Thread: A question about custom scales ....

I've done it with a sharpie, and denatured alcohol.
Color in a bit, then quickly wipe with alcohol dampened rag, then do another section.

Gotta work quick, though.!

I have had good luck with a sharpie, blacken the part you want darkened, then with WD40 on a paper towel remove the ink from the tops of the relief. You can adjust the amount of darkening, by adding and removing the ink with WD40 on the towel.

If you want to remove it all, hose it with WD40 and scrub with a toothbrush.

A toothbrush and Simple Green will remove the greased compound or just clean them up for good paint / ink adhesion.

I have also had good results with Acrylic paint, about a buck a bottle. Walmart and a Craft Store will have a selection of colors, I like various hues of brown. Dry brush the scales with one-inch chip brush with the bristles cut short, about ½ inch.

Wipe the relief with a paper towel and Simple Green. Once it dries, it is pretty durable. Again, if you do not care for the look, a quick soak in 50 % Simple Green and water and a good toothbrush scrub will remove it all.

A thin wash seems to provide the best look and makes the relief pop. Acrylic is more of a mat finish and looks very well.

I've got 6 or 7 of these type scales. Guess I need to break out the colors.

Wondering how white would look on the black set I have?

An Ivory or grey might look better than a milk white, on black.

I have done a bit of antique Faux finishes, on furniture and other items, greys and light brown work well for an Antique aged finish where you want it to look like settled dust or to make a relief pop. A Dove grey is my go-to color for that look, then thinned browns or black until the look you want is achieved. It is more about removing paint judicially, than putting it on.

If you use acrylic, you have a lot of open time to experiment with color and coverage, (20-30 minutes). Building thin layers gives more depth.

Rubnbuff........Try soft wax. Yeah!