Wood Grain Demo

OK, let's get started.   For this demo, I'm using a piece of white sheet styrene.  The base color will be the same as I used on the LVG (and suggested by Wingnut), Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow.  On my model I varied the shade, between sections of the fuselage exterior, by adding some XF-2 Flat White to the XF-59 in some areas, and also painting a few areas in XF-60 Dark Yellow.  This was done in an attempt to give some variety to the finished look of the wood.

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First, I sprayed on a couple coats of the XF-59 base color using my trusty old Paasche H (the best airbrush there is for laying down solid coats of paint!).  For this use, I thin my Tamiya paint about 50/50 with PPG's DTL 876 Acrylic Lacquer Thinner.  This causes it to dry fairly quickly and makes for a tougher finish than when thinned with Tamiya's thinner.  I've heard that Tamiya paint finishes tend to be delicate but about 30 minutes after I painted this test piece I tried scratching it with my fingernail.  All I got were some shiny spots on the paint.  I had to really gouge at it to remove any paint.  Even at that, I allow the base color to cure overnight before applying the oil paints.

See Pic #5

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Now it's time for the fun part.  I squeeze out a small amount of each of the oil paint colors onto a palette, which in my case is just scrap of aluminum foil placed on a plastic lid.   I also put a few drops of the Drying Oil in the corner of the foil, or another little container, so I can mix tiny amounts in with the paint as I'm working.  The Drying Oil will thin the paint so you want to use it sparingly.

See Pic #7

Next, using one of the wide brushes, I lay down a thick layer of the darkest color (Burnt Umber).  It doesn’t have to be perfect, just a good, thick, even coverage.

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Then I pick up brush loads of the other colors and blend them into the Burnt Umber to get some subtle variations in the shade. 

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