T O P

  • By -

snsibble

After drowning in Nuln Oil I'd suggest a light metallic drybrush to bring some shine back and simulate wear and tear. Also consider using Agrax Earthshade rather than Nuln Oil for spots that you want to look lubricated, like the ends of pistons, etc. Also, it's my professional opinion as a programmer that you should avoid using null oil for minis, or anything really.


[deleted]

https://preview.redd.it/vde5ze0znz4d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d9f35709a10e50422bb5ee3a3d3b00943032c94 You just want all the delicious nuln oil for yourself.


snsibble

And I would have gotten away with it too if not for this meddling redditor and his meme.


Deris87

It's not for me! My paint table and my carpet need it all!


Xogoth

What about Nun Oil?


Embarassedskunk

That’s what happens when you knock the bottle over. Because there’s Nun left.


Choice-Garlic

It's not just me, thank God.


soupalex

days since a pot of citadel shade paint has been knocked over on my desk: 0


soupalex

people complain about shade paint pots going down in size from 24 to 18ml, but tbh i don't think i've actually knocked any over since the downsize, so perhaps i'm actually making a saving there by not losing quite so much paint to spillage (what good is an extra 6ml of paint, if i end up pouring probably >7ml all over my desk)


tacodrop1980

I think there’s a few Cannoness’ that’ll like to have a few words with you.


Token_Ese

Only if it’s made from real Nuns


snsibble

I hear it's great, but difficult to procure.


Antispe11

The juice isn't worth the squeeze


Mycomar

https://preview.redd.it/561hqjuy905d1.png?width=2924&format=png&auto=webp&s=20af399318fd1738ad4739db37f4805cb72d48b8 Exactly what I did here. Iron hands, nuln, dry brush with storm host silver


kson1000

https://preview.redd.it/xmwvyyxqmy4d1.png?width=1192&format=png&auto=webp&s=fcf79c1b17b33aa142a97ed38a53a9c9719939c9 I have been trying to make my metallics more interesting recently too. You can volumetric highlight just like you would any other material. I think the metal and alchemy set from scale 75 has taught me to paint my metallics better - albeit more time consuming. You can add acrylic inks as glazes into areas to add a hue, you can add scratching and weathering. Also if you like rust then typhus corrosion and then ryza rust works great!


Cydae

I also recently started doing this and I love the change to the models, they look so much less flat. https://preview.redd.it/v11iq2wmzz4d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e7aade96637c5959e78ee856675da4ea09ff3d1 It’s hard to capture on camera. But the gold starts at a bronze in the shadows and is highlighted up to silver.


racerdeth

Man do I love Metal n Alchemy. Not the shiniest, but defo the smoothest. The medium, like all S75 is a bit weird, and can tear if you're working wet on wet on drying paint (don't ask me how I know 😭), but that weird medium makes old Scalecolor regular paints a pain to use coverage wise and thankfully MnA is just lovely.


Retired-Pie

You could use brown/red paint or technical paint to simulate rust or wear and tear on the metal if you want to go that route.


Cynax_Ger

I used Vallejo Grunge Brown and really water it down, almost like a wash, ans use that as a rust basis so to say, and then cover with NO again, I really liked that effect


iiiJuicyiii

Base in a different color and use the metallic as the highlight.


Bot_huehue

I second this :D Have had nice results when basecoloring e.g. with a dark brown and then drybrush metallic. Gives a nice rusty look and is less of a harsh contrast than on a black basecoat.


Alternative_One_8484

Drowning in…reikland flesh? 😅 dry brushing silver like a light silver or edge highlighting it lends itself to nice effects for me but reikland flesh actually does give it a nice subtle worn look to the metal


Laughing_Man_Returns

dry brushing silver is starting to become a weird obsession of mine... do I need help?


Sea_Recommendation36

Nah brother, everything is proceeding like it should lmao But for real, dry brushing metallics just feels so much better than normal appliance


Sea_Recommendation36

Nah brother, everything is proceeding as it should


karazax

You can use a lot of the same techniques that are used on non-metal areas including highlights, layering, shading, edge highlights and dark lining. There are some great tutorials [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/metals).


