Oil paint for weathering problem

[Guest]

Having applied a water-based overall dirt wash to my plane, I want to create oil stains. I want to use oil paint for this. But I cannot find any supplier who sells tubes in small quantities (like 20 or 32 ml). Most oil paint seems to be sold is sets which are dominated by garish colours like veridian green, or in big tubes costing £5+ each. I know that the use of oil paint is common for stains, but where do people buy the stuff? I have searched Winsor & Newton, Rowney and other makes and suppliers.

The reason why I want to use oil paint is that, being sticky, it is possible to lay down a very thin line of stain on the edge of a palette knife or similar which, if in the form of a water wash, tends not to be a strong enough colour and which spreads too much.

If small tubes of oil paint are not available, what do modellers do to simulate oil stains?

[Guest]

I use the cheapest oils (normally from pound shops)

I'll buy a couple of sets and mix my own colours, red/blue/black to get the brown I require for example.

It takes a bit of trial and error if you're not used to it ( I have 10 odd years of mixing colours in a dyeworks lab helping me but colour mixing charts can be found on most artistic websites)

If you mix your colours in old film tubs then you can save you first efforts and then improve them for later use.

Hope this is of some use steve

[PaulTRose]

i did try some cheapo oils from The Works but the quality wasnt too good, found them to be too 'oily' if that makes sense

i found a set of oils...small tubes about 12ml....in The Range......brand was Reeves

didnt need half the colours but the set was only about 6 quid and i did get all the colours i did want, and since you only use tiny ammounts should last a long time

i go to HobbyCraft for low odour thinners (its across the road from my branch of the Range).........dont get caught out like i did the first time....they sell daler and rowney, quite expensive i thought at the time..........the second time i went for some i found they do a 'budget' range which isnt kept with the daler and rowney paints......seems to be pretty much the same stuff but 2/3 the price

[BarryW]

I have to say that I did buy the big tubes of Windsor & Newton but as I wanted only 3 colours and they will last forever I did not worry about the cost.

[Guest]

The good thing is the big tubes dont go "off" so even if you have to buy them the chances are you will get a lot of use.

Like Paul I got some from a Factory Shop for next to nothing but the grain was far too big and they were too oily.

Incidentally - I recently (in the lasy year) bought a job lot of "used" tubes off ebay. I dont recall the cost but I remember working out if I paid half price for a new tube, this deal was still cheap. The emptiest one was half full and the seller was honest about the quantities. Steve I'd give ebay a go for used oil paints and see what comes up.

Hope this helps

Stuart

[Dave W]

I've got some Windsor & Newton tubes.I think I paid £5.99 each.Which as they will last a long time is good value I reckon.Personally I always buy good quality paints as I find they give better results.

[rickoshea52]

I have started using Abteilung oils for weathering. You can read about them and see the results in my blog. On the ballast wagons I created rust staining and on the Class 26 I also used them for dirt streaks. They can also be used to create a wash when thinned with Mig enamel thinners. I got mine from a local shop but I think John sells them in his shop.

[Guest]

I have bought a tiny tube of Gouache from Roundabout, 99p, as an experiment. Wikipedia says:

"Gouache paint is similar to watercolor but modified to make it opaque. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is present, just as in watercolor. Gouache differs from watercolor in that the particles are larger, the ratio of pigment to water is much higher, and an additional, inert, white pigment such as chalk is also present. This makes gouache heavier and more opaque, with greater reflective qualities.[1] Gouache generally dries to a different value than it appears when wet (lighter tones generally dry darker, while darker tones tend to dry lighter), which can make it difficult to match colors over multiple painting sessions."

It is removable by wiping with a wet paper towel and can produce streaks. It is viscous like oil paint. I have used it for oil streaks on the underside of a plane by dipping the back edge of an Exacto blade into a blob of the paint on a piece of plastic, dabbing it in a clean part of the plastic to test it and then pressing the edge of the blade on to the model. The result is a very narrow line.

[tanktrack]

I too have bought the cheaper oils from the bargain shops but I have not used them much , my son is an artist so iv nicked some of his "hope he doesn't notice" . iv thought about using the abteilung oils but was holding back I will have a look at rickoshea52,s blog

steve