Holy Rusted Metal!

Metal is hard to maintain. It get’s gritty, looses it’s luster, accumulates rust and eventually falls apart but that’s why we love it. It grows character with age. In this post I’ll cover my technique for painting my favorite of all metals, the rusted kind. Come sit, and paint with me.

Firstly, I designed these 55mm bases for use on some of my Infinity models. By using sheets of platicard, corrugated cardboard, aluminum wire, and even a BIC pen, I was able to create an industrial look. I highly recommend trying this project out to any hobbyist. Just go nuts and have fun.

Once the bases were built I spray painted them using Army Painter’s Platemail Metal. It’s not the best surface to paint on being that it’s so glossy, so I also sprayed a coat of clear matte varnish over it.

Next is a heavy wash of P3’s Battledress Green. I like to mix in a little bit of Liquitex’s Flo-Aid to keep the paint flowing a bit more evenly.

 Another wash of P3’s Battledress Green. This time I try to focus more on the recesses.
Here I applied a heavy dry-brush of Citadel’s Iron Breaker to help bring back the shiny. To create that signature reddish rust color I applied a wash of P3’s Bloodstone. Once again focusing on the recesses and crevasses.  To add more contrast and grit, I carefully applied a wash of Citadel’s Agrax Earthshade. Next I used a careful application of RMSP’s Brown Liner. This helps define the edges and enhance the details.  Finally, I go back with some Citadel Iron Breaker using a fine detail brush to pick out some of the edges of the metal. I also painted the sheets of “paper” on the base using some browns and tans.
See, not too shabby looking and not very difficult to do. Try this out on your metals. You can easily apply these techniques to any metal color. Perhaps patinated copper, or burnished brass. Thanks for reading and happy painting!