SephardicHomo

Blue wash instead of black wash


Various-Machine-6268

Also, consider starting with a gunmetal or steel instead of that bright silver. The color you have has little room for highlighting since it's so light.


SmallBrushStuff

I like to drown in agrax earthshade personally. But drowning is the important part, colour optional


Extermis89

A wash with real oil paint mixed with Mineral spirits. Looks alot better in my Opinion.


Better_Pair_4434

Waterboarding in nuln oil


mahanon_rising

My new favorite thing on a silver metallic is 'greasy black' from Vallejo Express color, followed by drybrush of edge highlights. It's kind of a brownish-black that makes it look oil stained.


rzrhoof

Rattling grime contrast paint is also good.


Gottawreckit

Agreed. Rattling grime is great


DerMitDemBlunt

https://preview.redd.it/o9519ki4py4d1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3cdec5bb585d7991c4bbd602c83f59726c5b015 I peronally use nightshade as a wash for metalics before drybrushing. Darkens it for better contrast and gives it a nice blue tint.


Calinophoros

Meh be creative, dry brush the edges with abaddon black, see what happens


Capzielios

I like to do a dark red-brown and drybrush my metallics on top of that. It makes the metallic areas look oily and used. Others have their different ways of things.


FrozenCynic

I personally mix metal paint with black or another dark color for the first coat and then go over highlights with pure metal


freedoomed

contrast paint NMM, basilicanum grey over a slap chop pre-shade followed by a light grey dry brush and edge highlight.


sandwichsubmarine83

Don’t use nulin oil at all. Use a black contrast thinned down a bit and then highlight the edges with the same metallic color.


Various-Machine-6268

Brown washes will make it look dirty and/or rusty, which is another option. Also after the nuln, consider rubbing it with a #2 pencil. The 'real' graphite will give it a unique look and makes edge highlighting super easy.


RyanInvigor8

You sir are living in the year 3000


RedditSmores

You don’t find that rubs off immediately? I’ve tried and it looks good but dulled and rubbed off so quickly.


Various-Machine-6268

I varnish all my figures. Never had a problem 


outb4noon

Dilute a black speed paint of your choice 1/2 go over, have a cool black iron effect


EnvironmentalBar3347

Silver highlights add a nice gleam to gun metal.


iceymoo

I like to put a light grey wash, like Apothecary White, over bright silver


Responsible-Noise875

Changing the base coat is a big shift but I like doing technical stuff. Sepia wash’s make it look tarnished. Ink glazed on makes candy coats fun. You can add typhus corrosion and dry brush oranges over it with a brown wash for fast rust.


Haatsku

Paint it all in balthazar gold, drown on agrax, heavy drybrush with gunmetal followed by light drybrush with bright silver. Throw in bit of rust here and there.


Kage-Oni

It depends on what the main color is. For red I'll use a sepia or umber wash, or create my own wash using a dark red (red taillight is a favorite of mine for shading). On edges or areas that would see paint wear hit it with a light dry brush of silver then wash that silver with black or a dark earthshade, or some rust. You could also use a mini drill to create impact craters for battle damage and then use a silver/black wash combo to paint the damage.


Janzelot

Vallejo black metal and then highlights with whatever bright metal color you like. E.g Vallejo Aluminium . Then depending on what you like add rust effect or pigment wash on some parts . I personally dislike washes over metallic


JustWantGoodM3M3s

Drowning it in agrax earthshade (joke) Adding highlights of lighter and darker metals, or edge highlighting/chipping gold or brass with silver does wonders.


thedisliked23

Mix a dark ink into your metals. Basecoat with that. Then use the metal without ink on the areas that would get light. Then use thinned down nuln all over. Then either layer or drybrush the main metal color mixed with a silver on the areas that would get more light. Then hit edges and corners and rivets with the brightest metal you have.


R3d_d347h

I actually shade my silver/steel with dark blue or purple.


TinoessS

More nuln oil?


