Weathering for Beginners: Washes, Pigments, Drybrushing and Stencils

A clean build looks like a toy. A weathered build looks like a machine that has been somewhere. The gap between the two is not talent; it is doing a handful of simple techniques in the right order and stopping before you overdo it. This guide gives you that order, the tool for each step, and the mistakes every beginner makes once.

Tools used in this guide

• Weathering Supplies collection - pigments, washes, brushes and stencils
• Stedi Weathering Wash - water-based wash in four shades
• Chipping And Weathering Sponge Brush and Galaxy Model 100pcs Weathering Sponges & Applicator Set - chipping
• 100Shiki Dry Brushes - drybrushing
• Weathering Pigments (Earth Tones) and (Rust & Soot) - dust, mud, rust, soot
• Weathering & Effects Stencils (12 patterns)
• Fine Panel Liner Pen - small subjects and Gunpla
• Marbling Masking Tape - pre-weathering

The golden rule: order of operations

Weathering is layers, and each layer needs the one below it to be dry and, usually, sealed. The sequence that works for tanks, trucks, aircraft and mecha alike:

1. Base coat and markings, fully cured. Decals on, sealed.
2. Gloss clear coat. A wash flows and wipes cleanly on gloss; on matte it stains. Do not skip this.
3. Panel wash / pin wash. Thinned dark color into recesses and around details.
4. Chipping and scratches. Sparingly, where hands, boots and tools touch.
5. Streaking (rain marks, fuel, rust) down vertical surfaces.
6. Drybrushing to catch raised edges.
7. Matte clear coat. Kills the gloss and unifies everything.
8. Pigments (dust, mud, soot) on top of the matte coat, where they grip.
9. Final details: metal edges, tow cables, exhaust, mud on tracks.

Beginners usually fail by putting pigments on before the matte coat (the coat then wipes them out), or by skipping the gloss. If you learn nothing else: gloss before wash, matte before pigments.

Which tool for which job

The wash (biggest effect, least effort)

A wash is paint thinned until it flows into every recess by capillary action and dries only in the low points. One pass over a gloss-coated tank adds shadow to every hatch, bolt and panel line.

• Pick a wash that will not attack your base coat. Enamel or oil washes work over acrylic or lacquer base coats; a water-based wash is the lowest-risk choice. Acrylic vs Enamel vs Lacquer explains which combinations are safe.
• Color: dark brown for sand and green vehicles, black-brown for dark gray and black, rust-brown for very worn subjects. Pure black is rarely right. The Stedi Weathering Wash comes in Ground Brown, Stain Brown, Sandy and Multi Gray, with a 4-color combo; it is applied as-is or diluted with water over a sealed surface.
• Apply with a fine brush to the recesses, let it settle a few seconds, then wipe the excess with a clean or lightly dampened brush or soft cloth, moving in the direction rain would run. With an enamel wash, the cloth is dampened with the matching thinner.
• A paint cleaning pen makes the wipe-back of oil and enamel washes tidier, because the tip lifts the wash from flat areas without reaching into the recess.
• Full technique, cleanup and problem-solving: Panel Line Washing guide.

Shortcut for small subjects: on Gunpla and small parts a fine panel liner pen does the recessed lines without mixing a wash. The three shades let you match the base color instead of defaulting to black.

Chipping and scratches (less is more)

Paint chips where metal gets hit: hatch rims, tool clamps, fender edges, steps, around the gun mantlet. Two beginner-safe methods:

• Sponge chipping. Dab a small piece of foam in dark brown or dark gray, blot almost all of it off on paper, then tap it lightly along edges. Irregular, small, random: that is the look. A chipping sponge brush saves fingers from holding tiny foam pieces, and the Galaxy 100-piece sponge set gives you a fresh sponge for every colour.
• Stencil chipping. For consistent, repeatable chips and scratches, airbrush or sponge through the Chipping and Scratches patterns in the Weathering & Effects Stencils set. Its 12 patterns also cover Streaking & Wet Effects, Splashes & Mud, Wheel Marks and Road Wheel Masks.

Rule: if you can count the chips from across the room, there are too many.

Streaking

Rain streaks, fuel stains and rust runs happen on vertical surfaces, from a source (a bolt, a filler cap, a hatch seam) downward. Place a small dot of thinned color at the source, then drag it down with a flat brush barely damp with thinner, feathering it out. Make streaks uneven in length and spacing. The Streaking stencil in the effects set gives repeatable patterns for larger hulls.

Drybrushing (the raised-edge trick)

Drybrushing deposits a lighter color only on the highest points: rivets, edges, tread patterns, cast texture. It is the fastest way to make detail pop, and the fastest way to make a model look chalky if you use too much paint.

1. Load a stiff brush with a lighter shade of the base color.
2. Wipe it on paper until almost nothing comes off.
3. Flick it across the surface so the bristles catch only the edges.

