Question on weathering a p47 d1943 razorback

[docsudy]

Hello All
All does anyone have any experience with weathering the oil drab green dorsal surface of a p47d razorback. I was thinking about first using a oil sludge wash using sepia color oil. I was going to follow this with a pin dot filter technique to bring out the aging process. My question is is it better to do one before the other.
I've also seen a recent YouTube of somebody weathering an oil drab surface P61 with using thinner and a soft bristle brush to gently take layers of the paint away, giving it that faded appearance. Any experiences or suggestions?
Thanks
Doc Sudy

 

[Old git]

Hello All
All does anyone have any experience with weathering the oil drab green dorsal surface of a p47d razorback. I was thinking about first using a oil sludge wash using sepia color oil. I was going to follow this with a pin dot filter technique to bring out the aging process. My question is is it better to do one before the other.
I've also seen a recent YouTube of somebody weathering an oil drab surface P61 with using thinner and a soft bristle brush to gently take layers of the paint away, giving it that faded appearance. Any experiences or suggestions?
Thanks
Doc Sudy

Steve Jones is the man to ask Doc, hopefully he will see this post and be able to help.

 

[airdave]

Just to clarify, since you suggested using "oil sludge wash" to create your colour.
You are mispronouncing the name of the paint used on warplanes.

The colour is "Olive Drab".
Olive being a type of green. (so adding "green" at the end is redundant and unnecessary)
Drab refers to lack of brightness in the colour.

So if you are using some sort of oil residue colour just for that reason, you are thinking wrong.
Any oil trails on a P47 are pretty precise,
The exhaust leaves a bigger dirty trail.
Personally I think weathering is often overdone.
A P47 leaking oil is a P47 that has been shot up and probably isn't making it home.
It certainly didn't take off that way.

The "faded" appearance is what you want (if anything).
Paint colours faded quickly under the conditions.
[The actual name of the Pittsburgh Paint color is "Lustreless Olive Drab"]
The paint was always matte finish which is why it was so hard to clean.
Aggressive cleaners like gasoline were used to wipe things down resulting in a quickly faded and patchy colour.

Sorry to nitpick, its in my nature.

 

[docsudy]

Just to clarify, since you suggested using "oil sludge wash" to create your colour.
You are mispronouncing the name of the paint used on warplanes.

The colour is "Olive Drab".
Olive being a type of green. (so adding "green" at the end is redundant and unnecessary)
Drab refers to lack of brightness in the colour.

So if you are using some sort of oil residue colour just for that reason, you are thinking wrong.
Any oil trails on a P47 are pretty precise,
The exhaust leaves a bigger dirty trail.
Personally I think weathering is often overdone.
A P47 leaking oil is a P47 that has been shot up and probably isn't making it home.
It certainly didn't take off that way.

The "faded" appearance is what you want (if anything).
Paint colours faded quickly under the conditions.
[The actual name of the Pittsburgh Paint color is "Lustreless Olive Drab"]
The paint was always matte finish which is why it was so hard to clean.
Aggressive cleaners like gasoline were used to wipe things down resulting in a quickly faded and patchy colour.

Sorry to nitpick, its in my nature.

Thanks for the pointers. Really appreciate them.

Do you have any recommended techniques to create that irregular faded appearance on the olive drab exterior surface?

 

[airdave]

When it comes to "plastic modeling", I'm better classed as a born-again-newbie,
so I am not the one to be suggesting painting techniques in this regard.

I do like your earlier suggestion of "using thinner and a soft bristle brush to gently take layers of the paint away, giving it that faded appearance."
Sounds like a risky but rewarding method.

I'm a graphic artist and canvas painter, so I imagine the finish as being more and more faded out to lighter and lighter greens.
But the matte finish does a lot to influence the look and colour.

For reference I've attached some photos I took of Flak Bait at the beginning of restoration.
Gives you a good idea of what can really happen to the olive drab and painted surface.
Especially like the spine of a razorback.

Keep in mind, B-26 Flak Bait holds the record - over 100 bombing missions. 725 hours of flying time.
Far more than any P47 would have endured but the surface of any P47 in 1944 would have looked similar.
(although with less missing paint and fewer bullet holes!*).

*Flak Bait had over a thousand holes in her!