Dusted look..

Can someone give me some advice on how to get a more dusty/dingy look to my helmet? I have finished painting it but overall it just still seems a bit too clean to me even with all the scratches and stuff. I am kind of afraid to mist it with any paint just cause I am past that point where if I screw up I would end up having to repaint the whole thing again. Is there some other method I can use?

You could try using some light grey chalk pastels...crush them up then dry brush it onto the helmet. If you don't like the results, just wash it off with soap and water. If you do like the results, spray it with a coat of Dullcote to seal it and voila...dusted look.

Get flat black and espresso (both krylon). Stand a few feet back and spray (in bursts) above the helmet. It will fall on it and dirty it up a bit. Then, dull coat it with Krylons matte gloss. As long as you stand back far enough (this will have to be determined by you), you will be fine.

Then, black wash the whole thing.

I used the pastels like AFettFullofDollars said and it came out really nice I think. Looks like genuine "grime" if you will instead of little paint splatters everywhere.

Thanks guys I appreciate it! I'll give it a try.

easiest way is to black wash (acrylic paint + water + towel). Personally I don't like ever using black to weather, especially from spray cans. Weathering doesn't naturally occur with bouts of black rain or sprays- I always envisioned ol fett hanging in the rains and muds all day, so washing seems suitable to fit that .

ALways add a bit of burnt umber to those washes... it will be incredible what a difference in natural look it makes from the stark black.

burnt umber is like the holy grail of weathering. My R2 is covered in the stuff !

Cool... burnt umber and pastels. thanks!!

is this an example of kinda like what I should do? http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.co...hes/tnt026.htm

hmm.. the chest pieces on the ROTJ fett are definitly weatherd with a black spray can.

can't see any form of misting on the helmets, except some brown like splatters on the ESB...

the jet pack also has some black wash... but all together it's pretty clean...

even then, I think the armor stippling was some of them there New brunswick green...the ONLY black I see on the helmet are those markings underneath the dent

your probably right :b
anyways, black mist is ideal for darkening a colour scheme all together.

lol- love the avatar R_boba_fett !

:b honestly though... who doesn't!! :D

Always said, best way to diry up a costume is to.. well get it dirty. I like the pastel looks more then the paint, although some very great artists i know have achieved such a beautiful paint effect that I think on somethings its a 50/50 toss, but for less experianced folks like me, i like the chalky, get it muddy and grimey and it looks more ... muddy and grimey authintic. lol.