So I am trying to make a ghostbusters cosplay, and making the proton pack, ghost trap, and several other things from the movies. And one thing I noticed was that the weathering of the equipment didn’t look super old. And I am making my own ghost trap and pack, with the idea of “what if the props were left to rust after GB2?”. So I want to know how to intentionally cause paint issues. Like cracking and crumbling over metallic paints, either with acrylic, enamel, or spray. I just want to know, because I want to make everything look caked and destroyed in rust and dirt. So maybe also put how you found your paints and styles have the most cracked, crumbled, and destroyed paint techniques. And yes, I know about the toothpaste/mustard/puff paint method.
(Yes, MUSTARD)
#Intentional paint damage?
knotty abyss
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gentle trail
YouTubes for people that do military dioramas are invaluable for stuff like that.
Search terms like "cosplay armor weathering" will also get you targeted videos on these kinds of techniques.
knotty abyss
I’ve seen stuff like that before, but not with actual paint damage. Like no paint cracking, just wethering.
knotty abyss
Yeah
But I’m also looking for paint chipping, as if it’s been worn by wood and cracks all throughout it showing the layers below. Kinda like how charred wood shows the embers below the surface, through cracks and crumbles.
gentle trail
My suggestion... Search for real world examples. Either in the world or through google. Get a good collection of visual references.
Then really define the characteristics of what you want:
• Rough under the paint
• Uneven Sun fade
• Rubbed off at the edges
• Water stained
• Peeling
• Shows base color of (silver) where the paint chipped off
I always find it much easier to make something when I can really define it.
generally once you can define it then you just have to work out the steps for that.
If you should see silver where the paint chipped off, then you know you know you have to lay down silver before your masking and color - so when you chip the paint you see the silver.
If you want rough under the paint, then you know you need to do something like brush on some glue to make a rough spot, then paint over it.
knotty abyss
I do think about that, and for some of the props im making, it’s not silver as the undercoat, but actually rust. I do have pictures showing this characteristic, and I want to simulate roughly what this looks like.
gentle trail
Yep - a lot of that looks like those "Post Apocalptic Diorama" builds... You get the rusted texture, streaks from long term water running etc.
Ok. So you're good then.
knotty abyss
Uh, that’s from construction equipment. That’s the type of rust and damage I want.
I might have misread your response, but that’s the style I want. But I just haven’t found anything to get the paint to have that raised edge, or the cracks, or even the bubbly paint texture.
gentle trail
That's what those YouTubes on weathering/distressing will show you. I even hinted at some that above like:
Brush on some glue for bubbles, then paint over it
And
If you want to reveal the under color you paint, mask, paint the color coat so that under coat will show when you peel off the mask
So many people have built great tutorials... built videos to show how to do it... you're missing out if you don't go watch them instead of expecting someone to give you a 1-2-3, A-B-C to follow in a chat.
knotty abyss
I have watched them, I’m just searching for some others that just are uncommon or niche, or ways that other people have used the same techniques, just tweaked something and got a better result, or even just got something wrong with their paint and liked it. I’m not lazy, I have seen the videos. I have tried to do the work. I have put in the time. I’m trying to just find a bit of other variety to things that aren’t seen yet.
Like I did mixing baking soda with my paints to give them a grit, I didn’t find that anywhere I searched. And I tested it out after seeing that’s how people who used acrylic on canvas got the paint to be gritty. And I got a good stone/ rust texture that worked.
gentle trail
Experimentation is awesome. Finding techniques from other areas is great. So many people lock themselves into a narrow direction of research. They're so focused on "ghostbuster painting" that they don't think: "Hey, Mandolorian armor has a lot of that same look I'm going for"... or whatever
Like - everything in the Star Wars genre is dirty, passed down, aged, abused... Unless its Imperial: That's pristine.
knotty abyss
I know, I’ve searched through everything. DND, Warhammer, WWI and II replicas, Halloween props, Star Wars, Marvel, Dc, Ancient recreated replicas. I’ve done research.
Some there’s not a lot, but there is still information, and sometimes the information I find is just the same record broken from being played 18 times in a row.