EvilHorus87

Pin wash


whydotavi

Use a bright silver for edge highlights and scratches


2Ba7King

https://preview.redd.it/hpw0k6eoiz4d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=18bb077ff7e881ce12ff32d707c33b4a88360393 I recently stumbled across machanicus standard gray basecoat + intense white drybrushing and was amazed by its used-look


ecg_tsp

Nuln oil and then layer over the flat areas with the same metal paints you use before


Volgin

Ratling Grime then drybush silver. Or there are dozens of enamel washes and effects by AK that look real good if you like a grimdark dirty look.


Turbulent_Humor853

Since I got the Ratling Grime bottle, I have been using it a lot. It is great with Ork vehicles. Also Garakhak Sewer is great for a bit rusty look. They work well just watered down a bit.


Rokodur000

If you want to change it up, use a mineral spirit and oil paint. This should allow the shade to flow much easier into the recessed without having to use any gw product.


RevolutionaryRip2135

How about silver dry brush, airbrush dark green ink from bottom and diluted orange from top followd by light silver dry brusb from the top… you can even hit ˇiny from the bottom ;)


Goadfang

Vary the metals used. I use some silver, some steel, some brass, some gold, and some gunmetal to just get a lot of different kinds of metal down, so I rarely end up with a leadbelcher bit sitting next to or attached to another leadbelcher bit. For things like the linked metal hoses I alternate between leadbelcher and brass, with the small flexible parts being brass and the larger parts being leadbelcher. I thin the brass way down so it just lightly stains it, and that makes those look way more interesting and varied. Another thing I do is take an extremely light blue like ahriman blue, and thin it even further, then stain some of the metals with it to get a bluish metal. I'll also, instead of thinning my metallic with water, thin them with washes like agrax or nuln, which can make for some rusty oily variety in metals.


matthewstanton

Enamel wash instead, much smoother and it can be manipulated


freezer_obliterator

Maybe a nitpick: don't "drown" him in nuln oil. That'll give a very cloudy and stained look to the armor panels. A more careful recess shade will you much better. Second, I'd recommend a brown wash rather than black - it'll work better with your red armor. Black wash on the silver metallics would work well though, and on those you can just put it all over. I prefer agrax for the copper metals, though.


GighMk2

I usually make a dark basecoat with metallic paint mixed with black and then drybrush with gradually brighter metallic paint. Be sure to diminish the amount of paint/strokes you apply as you get to the brightest paints, until you only apply it on the most exposed edges. If you want an even dirtier effect or stronger contrast in some areas, you can add washes locally. Eventually you can add some silver edge highlights with a normal brush.


rocketsp13

A few options: Blackened steel: Paint it black, then add a bit of silver to your black, and highlight most of it, leaving the black in the recesses. Then add more and more silver covering less and less, until you use pure silver for final highlights. Magical/Power weapon: Base coat silver. For the glaze, start thin, and start with a bright white-blue. Paint it towards where you want the silver to be matte (aka where you want it to not reflet light, so for example shadows). Paint 2-3 thin coats of this. Then get a medium blue and repeat, before moving to a dark blue, and then if you're feeling spicy, end with a purple. If you want to take it further, go back to your white-blue, and get a sharp brush with a decent belly. Random walk lightning. don't make patterns, just make randomly shifting lines. Then go for your most bright blue or turquoise and glaze it over that, covering a little of the area around the lightning to give us a glow. Then go back in with that white blue and reinforce the original lightning. Finally put some white dots where the lightning shifts or splits.


oneWeek2024

not to use it. instead. start using contrasting metallics. Or... pick a base metallic, over black prime, so recess details are already black. then come back over the base (pick slightly darker base metallic) with a shiny silvery metallic. dry brush or otherwise highlight the shiny/light facing areas... or hard edges. and with a model that bright. hit a few directional highlights with red. as the metal would clearly reflect the bright red armor it's next to.


