to layer or not to layer?

[Furious]

What is the overall consensus on painting the helmet? Is layering thes best way to go? I saw the one that steve the swede did without layering and that is absolutely incredible? I am debating right now how I should do it.

 

[Jango Fett Jr]

Rogue Studios suggested the original was done by painting the silver first,then all the base colours, then the silver was revealed by scratching with a toothpick. The grey and maroon etc weathering around the silver was painted on top. Spidey demonstrates a similar technique, using masking latex rather than a toothpick, which ends up with essentially the same look.
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/showthread.php?t=7165

 

[RBF]

I just paint on my scratches with aluminium like silver paint, does the trick for me... kind of annoying though to duplicate all the scratches an dots with a brush, but I think U'll be stick with that problem any way you go...

 

[Tension113]

I've actually been wondering the same thing since I've been having a hell of a time with the Testors Chrome spray.. I keep putting it on and taking it back off because I'm never happy with it.. no matter how far back I hold the can and quick and light I try to be, it still ends up being kinda gloopy (is that a word?) Especially on the brow area.. or the 2nd coat ends up looking scaly..

So I've been looking Steve the Swede's over again seeing how nice his came out and deciding on if that would be easier for me.. unless I can find a silver/chrome that's easier to work with or can be airbrushed on..

If you do have little to no painting skills though, I'd say be very very careful with the chrome enamel spray if you go that route..

 

[Furious]

wow... I was gonna use the testors chrome also. Maybe I will just use the rustoleum metalic for the base coat. anyone else have problems with testors chrome?

 

[Sarlacc Food]

Rsutoleum chrome works great. Then if you put a coat of the metallic silver/grey over that, it looks very good too.

 

[BobaN00b]

I have gone both routes with three different helmets and here's my two cents.

The layered look is phenominal, IF you can do it correctly. Right now, my DP 96, which is beat to crap is layered. It's nice because if you can chip the paint away just right, you can see the "depth" of the layering. However, if done poorly (like my Dp 96) it just looks like a piece of crap.

As far as the silver spray paint goes, I have not had any problems with the Krylon Original Chrome (#1810) as long as you have primed the area first.

Now, for the DP 95 I have, I decided to paint the silver on with a Testors Silver Paint Pen. As long as you "dab" your areas in (as oppossed to smearing it), it turns out pretty good.

I am basing my paint loosely on the DP Deluxe and my apologies, again, for the pics. Stupid broken digital camera.

 

[jestlyr]

Thought I'd go ahead and throw in my two cents. Personally, what gives Star Wars such a unique look in the OT is the fact that everything has a weathered and old look to it. As a painter myself, there are a lot of techniques you can do to get that paint flaking look but in the whole scheme of things you want that weathered look to appear as authentic as possible. I think the best way to achieve this is by weathering it yourself through good old fashion layering and scratching. People have asked me in the past how you can get weathered effects when painting models, pottery, etc... and I usually tell them to find the simplest answer. In this case, if you want something to look scratched so that you can see a surface below it then why attempt to paint it when you can simulate the look yourself. Can't fake the real thing. Hope this helps.

 

[BobaN00b]

In this case, if you want something to look scratched so that you can see a surface below it then why attempt to paint it when you can simulate the look yourself. Can't fake the real thing. Hope this helps.

Well, for me anyway, I dont want to do too much real damage, especially after looking at my other buckets and hating them. I am going to do the DP95 the easy way, lol, and if I do not like what I see, I will send it to someone to paint.

 

[Tension113]

I think I'll continue to try for the layered paint job..

any other suggestions of chrome/silver that's worked well for them ? Is it better to stick with paint from a can for the base color? as opposed to airbrushing it on ?

I just know if I put that Testors spray on it again, I'll be sanding it off for the 4th time.. seemed to work well for Spidey, but I just can't get it the way I'd like..

 

[BobasBounty]

I just use good old plain Testors 1246 Metallic Silver spray enamel over a good coat of gray primer. I've tried the different chrome spray paints and I wasn't happy with the finish on any of them. They always have that "orange peel" texture no matter what I do. Also the time it takes for chrome paints to cure is usually a lot longer than for regular silver. One thing that I don't like about regular silver spray is that it can dull a bit so I just touch up the scratches using a bottle of Testors silver and a small soft brush. A silver enamel paint pen should also work well. I have noticed, while in the army, that on military vehicles when the paint gets scratched or chipped off the metal usually looks rather dull at first.

 

[TeamFett]

So if you use the enamel chrome or silver spraypaint as your base coat, can you airbrush on top of it with acrylic? I'm going with Rogue Studios paint scheme, and all those paints are acrylic (or at least most of them).