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Hi guys,
as some of you may know, I have been talking about weathering and powders for some weeks now and after getting advices and help from here, I eventually crossed the rubicon and tried to weather my first ever leman russ !
But I am not totally satisfied.
I bought pigment fixer, dark brown earth pigments and burnt umber pigments from Greenstuff world (what an amazing site !).

So, I used an old brush to put pigments on my model, with more or less pigments depending on where and when I put them. Then I waited and either I brushed it slightly (but it quickly got away almost entirely) or I just passed to the following step:
I used an old brush to put the pigment fixer on it, brushing as less as I could (using capilarity to spread the pigment fixer).
And this is where I need help: the pigments sort of melt and turn into paint ? They do not act as powder anymore, as you can see on the model (the bad part being it's difficult to see because of the camo). So, is this norma ? Am I using too much fixer or not enough ? Any idea ?



It is particularly showing on the rear engine, where the powder looks totally like the mud on the track while they are two totally different products and should not and ought not to be look so close.

The mud on the track is made of the two pigments mixed together with leafs and mud effect from Greenstuff World.
Thank you !

I


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ok so, I discovered that you can use weathering powder without varnish or pigment fixer ?
How do you keep it from failing of your models then (especially in games) ?
With using powder and gently brushing and sponging it, it actually looks very good:

The way we used to do it, was overapply the pigment powders - spray with a light coat of MATT varnish and reapply if needed (varnish tones down the effect a lot and you need to apply more than you think you will need otherwise.

Using the powders without a fixer is pretty much reserved for "display" models that are put into a case, so they cannot be touched. Same goes for using hairspray as a fixer. Body heat and the oils and moisture off your hands will break hairspray down, so it's not recommended on gaming models.

Most of the powders I use end up in crevices so aren't affected by handling the model.
in the past, I have found that MIG fixer does tend to make the lighter powders disappear somehow, so in the end I didn't bother with the fixer.
Note: I usually mix my powders with water then apply them. After it's dried, I wipe the surface with tissue, ear buds or even just my finger until I see the result I want.

Bin off the fixer. Honestly. They're useless in my experience.

Handling during gaming isn't going to remove that much pigment as it generally settles in the recesses. And you can always apply more if you want to anyway.

Can fixers be used in an airbrush?
Would that help?

Yes the fixers are not in synergy with the pigments.
Shure they bind the pigments to the model but by doing so they allso "wet" the powder making the powder not look how it is ment to.

As chrome said, use varnish spray.
Completely paint your entire model, apply pigments as the very last thing you do(gently blow off the excess dust, never ever use a brush) and spray varnish the model.

As a side note, pigments are made and ment for static display models, not tabletop minis, so you have to be crative when finding out ways to permanetly keep the powder in place.

 chromedog wrote:
The way we used to do it, was overapply the pigment powders - spray with a light coat of MATT varnish and reapply if needed (varnish tones down the effect a lot and you need to apply more than you think you will need otherwise.

Using the powders without a fixer is pretty much reserved for "display" models that are put into a case, so they cannot be touched. Same goes for using hairspray as a fixer. Body heat and the oils and moisture off your hands will break hairspray down, so it's not recommended on gaming models.

This is my experience as well. The spray varnish - ideally airbrushed - acts as a fixer that doesn't move the pigments around, but it does lessen the effect. So if you're going to try it you want to get far more pigment onto the model that you'd really like, and it might look a bit rubbish until you varnish it.

Fine ! I will wait a day without rain and I'll do it !
Thanks guys, it's always daunting to try somthing new on a finished model