wethering

You can use liquid mask, which is available in most hobbyshops. Some people have reputedly used both mustard and toothpaste to achieve the same effect though.

You lay down the mustard or masking fluid where you want silver to show, paint the next colour over it, then peel off the masking fluid revealing the silver underneath.

Yep, mustard works (actually anything that keeps paint out of places you don't want it works), but if you want to go inexpensive but easy to remove, I would suggest rubber cement or liquid latex that can be rubbed off with your fingers, or on the higher end, a masking fluid specifically designed for the task...

Heck, if you want you could you clay or Silly Putty, all you need is to cover the part you don't want to overpaint...

A good option is to use the Search feature with the keyword "Weathered", "Weathering", "Layered" or the like...

You can also remove unwanted paint to expose underlying layers by using either a fine grit sandpaper or 0000 steel wool to create a more worn/rubbed off look. I also came across a thing called an air eraser which works like a sand blaster but on a smaller scale, this might also work for removing paint layers.

Dang... Like Riceball said...

I forgot; some techniques are different than others, like a subtle shade difference by steel wool/fine sanding, as opposed to hard definition of colors by a mask...

Originally Posted by Riceball

You can also remove unwanted paint to expose underlying layers by using either a fine grit sandpaper or 0000 steel wool to create a more worn/rubbed off look. I also came across a thing called an air eraser which works like a sand blaster but on a smaller scale, this might also work for removing paint layers.

That technique is best used for like the ESB jet pack. armour and helmets, this would be too much of a task and would be exceedingly inefficient.

Originally Posted by GCNgamer128

That technique is best used for like the ESB jet pack. armour and helmets, this would be too much of a task and would be exceedingly inefficient.

Out of curiosity, which technique were you referring to, the sanding technique or the air eraser? As far as the sanding technique goes it definitely wouldn't work well an entire set of armor, I'd just use it only on select areas (especially edges) to give the appearance of the paint having been worn or rubbed off over time as opposed to chipped or scraped off. It definitely wouldn't look right for major nicks, dings, chips, and scrape since the sanding would create a soft transition.

Both. You don't need to remove paint for doing helmets or armour, ESB jet pack yes.

I have a question for you guys. One of my hobbies is scale modeling so I know about weathering small objects. One method I learned that sounds crazy is using rock salt for small areas you want to show through. Actually you can use regular table salt as well. It works like you would normally layer on silver as an undercoat, then for small areas or "chips" put some water on the area, then salt it. Wait for the salt to dry and layer your paint over it. It creates an interesting weathering effect on small models. Has anyone tried this for something bigger like armor?