striking3agle: Hairspray weathering

Today I want to show you an easy way to get scratches on your model. This technique is very old, but I never saw it on gaming miniatures. Additionally this tutorial starts the striking3agle blog and a series on weathering called Dirty Winter.

What we need:
・ Hairspray. I have experience with L'Oreal Studio and Taft (the former is better). I haven't used cheap “no-name” hairsprays so I don't know if it's a good idea to use them.
・ Some kind of saucer or plastic mug
・ A toothpick, needle, GW stippling brush or a warhammer scale plastic sword
・ An airbrush, a brush and paints (your model's armor color and black and red to make the rust effect)

Step I

Apply a black base coat on the model (cleaned and without mold lines). When it is dry, apply a few layers of red paint (I used three). If you want to get more realistic effects just use additional brown or orange paint (Vallejo Air 71080 Rust paint is really helpful).
Wait couple of hours, the base coat must be dry.
Now it's time for hairspray. Spray it (from a distance of 5-10 cm, we want to make it fluid) into a saucer or a plastic mug. Do not use it straight from the can because you can flood the details. Next use your brush (or airbrush if you're painting a tank for example) to apply the liquid hairspray on the model. It is very similar to painting with normal paints, layers should be flat and it is better to make many thin layers than one thick. It dries fast so you must do it quickly. When the hairspray is on the model, wait 10-15 min before the next step (the layer must by dry for sure).
The size and depth of the scratches depends on the number of hairspray layers.

Box – 1 layer
Shield – 2 layers
Metal plate – 3 layers

Step II
It is very important to use an airbrush in this step. Wet brush just destroys the hairspray layer (water melts the hairspray and the brush just scrapes it off). Naturally add water to the paint when you use the airbrush, just be sure you apply the next later of paint on a dry area, wait minimum 30 minutes before adding a new layer.
When you get the right color, wait a couple of hours (again) to make sure it is dry. Then you can for example do black lining or highlights on the edges. Remember to be gentle.

Box – 2 layers

Shield – 5 (thin) layers

Metal plate – 4 (but THICK) layers

Step III

You need hot (40*C-60*C) water, a brush (size 1 or 2) and some scratching tool (I used GW stippling brush and an old needle). Apply water (like normal paint – small scratches or like a thick wash – big scratches), wait about 10-20 seconds so the water can soak in across the paint to the hairspray layer and in the end use your scratching tool, scratch gently, hit or slap the model . The stronger the force or the bigger the tool's ending you use – the bigger scratches you get. Remember that you must be careful because it is very easy to make too big a scratch. The secret of this technique is the water melting the hairspray layer, which makes it is easy to remove (with paint layers on it).