Paint Streaks

[CreganTur]

I\'ve searched the forum but couldn\'t find a good answer to this.

I basecoated the Orks I\'m working on with a diluted layer of Chaos Black after priming them.

The greens I\'m using had been sitting around for a very long time, so I added some water and dropped a small bit of scrap metal into the GW pot as an aggitator. I got them all to a milk-like consistency. Dark Angel\'s green was the first color I used- it streaked horribly over all the skin, but it dried smoothly. Very strange.

After I made sure my layer of Dark Angel\'s Green was giving good coverage, I waited for it to dry and painted over a layer of Snot Green. This stuff is streaking so badly that it\'s ruining the mini. A second coat helps, but you can still see some of the lines from the first coat bleeding through.

Did I just water my paint down too much, or could there be something else going on?

 

[Mr Scream]

Are you mixing this paint on your pallet and really making sure its evenly mixed or just shaking it in the pot? Also maybe your brushstrokes need checking out, strokes in the same direction tend to deposit paint in the same areas and so you end up with a build up of paint.

 

[freakinacage]

post a pic to show what you mean. could be that you need to just add more layers

 

[Shadzar]

Sounds a bit thin.

Are you sure it isn\'t your undercoat causing the paint to not stick?

Try a couple paths on a piece of paper and see if the paint is streaking, and a path on a base or something that doesn\'t absorb water and see if it is doing right then. If so you may have the paint a bit thin, and GW paints don\'t like that.

You could leave the paint open about 10 minutes, let some dry out, and shake like crazy. Check the paper to see if the paint coated evenly, or if the paint left little blobs. If it has blobs, then it just doesn\'t have the pigment mixed too well yet, and you should shake the heck out of it.

Depending on how big the piece of scrap metal, and what kind you put it, it might not be mixing as well.

I just add about 3 drops of water to the pot, and shake for about 10 minutes, and continue the process until the paint comes out right.

After a while though the paint will break down, and you will need to mix externally with some kind of flow improver to make sure the pigments mix well.

I use Future Floor Finish to help, but if you put any in the paint pot, it will harden solid after a while even with water in it, so always use it outside of the pot while you are working, and just keep enough water in the paint to where it isn\'t as thin as the inks.

But you may have made yourself some new inks, which aren\'t too bad for painting with, just takes time to dry between the many coats.

 

[CreganTur]

Thanks all, I\'ll test out these ideas tonight.

I hope it\'s not the undercoat!

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by CreganTur
After I made sure my layer of Dark Angel\'s Green was giving good coverage, I waited for it to dry and painted over a layer of Snot Green. This stuff is streaking so badly that it\'s ruining the mini. A second coat helps, but you can still see some of the lines from the first coat bleeding through.

Why were you expecting single-coat coverage, did you have this before with this colour?

Not covering perfectly with a single coat is perfectly normal with some paints - it\'s not usual for a single coat to cover completely if you\'ve thinned the paint heavily, even with opaque colours. Sometimes it might require three or more coats.

Einion

 

[CreganTur]

I\'ve discovered that the problem is the Chaos Black undercoat. Every color I test on it streaks badly. When I use multiple coats, the streaks show through. I\'m not getting even colors.

Any ideas?

 

[BPI]

Suggestions:

Use a Codex Grey undercoat, I\'ve tried for the first time recently & it completely changes the effect of paints that I\'m totally familiar with over white/black, Snakebite Leather comes to mind.

Know your paints! How to explain? Within the Citadel range some colours are more translucent than others. The original Blood Red I got in the red box set was the colour of todays Red Gore with it\'s similar translucence, compare to the current Blood Red that I find to be a far more opaque/flat/unglossy & \"powdery\" finish. The original blue Space Marine paint box set had a Blood Angel Orange that was a nightmare to get a smooth coat over a white undercoat! But I\'m still using it as a really controllable orange glaze/mixer to highlight Blood Red. Dark Angel Green I\'ve found awful for anything other than washes, have you tried any of the other dark greens to compare their properties? You could always wash the DA Green over a slightly lighter basecoat to get the first stage of shading done.

If all else fails switch to Foundation range Knarloc Green lol

Good luck! B.

 

[CreganTur]

@Einion

I think you\'re right on this. I did a couple more coats and it started to smooth out.

I\'m just really surprised by this, because I\'ve never come across this behavour from my paints before... but I\'ve never done a black undercoat before, so I guess I should have been prepared for something different to happen.

Even though it\'s a pain to do so many coats, it is giving a beautiful effect.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by CreganTur
I\'m just really surprised by this, because I\'ve never come across this behavour from my paints before... but I\'ve never done a black undercoat before, so I guess I should have been prepared for something different to happen.

Yeah, black shows through a lot, especially with lighter overcoat colours (obviously?)

Originally posted by CreganTur
Even though it\'s a pain to do so many coats, it is giving a beautiful effect.

Roger that; multiple thin coats can look sooo smooth.

Einion

 

[johnboyjjb]

I was going to suggest that older brushes can give you streaky results as well but if you\'ve already figured it out - then just ignore me.

 

[CreganTur]

Originally posted by johnboyjjb
I was going to suggest that older brushes can give you streaky results as well but if you\'ve already figured it out - then just ignore me.

I think that\'s a contributing factor. Most of the brushes I\'m using are on their last legs, but I\'m trying to make them last until this weekend because I\'ve got a coupon for my local hobby shop that is only good this Friday - Sunday. $10 off a $30 purchase

 

[DoBe KenoBe]

the paint might not be mixed well I allways have some lead weights liying around, the little balls you use for fishing they re extremly easy to come byand cheap. Just drop two in every pot, its the best way to mix paint that I discovered sofar.
Works exactly like a spraycan.

 

[mattsterbenz]

I\'ve found that Snot Green tends to be too transparent for my liking, same thing with Dark Angels Green. They are pretty difficult to work with and I get that \"streaky\" effect a lot too.

Might try the GW foundation greens. Orkhide Shade and Gretchen Green will give you better results with much less hassle. I prefer the muted greens for ork skin too.

-Matt