Tutorial - rusted metal

Many of you expressed interest in my technique of painting rusted metals after I published an example of it on the night goblin fanatics. Here is the step by step guide on achieving just that.

Before we begin: this is a simple technique. The effects will not win you any awards. If you want your rust really, really good, use dedicated products for weathering. However, if you are looking for a decent look done quickly and easily, here i my way of achieving just that.

What will you need?
Some paints (see below), your miniature, a piece of sponge (blister backing is ideal).

Here is how you do it:

1) Undercoat your metal area in black. Then, take your sponge and load it with Boltgun Metal. Don't dip it in the paint, use a toothpick or something similar to smear the paint onto the sponge. Then wipe the sponge until you clearly see its texture and dab it onto your metal area until you achieve a mottled look.

2) Repeat the process with orange paint. I used P3 Khador Red Highlight, but any bright orange will do. Use a smaller area of the sponge and try to focus on the 'inner' parts. I overdid it on the picture! Again, we're looking for a mottled look with both black and metal still showing.

3) Wash the entire area with brownish-reddish paint or ink. I used Vallejo Game Ink Skin Wash. This will greatly mute the colors and is exactly what we're looking for.

4)The look in the previous stage was not right - the rust had been accumulated in completely opposite places to which it should. To remedy this, take your metal again and drybrush the blade, but stick to edges, raised areas and such; look for places where rust would not accumulate. If you are painting a sword, for example, the blades are used the most and will not accumulate rust.

5) The previous step was not meant to create the look of new metal showing through, just cleaner metal. If you leave it at that, your piece will look as if someone had started to clean it. To get rid of all the shining, take Badab Black and apply it all over the area, but try to end your strokes (and therefore leave most of the wash) in recesses. This works to stimulate grime and dust. If your blade is rusted, it is also bound to be dirty.

Seal with varnish (preferably a matte one) and you are done!

Some final pointers:

• If you are looking for a very corroded look, apply a brown basecoat before the first step.
• Use a flat sponge and try to cover the entire work area with it, otherwise you might end up with "stamps" on your blade.
• This is a messy technique. Make sure you won't ruin the rest of your miniature.
• When applying paint to the sponge, you can add some drying retarder. I found it to be quite good at getting rid of raised droplets of paint on the piece.

There you have it, hope you find it helpful. See you on Tuesday!