy lite weathering process that you cannot achieve with paint.

For the sponging techniques mentioned above, if you can get a hold of a GW now OOP paint pot(charadon granite), its a god send for sponging; I think the closest mix from the new GW range is Skavenblight Dinge and some black mixed, use that or rhinox hide or black to sponge, then use a smaller brush and touch up some shown underneath metallic within the sponge parts.