Hairspray and acrylic dust weathering effects SBS

If you like a dusty operational look to your AFV models and are quite handy with the hairspray technique this process can create realistic looking disrupted dust and light mud effects. What we are aiming to do is to selectively remove, mark and disrupt an airbrushed dust toned layer of paint. We are effectively reverse ‘hairspray chipping’ the surface to leave small deposits rather than creating small chips. This works best using acrylic paints over a layer of hairspray or chipping fluid. 

It is worth noting that any heavy built-up textured dirt layers are best applied before this dust layer so as to keep the overall dust and mud tones consistent and realistic.

 

After airbrushing your dust coat paint layer over the hairspray, the idea is to then agitate the surface with H2O removing small or larger sections of the overlying dust layer depending on the effect you are after. Essentially, to leave the dust and light mud deposits where you want them to remain. To create these effects we can use various tools but a paintbrush on its own will be good enough. You can streak brush stokes downwards to create a graduated deterioration of the surface dust due to rain. Rub it or ‘smudge it’ away where the crew would have disrupted it. Push it into areas where it would have naturally deposited. Scrub over raised surface detail leaving it in all the nooks and crannies, and marking and scraping it where objects have come into contact with it.

Undisturbed dust layer on a Pz.IV muffler.

This is a great alternative to adding dust effects with oils or enamels.

 

Here is my step-by-step process:

The first thing I do is to choose, select and mix a dusty toned acrylic colour. One that suits the environment or the groundworks the AFV will be placed on. Mixing it with H20 as opposed to acrylic thinner makes the overlying paint easier to lift and will give softer transitions. Whether you cover a large area or just concentrate on selected areas is entirely up to you. This is where reference images are so important. You will get an idea to the extent that dust will cover and hide surface detail on operational AFVs, and where it rarely reaches or remains. You will be surprised at how much ends up on the rear and sides as opposed to the front of a vehicle sometimes.

Hairspary works well if you to want cover large areas or the whole vehicle whereas chipping fluid out of the airbrush works better if just smaller areas of of the model arecto be worked on. To begin, two light coats of either hairspray or chipping fluid is usually sufficient, and once fully dry the dust toned paint coat can be airbrushed on. You can always add an additional wetter looking dust or mud tone if you wish. This can often look effective if you place it closer to moving parts like wheels or tracks. I usually leave the airbrushed dust coats fifteen minutes to dry then dive right in. These steps can be repeated but agitating the same areas again and again can lift previous layers if too much water is used. 

To remove the paint it is recommended to work in small areas of the surface at a time, much as you would if you were creating chiping effects with a paintbrush. Period AFV images, modern colour pics, or plant machinery images make for a good source of reference material. This will give a better idea and understanding as to where the dust & dirt accumulates, and also where it is most easily worn off. 

Using warm H20 is recommended but cold works almost as well. Don’t soak the surface, just dampen it and leave it for a minute. The water will slowly activate the underlying hairspray, and any agitation of the surface you make will lift and remove the overlying paint. The idea is to slowly and lightly agitate the surface.The harder the surface of the tool you use the more paint you will lift.  If you would like a large dust/dirt build up to be left on the surface, the aim would be to only remove small amounts of paint and to create far more subtle effects. For leaving just dust and dirt traces then the aim us to remove far more paint leaving remnants between raised details. Using a softer brush will remove less paint. Using a stiffer brush will remove more. In addition to using different types of brushes I also have various tools to hand to recreate different effects. They include an old airbrush needle and cocktail sticks which are great for making fine scratches. A sponge will also work for creating random effects much like they can be used for applying fine paint chips. Only this time the sponge is dry and we dabbing it against the surface to remove paint, not add it. I often use some old twisted twigs from the garden which are great for applying random scratch effects along the sides of vehicles to simulate vegetation that has brushed against it, to create the appearance of disrupted dust and dirt build up.