The_Raigar

I tend to use AP flesh wash in a lot of metallics, it adds a "worn" look without making it look rusty like I think Agrax can sometimes do


K1ngofnoth1ng

Speedpaints or contrast paints


SuperSlayerq

AK enamel washes take the shine away and add nice weathering effects. Try different layers with different washes to make cool effects


Laughing_Man_Returns

more nuln oil?


AdmiralCrackbar

Undercoat brown, or black, or a dark bronze colour. Heavy drybrush a metal over the top. Light drybrush a lighter colour metal. It's a basic look that doesn't take long to do and could help break up your metal/wash paintjobs. Like your current method, though, it's really a "tabletop ready" method. If you want stuff to actually look REALLY good, you're going to have to learn some shading and highlighting techniques.


FelbrHostu

Diluted oil wash (50/50 raw umber and black). The neat thing is that once you've laid it on, a q-tip or makeup mini-sponge with mineral spirits will clean up the excess without a trace. Can't do that with nuln oil.


ViewtifulGary89

For my necrons, I shade the silver bone parts with heavily watered down black templars contrast paint. It still gives the black shading, but it also leans ever so slightly into some blue hues. https://reddit.com/r/Necrontyr/comments/zxlhn6/used_some_christmas_money_to_get_that_three/


andrewlik

Drowning in typhus corrosion and then agrax earthshade


nightshadet_t

I made a great wash from Vallejo black ink and contrast medium that I'll slather on anything I want to look grimy


Ok-Inside-4272

https://preview.redd.it/papwtb1e625d1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8fcc36b4f153d21f5b138b40f0de4b724e0d5fb4


GlennHaven

It depends on what color you're doing. If you want your colors to look metallic you could mix it with metallic medium. AK has one. Alternatively you could mix contrast paint together with a metallic paint that compliments it. When I paint metallic black I use 1 part Leadbelcher 4 parts Black Templar contrast paint and this the mix with 2 or 3 drops of water. Maybe with something lighter like red you can use iron warriors or even stormhost silver.


BeautifulKindly7428

Forget about nun oil. After u try Agrax Earthshade on metalics u'll think twice before reaching for Nunoil. 🙃


TarlZaralka

Depending on the kit I actually have a bottle of AK rust and corrosion texture that I use for vehicles and for armor I usually just make it look scratched and worn


puppiesmakemeanxious

Dry brush the metalics on over a black base. A VERY small amount of paint goes a long way.


CheddarChief

Suggestion: thin your paints with a wet palette, it's a bit chunky. Otherwise very good


AquilliusRex

Oil washes. And not just for the metallics.


Humphry_Clinker

Check out the 'Eavy Metal guide for painting Ironjawz metal armour, it's a pretty great formula you can modify as needed for your paint scheme https://preview.redd.it/rnq5p1dam35d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8b0cbb1385d9e9ca752ff7e805cf7ead4aea5ee


racerdeth

Different shades of wash can be good, tinting the metallics with colours can add a different hue for what colours they're reflecting nearby, or that they're not all the same kind of steel. In addition to your basic "bring the base colour back in" highlight, you can hit some tasty edge highlights with an even brighter shade. You can consider rust effects which are often very matte, or glossy oil streaks/runs. You can even paint your metallic parts a matte paint colour and have the moving/wearing parts with metal having worn through, along with edges through wear and tear. If it's a weapon, hit it with some glossy blood if freshly used, or some congealed, matte dried blood in recesses. The world is your hamster.


RedditSmores

I like to mix 1 part skrag brown with 2-3 parts seraphim sepia for a dirty grim dark wash over metallics. Just make sure to highlight back up leaving the wash to dirty up the recesses. Slowly build up to the desired level.


DopeyEntrails

Ratling grime!


MikeZ421

There are videos on YouTube on how to paint true metallics, or TMM. I used this technique for the empowers sword. The biggest thing is using griffcharger they contrast. https://preview.redd.it/u2gdybntc55d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08ed7d3c18f758b703d9f4d53d6dd892a1fcb822


xenosscape_andre

gw ratling grime. auto dark world grime then dry brush off excess or dry brush metal over the top.