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Salt Weathering Techniques


Chuck540Z3

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Can I just say what an incredible looking Lancaster that is Chuck, one of the best examples I have seen !!.

I was just about to start primeing my revell Lanc today, and went to bed last night thinking do i dare attempt this method which I will admit knew absolutely nothing about until reading the thread. So this morning over my coffee I had another look, and " Oh dear " I was horrified to find that I had "stuck" the fairing around the upper gun turret the wrong way around!!!, so thanks to you i have just in the nick of time managed to correct it ;

So just just for the moment im going to play it safe, best not to run before you can walk!!



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Has anyone encountered the problem of "fogging" when using salt?

I tried the salt technique for some chipping on a P-40 wing root and I would like to do this for a weathered paint scheme with the original color masked by the salt and a faded version of the same color on top. However, I encountered a problem on my first try at the P-40: salt was applied on top of aluminium followed by the camouflage color. When everything was dry, the camouflage showed a marked "fogging" or whitish decolorization around the salt crystal. Apparently some salt was dissolved by the (water-based acrylic) paint. The fogging stayed no matter how much coats were applied on top of it. Only a glossy clear coat made it more or less disappear, but I fear it might even come back when a matte coat is applied. All paints were Tamiya thinned with a water/IPA/ethanol-mixture which most likely dissolved some of the salt. The gloss coat is Future.

Does anyone know what to do about this or how to avoid this? Do you use enamel paints?

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Taking a guess at this Doc but id guess that due to the wetter acrylic paints are disolving the salt and making it bleed into your paint finish. I havent ever tried the salt technique with acrylic because of what I said earlier and done it with Humbrol enamels and I didn't have any problems, hopefully some more experienced modellers with this technique might enlighten you more

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Thanks, David. This is what I had suspected. Given the popularity of acrylic paints, I wonder why nobody mentioned before that the salt technique would work best with enamel.

The fogging or bleeding effect might also depends on the water content of the paint-solvent mixture. Maybe I will try salt and Tamiya thinned with pure ethanol on a plastic sheet as a test. Obviously a technique to be taken with a pinch of salt...

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On 5/18/2016 at 6:12 PM, David Mooney said:

Taking a guess at this Doc but id guess that due to the wetter acrylic paints are disolving the salt and making it bleed into your paint finish. I havent ever tried the salt technique with acrylic because of what I said earlier and done it with Humbrol enamels and I didn't have any problems, hopefully some more experienced modellers with this technique might enlighten you more

If you have covered your base colors with future, then this technique can be used with equal success with acrylics.

Have used it a number of times, not in exactly that way but similarly, and it worked fine.

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Not a great fan of this technique, remembering that the salt attracts the moisture in the paint you get a buildup of paint around the salt crystal, when the crystal is removed you have a lump of paint with a fairly deep impression where the crystal was sitting. So your paint finish becomes quite irregular and bumpy. If you can live with this its fine. Remember to seal the finish as every time it rains or a lot of moisture is in the air the dissolved salt in the paint will attract it and may ruin you finish. 

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Just had a play around myself using this technique. All Vallejo acrylics over a base of Stynylrez black.

Stynylrez black/Vallejo green/salt/lighter green/remove salt/salt again/darker green/remove salt.

pTWlqjk.jpg?1

Not bad for a proof of concept, but I went a bit too light with the first green pass. I’ll spray a thin coat of the initial colour, just to blend it all in a bit.

 

Edit: A light coat of the original green blends it in nicely, but I’ve lost most of my pre-shading shenanigans.

qMnbvX9.jpg

 

Mart

Edited by LotusArenco
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Had another play around with salt, this time with some Tamiya paints.

Stynylrez black primer, Tamiya XF-11, salt, XF-27 then rinsed under a tap.

 

YDCO1PT.jpg

(It’s one of those Japanese Gundam robot thingies.:P)

 

The finish has ‘fogged’ as mentioned by Doc72

On 5/17/2016 at 10:16 PM, Doc72 said:

Has anyone encountered the problem of "fogging" when using salt?

and the salt has affected the finish in a weird and not totally undesirable way leaving a lighter green ‘bloom’ in certain areas (due to the Tamiya thinners perhaps, there was no fogging when I used Vallejo acrylic?). Just goes to show how ‘organic’ and random the process can be.

 

Mart

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More salty shenanigans.

 

PFeFVKP.jpg

 

Tamiya acrylics again and sponge chipping with Vallejo.

Regarding the fogging/bloom encountered earlier, it comes off when wiped with enamel thinners. Which is a bit of a shame as I quite liked the effect.

 

Mart

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On 10/15/2010 at 10:08 PM, Chuck540Z3 said:

Small parts can be done the same way.....

The canopy is an absolute masterpiece!

 

Over all, I am floored at how realistic this effect has on the paint job. Two questions, do you do heavier salt treatment for navy/marine aircraft because of their constant salt battering? Or do you treat all aircraft with equal measure? Secondly, has there been any adverse effect to decals from this technique, or will the clear coat protect them from damage while still allowing the effect to take hold over the decals?

 

 

I am a returning modeler working on my first build in more than thirty years. It will be a while before I have the confidence to try something this advanced, but who knows, if I mess up on my F-15A I am building right now, maybe the salt treatment can help correct a bad paint job.

 

Cheers,

 

Anthony

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On 5/18/2016 at 4:12 PM, David Mooney said:

done it with Humbrol enamels

I may be in over my head, as I am new to modeling again. Anyway, from what I have been reading, the future creates a barrier that protects the underlying paint, no matter which type is used. Is that an accurate sentence, or am I misunderstanding what future does?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Anthony

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On 4/30/2021 at 11:23 AM, dov said:

Sofar, this idea is bound on future.

It is for many modeller of no help.

Think always about general global use!

Thank you 

 

I never use Future, being a firm believer that it's best used on floors. I do use salt weathering frequently though. There is absolutely no requirement whatsoever to use Future floor polish before using salt. Other techniques are available - I'm not promoting salt above others, but a reference to Future floor polish doesn't mean the technique won't work for anyone who doesn't use Future.

 

 

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