Tips to get cracked and orange peel paint effects???

[thierry laurent]

I know, you're wondering, aren't you?

 

This may seem to be a puzzling request but I'm considering one version of a bird that asks for reproduction of such effects!

 

Regarding the orange peel, I think that acrylics diluted with alcohol and sprayed at a high pressure may give the requested effect. Regarding cracked paint, this is another story! I know you may get such an effect when you do not wait enough before applying a second coat on a thick one or if you mix cold and hot paint layers. However, this is impossible to control and scale wise, I need very fine cracks, not canyons!

 

Any insight?

[Juggernut]

cracked paint is relatively easy to achieve, just paint a flat (matt) coat over a gloss coat...presto, cracked paint.

[Shawn M]

orange peel, just move your airbrush further back to get the "textured" effect.

 

Cracked paint....thats a tougher one. TimC says use matte over gloss....I do this all the time after decaling and never get cracks. Unless he means in rapid succession while still wet?

[mattlow]

Not sure about scale effect, but aren't there 'crackle gazes' which are specifically designed to give an aged appearance to painted surfaces? Not sure where to get them or how large or controllable the cracks are..?

 

Matt

[LSP_Kevin]

Unless he means in rapid succession while still wet?

 

Yes, from experience, I would say so. Some gloss acrylics (especially the Gunze gloss and semi-gloss ranges) are notorious for having lengthy curing times. They'll touch dry quick enough, but seem to take weeks to fully harden, sometimes never even getting there. If you take a dead flat paint and spray it a little wet over such a paint before it's fully cured, you're almost guaranteed a dry lake bed as a result. If you'd like to try it for yourself, try painting some Tamiya NATO Black (flat) over a coat of Gunze Off White (semi-gloss) after only 24 hours...

 

Kev

[geedubelyer]

Not sure about scale effect, but aren't there 'crackle gazes' which are specifically designed to give an aged appearance to painted surfaces? Not sure where to get them or how large or controllable the cracks are..?

 

Matt

Hi Matt, yes crackle glazes are popular for DIY projects. I used some to good effect to give an aged effect to some painted wood one time but the effect was difficult to control. Application of the glazing medium was critical. Thinner medium gave smaller cracks, thicker appications gave broader cracks but it was hard to produce uniformly.

 

Also, those cracks were much too large for a scale model I'd think.

 

The process works according to differing drying times.

I wonder whether acrylic over enamel might give a suitable result? If the enamel cures more slowly it would tear the acrylic applied over it, would n't it? To get the smallest cracks I'd suggest a very thin layer of enamel.

 

It would look like experimentation will be necessary to get consistent results though.

 

Good luck with your endeavour Thierry and please let us know how you get on and what works.....

 

 

*Edit: Spelling

[thierry laurent]

Thanks guys!

 

You confirmed my feelings. I'll have to do some tests in the future as the cracks generated by the products you mentioned are generally too large to be accurate on a scale model. I also considered making them with a very sharp scalpel blade end but getting the random, "fractal" effect will be far from easy. Wait and see!

 

Here's a picture of the nose. I let you guess which plane this is... ;-)

[Shawn M]

looks like an x-15 to me.

[thierry laurent]

You're right Shawn!

 

This is the X-15A-2 after its final flight. Even if it was protected by two ablative coats, the plane was a little bit damaged by the mach 6.7 speed reached during this flight.

 

As the initial release of the Special Hobby kit has not external tanks nor the LG trolley, you've to make an afterflight configuration. In such a case, I believe that this heavily weathered white plane is a more interesting challenge than the classical black bird... ;-)

[KOTR]

If you are working with enamels, try applying a first, normal coat and then a second coat, but this time thinned with laquer thinner