Tonight I have my first real opportunity for problems! Fortunately on this project if something goes wrong it’s easily fixable, as things like ‘neatness’ aren’t really a concern. I’ve also come to realise that having a hairdryer (or heat gun, if you’re fancy) at the painting table is really, really useful! Cutting a twenty minute drying time down to just a couple of minutes really helps stop you from losing momentum.
Chipping fluid isn’t something that I’ve ever used before – it’s my first time. It’s quite thick, and seemed a little reluctant to come out of the airbrush – I didn’t increase my psi at all, but I did have to open the trigger up a little more than usual to get any real flow. I’m also coming to realise that my painting light simply isn’t up to the task, as I can’t see anywhere near clearly enough. Another thing to add to the to-buy list!
Anyway – I varnished again first just in case, and then threw some Heavy Chipping Fluid down. Two coats with a blow dry in between. A.MIG-043 Shadow Rust is the next colour in our set – it’s not that much lighter than the previous Chipping coat, so if it all goes wrong it doesn’t actually matter too much. I can go back and forth between these colours anyway, so all will be fine. Two quick passes with the Shadow Rust and I armed myself with a size 8 AMMO saw brush – for no other reason that it was to hand, and it had an interesting shape. In hindsight it probably wasn’t the best choice, but it’s what I went with.
I did briefly break out an old toothbrush, but that was quickly sidelined as I was scared of being too rough. I started out brushing water on to the tank before getting impatient and simply spraying it on with the airbrush.
While working I actually found it quite difficult to see what I was doing. The water was bubbling up almost like soap, which obscured my view somewhat. In the end though I managed to get it to work – it almost felt like the best results came when the surface started to dry out a little and go ‘tacky’. I don’t know if this is how it’s supposed to work, but I’m sure a little practise will help here!
Another thing that made the process a little more difficult was the fact that I was working with two colours that were very similar – on a wet surface it wasn’t particularly easy to distinguish between them, and on a few occasions I stopped brushing through fear that I had taken too much off, only to discover that nothing had chipped at all! In future I think I might try taking larger jumps in my colour choices, and I’ll definitely be doing some YouTube research before my next attempt.
In the end though the results weren’t actually all that bad, and I’m perfectly happy for a first go. Apologies for the poor contrast in the pictures – I’m simply taking them quickly with my phone, and under a bright light it can be difficult to see in person!
The tank is now back in storage curing, but next time it comes out I’m thinking varnish, chipping fluid, and then maybe something like a bright orange, maybe even a couple of different colours thrown together in one layer? Suggestions on a postcard…