The brush matters: a soft round flops over and floods the edge, a stiff flat leaves stripes. The 100Shiki dry brushes use short, dense bristles made for this job. See Brush Painting Guide for brush control basics.

Pigments (dust, mud, soot)

Pigments are dry powders. Used dry, over a matte coat, they give the dusty, chalky look of real dirt that paint cannot copy.

• Pick the set by effect: Earth Tones (sand, dry dirt, red mud, forest dirt) for tanks and vehicles; Rust & Soot for exhausts, rust and smoke; Minis & Mechas for Gunpla and figures; Metallic for worn metal. Each set has six colors and a small brush.
• Apply with a soft brush, straight from the pot, starting with far less than you think. Build up in layers on the lower hull, running gear, fenders and anywhere mud would collect.
• Fix with a few drops of pigment fixer or a matching thinner applied by brush so the pigment is not disturbed; let it wick in. Same warning as above: thinner stays off Gunpla joints.
• Soot pigments around exhausts and gun muzzles; earth tones low on the vehicle; lighter dust on horizontal surfaces.
• Do not spray clear coat over pigments: it darkens them or makes them disappear. Pigments are the last layer.

Browse everything in the Weathering Supplies collection.

Final details that sell the scale

• Metal edges: a soft graphite pencil rubbed on track edges, tool blades and hatch rims gives a realistic worn-steel sheen with zero risk.
• Tow cables: molded-on cables look like rope. Replacing them with real braided steel tow cable (0.5-2.0 mm) gives a more convincing metal look under weathering.
• Wheels: painting wheels cleanly is tedious; 1/35 AFV wheel stencils are masks that let you paint any rubber or edge first, then cover it and paint only the main wheel body.

Bonus: pre-weathering with marbling tape

If your base coat looks too uniform even before weathering, try layering shades. Stick marbling masking tape over a dry base coat, spray a slightly lighter or darker shade, and remove it: the surface gains the tonal variation that makes later washes and pigments look natural. Masking basics are in How to Mask Scale Models.

Five mistakes to avoid

1. Washing over matte paint (stains, tide marks).
2. Weathering evenly everywhere. Real dirt has a direction and a reason.
3. Too much drybrushing. Everything turns pale and chalky.
4. Pigments under a clear coat. They vanish.
5. Rushing between layers. Each one needs to be dry; washes and oils can take a day.

FAQ

What weathering should a beginner try first?

A wash over a gloss coat, then a very light drybrush. Those two steps give most of the effect with almost no risk.

Do I need an airbrush to weather?

No. Washes, chipping, streaking, drybrushing and pigments are all brush-and-sponge techniques. An airbrush only helps with stencil effects and post-shading.

Can I weather Gunpla the same way?

Yes, with a lighter hand: panel lines, light chipping on edges and a little soot around thrusters. Keep enamel thinner away from joints, polycaps and snap-fit pegs, because it can crack stressed plastic. Use a water-based wash or a panel liner pen on unpainted kits.

Enamel or acrylic washes?

Enamel washes are more forgiving to wipe and sit well over acrylic and lacquer base coats, but the thinner is harsh on plastic. Water-based washes dry fast, clean up with water and are the safer first choice. Pick based on your base coat.

Why does my wash leave tide marks?

Usually the surface was matte, or the wash was left to dry too long before wiping. Gloss coat first, then wipe in the direction rain would run while the wash is still workable.

Tools mentioned in this guide

• Stedi Weathering Wash - water-based wash for shadow in recesses.
• Fine Panel Liner Pen - recessed lines on small parts and Gunpla without mixing a wash.
• Pigments and Paint Cleaning Pen - lifts wash from flat areas when you wipe back.
• Chipping And Weathering Sponge Brush - sponge chipping without holding tiny foam.
• Galaxy Model 100pcs Weathering Sponges & Applicator Set - a fresh sponge for every colour.
• Weathering & Effects Stencils (12 patterns) - repeatable chips, streaks, splashes and mud.
• 100Shiki Dry Brushes - short, dense bristles for raised-edge drybrushing.
• Weathering Pigments, Earth Tones - sand, dry dirt, red mud and forest dirt.
• Weathering Pigments, Rust & Soot - exhausts, rust and smoke.
• Weathering Pigments, Minis & Mechas - for Gunpla and figures.
• Weathering Pigments, Metallic - worn-metal effects.
• Marbling Masking Tape - tonal variation before weathering.
• Tow Cable for Scale Models - braided steel cable in 0.5-2.0 mm.
• 1/35 AFV Wheel Masks - paint rubber and wheel body separately.
• Weathering Supplies collection

Glue and joins matter too: see the Scale Model Glue Guide. Airbrushing stencils? Start with How to Thin Paint for Airbrushing. Everything above lives in the Weathering Supplies collection.