oil paints

[Roy Charnock]

has any one done an sbs on using oils for weathering,fading , how you mix or thin them and what there good for or not good for...having never used them its a new medium that i would like to try....aahemm...on an old scrappy kit that is..

[John Everett]

Do you mean thin oils, like washes, or heavy oils like artist's tube oils?

Thin washes, I think you've used those a lot already. I'm also guessing this is all done over an acrylic base?

I like to use tube oils for both highlights and darkening. For green base, I put a tiny, tiny dot (Did I say the dot was tiny?) of a lighter color, usually a yellow ochre (most useful color in the paint set) in the center of each main panel and blend it outward with a short, stiff brush.

Gary does a lot of work with the S.O.D.A. (I think he did an SBS once back on the old MA site.) technique. It's very subtle but looks great if you can see the effect in good light.

I like to use tube oils over a dull surface, such as dried Vellejo. But I've seen good work done over a gloss surface as well. I also usually put down decals first, but not always. It's mostly a question of color changes vs. original decal color.

Post up photos of your progress.

[Roy Charnock]

john
you may be suprised but ive never used oil washes on any models..
i have always sprayed humbrol paints and any washes have been with well thined out lifecolour smoke pigment.i then dry brush humbrol paint ,the same base colour either as sprayed,darkend or lightened over the top of this to bring back the colour and blend in the soft edge camos i use.
its the heavy oils in a tube im interested in

[Gary Boxall]

Hi Roy

First point is not to scrimp on oils. Get the best you can afford as the cheaper ones use coarse pigments and don't leave a good finish or mix well with thinners. I use Windsor & Newton personally though there are probably other high quality brands out there. MIG also does what is reputed to be a good range.

What type of usage are you envisaging trying out?

Gary

[Roy Charnock]

i have winsor newton and rowney oils
i looking at were its blobbed on and brushed in like colour modulation...how long it takes to dry,what other mediums like thinners you use and whats the linseed oil all about.

[John Everett]

Linseed oil is a thick, gooey oil used to hold all the zillions of tiny pigment particles which comprise tube oils. It's slow to dry, which can be both good and bad. You can control, to some degree, the percentage of linseed oil in a blob of paint by placing the blob on a cardboard or paper sheet. The longer the paint sets, the more oil will soak out, leaving behind pure pigment. This can also be good or bad depending on how you want to use it.

For thinning tube oils you can use any number of thinners; but plain old white spirits (mineral spirits) is most common. Turpentine and lacquer thinner will also do the job. But be careful with these as they may try to eat the underlying paint.

I use tube oils in two ways:

1. Super thinned with white spirits for use as a wash or pin wash. Mix any color you like from your tubes and then create custom washes to compliment or accentuate the various colors of your model.

2. Straight from the tube. Place a tiny dot where you want it and rub it in to change the shades of the base color paint. If the effect is too subtle, add another tiny dot. If the effect is too strong, your dot was too big!

Give me a few hours. I may be able to dig up some old pictures of a Panzer I did here a few months back.

EDIT: Found them!









This is probably the best example of a single photo showing both light and dark oils used to alter the acrylic base coat. You can also see some of the dark pin wash around the raised details. I mixed up my own wash with tube oil and lots of white spirit. 5 to 1 ratio +/- (mix up your own or use the ready mixed, like AK Interactive products)

[Justin Wooding]

Hi Roy,

Starting to experiment with oils myself for weathering, so your question is timely. My KV-2 has been my first attempt. I have been using Rinaldi and his Tankart books for a bit of a guide as he uses oils to quite good effect. I think a good lesson is from the motto 'less is more'. As John said, you can always add another dot if the effect is to subtle.

I have Winsor & Newton also, and as John mentioned, good ol white spirits is the way to go for thinning them. Although i am using Turpentine and have had no trouble, i might try Johns suggestion of methylated spirits. Just remember to apply the thinned oils over an acrylic paint. I have had no problem with this so far.

Will be interested to see your use of the oils

[Bryan Krueger]

Adam Wilder recently posted several tutorials on working with oil paints on his youtube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgE28d ... 1xCh8cvddg

[Rob Matthews]

I use the Mig range Roy. I dab a bit of oil on a piece of cardboard - he let the oil soak out a bit - use a fine old brush to dab spots on. I either then use a moistened brush with white spirit to spread and remove the "oil dot" or most recently I find myself doing away with the white spirit and "scrubbing" the oil into the surface. I use very few pigments - most of my weathering is now oils.

Drying time is 6 hr max. I like the Mig range because of the tailored range of colours. I've still to come close to using a single tube up.

Rob