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Varnish Disaster


echen

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I've been working on and off with these kits for months.............................

I got the base colour done. Then the first gloss coat and decals. A somewhat in-expert dark pinwash followed a second gloss coat.

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Unfortunately, when I came to do the matt coat prior to weathering I selected an old tin of Humbrol matt (49).

This tin now resides in the bin.

Because, as you will see below, it isn't quite the finish I was looking for!

 

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Someone might say "that looks awwight" but to me they look like they've been left out in the frost.

Question arises as to what comes next (apart from my initial thoughts about the plastic following the matt varnish).

I've read about a further gloss coat with a repeat pinwash/matt coat being a possible remedy.

As an alternative I wonder about finishing weathering them as they are and incorporating the "new markings" into the finished results. I think I read somewhere about everywhere in Normandy being ankle deep in fine light coloured dust that got everywhere.

 

I don't really want to repaint them as I don't have any replacement decals.

 

Any expert advice would be much appreciated, so thank you in anticipation.😊

 

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Humor me....

 

Try a little gloss varnish on a part of one.

 

If that does not work, try another dark pin wash on one.

 

Being that it is mat varnish, it should soak up the wash, and turn the white darker...

 

But try a little gloss first. 

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Humour me...

 

Do them in temporary whitewash winter camouflage!
 

Seriously!
 

Buy some white gesso from your local art supply store and slap it on with a brush. Avoid painting over the decals.

 

I did a T34 like that and it looks gnarly.

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Good alternative worth considering. If all else fails with trying to retrieve my original plan for these kits I 'll give it a go.

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It's a tank. Apply extra mud!

 

It looks like the old varnish either was dirty or has "bloomed" usually water in the varnish. The gloss varnish on top may work but if it doesn't, add muck.

 

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Mud covers a multitude of muck-ups and mistakes as I found with the tracks on my Matchbox 1/76 Jagdpanther a while back. A little bit of miliput and a load of mud tidied the problem just right.

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Thanks John. Lots of food for thought. My vague initial thoughts about incorporating the "unwanted" pigment into the weathering were along these lines.

Perhaps a pinwash on the larger areas of discolouration, like round the Sherman cupolas the gun mantlets and the lifting rings but leaving the lighter patches like those around the edges of the glacis which don't look too out of place as they are.

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the weathering is in the correct place it's just the wrong colour, add more weathering product on top of what you have done already in a darker colour. I know we all do things slightly differently but I had the same issue as you once on one of my models. After that happened on all of my kits (planes, ships and armour normally in 1/32, 1/200 and 1/16 or 1/35 respectively) I never apply a varnish over my weathering. Much happier with the results, it seems more realistic and easier to control.

 

Good luck, don't give up.

neil

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Just re-glossed.

Seems to have cleared a lot of the problem and will allow replacement pinwash where needed.

I've got some newer matt varnish for a final coat before adding all the stowage and crews (which also need the attention of a hairy stick).

I can then try and weather properly with better/appropriate colours and mud and this should deal with any residue.

Forgot my camera when I went to the mancave but will take and post some pics once the gloss is dry.

 

Thanks to you all for your input on this. It has been very helpful and is very much appreciated.

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I think i know what went wrong.... gloss takes longer to harden. Essentially what you ended up with was a build up of soft paint around the raised detail...the application of the matt coat tipped it over the top and you got a reaction...... now to fix it you have applied another gloss ......so if i were you i would leave them alone for at least 48 hours to let all that paint harden of or you could end up with a repeat performance

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6 minutes ago, M3talpig said:

so if i were you i would leave them alone for at least 48 hours to let all that paint harden of or you could end up with a repeat performance

Thanks for the advice M3talpig. I really don't want a repeat of this so I'll leave it to harden til next week.

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Gloss coat now touch dry and kits back together.

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y4mBR3W_HJmi7GRMWCdJ_BQd8ikcSqa58tYtxIf9 Once the gloss hardens off I'll re-matt then get to work on finalising the construction, stowage, crews and weathering.

 

Thanks again to all for helpful input.👏😁

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On 10/23/2020 at 3:48 PM, brianthemodeller said:

To be honest, I like 'em all shiny

For a peacetime museum, maybe.....................

Aiming at an operational depiction I think I really need a matt coat.

Shiny they'd have stuck out like sore thumbs glinting in the Normandy sunshine for every Tiger/Panther/Panzer IV gunner they got anywhere near.

Not to mention the Panzerfausts, Panzershreks, PAKs and the 88s.

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I hadn't thought of that...................my lateral thinking was never that good.

However, my present modelling skills are just about up to dry AFVs. I think the complexities of depicting wet vehicles might make things too difficult.

Working out which areas would be sheltered and how to define the difference, for example.

A matt coat, a few washes and some mud is my limit at present.

The works of art that so many highly skilled and experienced fellow Britmodellers achieve on here are mind-blowing to me as a relative newbie.😀

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