India ink staining?

[VonRyan]

I picked up an Intermountain PRR outside braced gon with the laser cut wood inserts. I want to make the wood look like it's seen its fair share of weather.
I have a bottle of speedball India ink, but only ever used it on a MT resin load.

How do I use it so that it doesn't make the wood black and doesn't obscure the lasered on details?


-Cody F.

[Chris333]

Mix it with alcohol, test it. If it's too dark add more alcohol.

[VonRyan]

What do I test it on? I added alcohol to some ink last time I used it, and it didn't seem to change the color at all. Didn't seem to thin out is what I'm saying.

[prdave]

I use a an empty, cleaned out paint bottle. Fill with alcohol and add a few drops (2-3) of ink to that. Test or practice on some scrap balsa. Start with a thin wash, you can always add more ink or just apply a few coats.

[Chris333]

Yeah you probably had too much ink the first time.

[tom mann]

I really like this product:

http://www.micromark.com/age-it-easy-gray-3-1and2-fl-oz,7567.html

It will give you the silvery-grey color that the ink won't.  One coat is very light, so you'll probably use 3 or so coats.

[Philip H]

The classic India ink to alcohol ration is 1 tablespoon ink to 1 pint alcohol shake well.

[Kisatchie]

The classic India ink to alcohol ration is 1 tablespoon ink to 1 pint alcohol shake well.

Hmm... I prefer to stir
mine...

[wazzou]

Make sure you use water soluble India Ink.

[mcjaco]

One drop of india ink goes a long way.  I always go light, and will add more layers of it down if it needs to darken up.

[DKS]

Rule of thumb when mixing stains: add the ink to the alcohol, a drop or so at a time, not the other way around.