Guys, I need some finishing advice. I'm using Dupont Chromabase and Dupont flat clear. I'm really pleased with how the flat comes out, after getting the hang of it.

I've got a few scrap parts that didn't come out the way I wanted out of the molds, and I'm using them to play with painting a bit before I finish the real bird. I'm also experimenting a bit with different riviting techniques.

Below you'll see 2 shots, of an SR-71 elevator.

First one on the left is after the base coat is down, I've weathered it with a varity of chalks to give it a good look, that looks just like it should.

The problem is, after I clear it, it totally disapears.
The right shot is the same piece after it's had it's flat clear put over it, and every last weathing effort has disapeared.

I've tried this a few times, and this last time, I shot the light tack coat of the clear from 3 feet over it, to be sure I wasn't blowing the chalk off the part. It's not blowing it away... it's just making it disapear. Do need to way over do it? Use something other than chalk? Is grey over black the problem?

I really like how the left shot looks... it looks perfect. I just need to freeze it that way.
(the lower left few inches of the part has no weathering on it, as I wanted to leave it as a control section to see the difference)

By the way, the little black piece of metal you see under the elevator, is an actual piece of titanium from a real SR-71 that I'm using to match the shade of black, right on the mark.

Lance

i have never done this process,but i do remember that Bob Violett used to offer a chalk weathering kit and had at that time a tutorial on the process on thier use and paint process.maybe he can offer insight.

Lance,

Chalks don't work on black surfaces when cleared. Sorry, but you can try all day long and you'll get the same result forever. It's because the chalks are porous and once they accept the clear, the chalks blend into the black every time. There's no longer any light reflecting off of the chalks and that's why you can't see them. I'm afraid you're going to have to resort to the handy airbrush for weathering the sled...Maybe someone else has had better luck or knows of a way. I've never seen it work myself.[]

Dan

Huh, I always wondered why my weathering dissapeared on the black tailpipes on my Rafale. I just figured I had hit them a little heavy with the clear. Now I know.

Lance, I suppose you could just re-do the weathering over the flat clear. Some of it will come off when you clean it but I notice that some always seems to stay on no matter how much you wipe it. Maybe experiment a little? I know it's a chore since the whole plane is black.

Craig

What about trying some chalk pastels mixed with some denatured alcohol? I've used this process in the past and it seemed to dye the paint with the chalk. Not sure how well it would work with the Dupont style paint though, but its worth a shot.

You can mix a white wash of acrylic paint and apply with a paper towel. Just remove as much as you want to get the desired effects. You can clear over it and it won't fade. Remember though, that after you clear over anything you'll the same sheen as the rest of the surfaces.

Or you can use a very slow thinner/activator in the last clear coat and weather it when it is not completely dry ( still a bit sticky )

Lance,

I always apply my chalks over the clearcoat, my Phantom has never been touched up with the chalks, unless I had to do a repair. Of course I never clean it either!!!


David Reid

I have used Chalks on black under clear coat many times with great results, but I don't know what kind of chalk you are using. I make sure to buy good grade artists pastel chalks, not regular chalk board chalk. I use white chalk board chalk for doing sketching on things I will airbrush specifically because when it gets wetted out with clear it becomes invisible. Try using a proper pastel chalk.
Jeremy

Hey Lance,

As David Reid said, do it when its done. The chalks tend to just work their way into the pourus flat clear and will live forever. As Dan stated, you cannot weather black, then clear it and get any good results. I even tried gloss clear and then flat clear and to no avail, it all went away.

Other than that, she looks awesome. Can't wait to see the sled in person.

Hey Lance,

As David Reid said, do it when its done. The chalks tend to just work their way into the pourus flat clear and will live forever. As Dan stated, you cannot weather black, then clear it and get any good results. I even tried gloss clear and then flat clear and to no avail, it all went away.

Other than that, she looks awesome. Can't wait to see the sled in person.

On his U-2, which is also black, Sam Snyder burnished the clear with a scotch brite pad to get the weathered effect. Just always stroke the surface in the same direction.

Chalks work great for plastic scale models. For flying models, I prefer to use an airbrush. Much better results (and less time wasted!)

Well Lance, by my count you have at least 10 different suggestions/options to try (although some are contradictory).

Good luck!.............and let us know what works.

Thanks for the great leads everyone. The chalks going clear when over black, makes sense now, but I'll admit I would have never guessed it beforehand. When I did this before it was black / gray over white, and it showed up fine, which threw me when it didn't work this time.

I've painted 3-4 scrap parts different shades of black getting my color right, so I'm going to take many of the above suggestions, and try them and see which turns out best.

Thanks again,
Lance