Has anyone tried the Jim Six Q-tip weathering technique?

[ednadolski]

I saw the Jim Six "Q-Tip Weathering" technique in a not-too-old MR but I don't know of too many folks who actually employ this.  So I was wondering if anyone has tried this, and what kind of results did you see?   Is is mainly suited to steam/transition era models?  Does it scale down OK to N scale?

Thanks,
Ed

[3rdrail]

I dson't recall seeing the article in MR, but I do most of my weathering with Q-tips and chalk or weathering powders, even women's eyeshadow at times. 

[Matthew Roberts]

What is the Jim Six weathering technique? Do tell.

[ednadolski]

I'll look up the MR and report back in more detail.   But here is the basic technique as I recall offhand:

Airbrush part of the model with ModelFlex Rail Brown, and as it starts to dry wipe off most of the paint with a Q-Tip dipped in Badger Airbrush cleaner, using downward vertical strokes.   The remaining paint accumulates around rivets/seams and looks like rain-washed grime. According to the author, you should work on a small part of the model at a time, so that the paint doesn't get too dry & become too hard to work.

The author does HO but I was wondering if this would scale to N reasonably well.   Seems you'd have to be careful to avoid overdoing the airbrush cleaner, lest the underlying pain become damaged.

[John]

i would think the paint damage would be a good thing .. free weathering

[GonzoCRFan]

Airbrush part of the model with ModelFlex Rail Brown, and as it starts to dry wipe off most of the paint with a Q-Tip dipped in Badger Airbrush cleaner, using downward vertical strokes.   The remaining paint accumulates around rivets/seams and looks like rain-washed grime. According to the author, you should work on a small part of the model at a time, so that the paint doesn't get too dry & become too hard to work.

I'm a bit late jumping into this one, but I really don't see how this is much different from just applying a wash to your model...this technique just uses an airbrush to deliver the paint instead of having it mixed in with the solvent already...