I’ve always struggled with dry-brushing metallic paints. I really want to blame it on the paint, just sayin’. So what do people here use effectively? I’m thinking about this tonight because I need to do the bright parts of tank tracks on plastic tracks next, but will welcome the advice for things like exhaust, armor on miniature soldier figures, blade edges, ….
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I’ve been using an oily steel enamel paint from Hannants that I don’t think is made anymore. Vallejo has an oily steel too but it’s not quite the same. I’m sure there are many others out there. I use it sparingly depending on what kind of look I’m going for on my armor.
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Oh yeah I forgot, I also use it on small arms either dry brushing or painting it on.
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In my case it’s still Humbrol 11… Let’s see when i run out of it!
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Ak has a line called True Metal that appear to work well.
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Tamiya XF-84 Dark Iron
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Tamiya metalic gray. It is not as bright as steal.
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Revell “Email Color” #91…it’s possibly seven or eight decades years old now, but I only use for your purpose and even then I cut it with 33% of mineral turps.
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Vallejo Oily Steel or a #2 pencil. The pencil lead gives a nice metallic color without it being too bright for scale.
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I think there is a sale on AK #2 lead pencils right now for $2.99 each. Maybe I should jump on it?
Seriously, I’m going to try the lead pencil. I may have actually tried that in the distant past now that you say it.
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Heck, even a carpenter’s pencil from Home Depot for 15 cents with a big wide lead can be used/ shaved to powder for brushing on with good effect.
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I use a carpenter’s pencil on my tracks.
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I use Citadel acrylics from their fantasy range of colors (don’t be scared off by “Fantasy”). They have several shades of various metals, and since they are acrylic, they have no reaction with other paints.
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It might not be you or the paint. Sometimes we don’t get the effect we want because we’re trying for something that’s not really there. I’m not saying you are guilty of this. But I will say I used to be guilty of it quite a bit. I’ll use the Abrams sprocket as an example.
This one is in Iraq:
And this one was at Fort Hood. It had just been driven a fair distance. I photographed its interior for Meng:
That is certainly not how I would have painted it back in the day.
Now look at build photos online - especially those on Youtube where folks are trying to convince you to subscribe to their channel so you can watch how unrealistically they weather things, You’ll see some shocking differences between art and reality,
Whichever paint you use for drybrushing, it almost always boils down to just that - art vs. reality.
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