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White wash finish on a tank?

Started by Jay Mitchell · 6 ≡ · ↻ 5 years ago

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Jay Mitchell said 5 years, 11 months ago:

Anyone have knowledge to share on techniques for applying a white wash finish to a tank? Building a Soviet T-34 with a whitewash finish has long been on my list to do, but Id like to find out a way to apply that winter finish and have it look nice. Thanks!
Jeff Bailey said 5 years, 11 months ago:

Hey Jay! @ssgt
I'm only speculating here regarding whitewashing a model tank. I HAVE whitewashed a real tank and I'd do pretty much the same to a model. I'd use a white water-based paint, thinned so that when applied, it doesn't cover totally but leaves streaks and lightly-coated areas. A real tank has (usually) a really coarse texture paint finish. (The paint itself, not the anti-skid material applied at the factory on the usual areas where the crew is likely to walk.) Our M1 Abrams tanks (and our factory re-furbished M-60s & M48s) are painted with special paints, the newer types being resistant to the effects of chemical warfare. It's known as CARC paint: "Chemical Agent Resistant Coating.") It has perhaps THE most matte finish I've ever seen from any type of paint. Those paints are also very tough. I once had the opportunity to shoot my tank with a handgun of 22 caliber: all it did was leave a slightly blurred streak on the paint finish.

As a side note, whenever we needed to "touch-up" our tanks from the inevitable scratches or chips received during maneuvers and day-to-day work accidents (like dropping heavy steel tools onto the turret or hul during crew maintenance) we used standard VERY special (non) CARC paint - Krylon spray paint in cans from the local base Exchange or civilian hardware store! Ha!
Here's a photo taken of my early M1 with whitewash camo applied.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Boris Rakic said 5 years, 11 months ago:
Jay @ssgt,
When trying a winter scheme on a model, you can get the best results with the Hairspray Method. In case you haven't heard of it, it works like this:
- First, you paint your tank in whatever the normal base color would be (in case of a T-34, this would be Green 4BO).
- After the paint has fully cured, you apply a couple of layers of cheap hairspray to the whole thing. Hairspray is water soluble, and the cheaper brands even more so - this is what we want for our purposes.
- Next, you airbrush thin and uneven coats of white. For starters I would suggest using Acrylic paint, as it is easier to work with in the next step, namely
- Chipping! After your white paint has dried a bit (not too long, half an hour is enough), you start removing parts of it by using a brush and plain water. You apply water to an area and wait a minute - the water will soak through the white paint and dissolve the hairspray underneath. Now you can create small chips, scratches, and can even remove larger portions of the white paint using various tools like stiff brushes, toothpicks etc.
Here are some things to consider:
- You need an airbrush to apply the white paint, as brushing it on will most probably disturb your hairspray layer.
- You can also use Laquer paints for the white coat, but as these are much more resilient than acrylics you will have to apply more brute force to remove the paint.
If you are interested in the results, here's a T-54 I finished using this technique: https://imodeler.com/2017/09/miniart-135-t-54b-early-version-build-review-part-3/

And here's a Work in Progress thread of the tank Jeff posted above, again using the same technique: https://imodeler.com/groups/work-in-progress-armor/forum/topic/an-early-abrams-and-a-communitys-value/?topic_page=2&num=15

If you have any questions, bring it!

Cheers,
Boris
Jay Mitchell said 5 years, 11 months ago:

Thanks Jeff & Boris for your helpful posts. I feel emboldened to go out and buy a T-34 kit and try my hand at building andwhite washing it. I’ve never had much luck with armored vehicles , really no luck on anything without wings, but I’m willing to try once more.
Boris, can you elaborate on the “ Filters” you mentioned in your T-54 posting ? I’ve heard those mentioned before, but like algebra, I never quite grasped the concept.

Thanks again.
Jay Mitchell said 5 years, 11 months ago:

Also : you would apply the decal markings to the tank before the white wash?
Boris Rakic said 5 years, 11 months ago:
Jay,
I cannot help you with the algebra, but a filter works like this:
- It is a very (veeeery) thin wash that is applied over parts of your model, certain panels etc.
- Its two main purposes are to slightly change the tone of the previous paint (imagine putting on tinted sunglasses - everything changes color slightly), and to decrease contrast between different colors on the model.
  The pure whitewash would produce a very high contrast with the underlying dark green, a filter coat (some earth color works quite well) tones down this contrast. This expertly drawn picture hopefully illustrates this point 😀 (left: without filter, right: light Sepia filter)
As to the decals - yes, I would apply them before the whitewash, just as with the real thing. That way you can integrate them into your whole weathering process and they won't look like an afterthought.

Cheers,
Boris

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White wash finish on a tank?