IronBeltKen
Lazy Daydreamer
Hi all, my current project is to replicate a B&O F7A in the later Enchantment Blue/yellow trim paint scheme, the same colors used by its parent company C&O. The time period is 1969-72, so the paint during this period would appear faded from several years of sun and rain.
Ever since Floquil/Pollyscale ceased to exist, I have used a homegrown mixture Tamiya Royal Blue (X-3) and Red (X-7) to achieve a color that closely resembles Enchantment Blue since it airbrushes nicely and dries in a semi-gloss matte finish that is perfect for applying decals. Every loco that I've painted using this method is initially deep blue, so I need to spray repeated light washes of Tamiya Flat White (XF-2) over it until the color looks adequately faded.
What I've discovered is that, while the above method works like a charm on factory-painted shells, I've often had problems on the Tamiya paint where the white wash mixes with the underlying color instead of sitting on top of it - giving it an unwanted greenish tint. I'm guessing this is due to my using the Tamiya brand thinner solution which attacks the blue paint. My earlier solution to this problem was to simply mix denser ratios of white with the thinner in order to use fewer coats and allow less time for the wet thinner to attack the blue. But this has its own problems, like leaving subtle splotches that are invisible to the human eye but glaringly obvious in photographs.
What I want to do is - unlike when applying regular paint in thin, quick drying micro coats - is put multiple layers of white wash that are fully wet with no discernable individual splashes, and let these dry for ~5 minutes before applying subsequent coats. Since doing this with alcohol-thinned paint has given me unwanted mixing, I want to try this method using plain water [with a drop of dishwashing detergent added] as my thinning media. I know that acrylic paints thinned with water don't "atomize" very well for airbrushing, but remember, my goal is to get to totally wet, slower-drying layers onto the dark blue paint where the water will [hopefully] not attack the blue as the alcohol does.
I want to know if any of you have ever tried this, and if so, what results did you get?
Ever since Floquil/Pollyscale ceased to exist, I have used a homegrown mixture Tamiya Royal Blue (X-3) and Red (X-7) to achieve a color that closely resembles Enchantment Blue since it airbrushes nicely and dries in a semi-gloss matte finish that is perfect for applying decals. Every loco that I've painted using this method is initially deep blue, so I need to spray repeated light washes of Tamiya Flat White (XF-2) over it until the color looks adequately faded.
What I've discovered is that, while the above method works like a charm on factory-painted shells, I've often had problems on the Tamiya paint where the white wash mixes with the underlying color instead of sitting on top of it - giving it an unwanted greenish tint. I'm guessing this is due to my using the Tamiya brand thinner solution which attacks the blue paint. My earlier solution to this problem was to simply mix denser ratios of white with the thinner in order to use fewer coats and allow less time for the wet thinner to attack the blue. But this has its own problems, like leaving subtle splotches that are invisible to the human eye but glaringly obvious in photographs.
What I want to do is - unlike when applying regular paint in thin, quick drying micro coats - is put multiple layers of white wash that are fully wet with no discernable individual splashes, and let these dry for ~5 minutes before applying subsequent coats. Since doing this with alcohol-thinned paint has given me unwanted mixing, I want to try this method using plain water [with a drop of dishwashing detergent added] as my thinning media. I know that acrylic paints thinned with water don't "atomize" very well for airbrushing, but remember, my goal is to get to totally wet, slower-drying layers onto the dark blue paint where the water will [hopefully] not attack the blue as the alcohol does.
I want to know if any of you have ever tried this, and if so, what results did you get?
