"Painting "grungy" and worn armor" Topic

I'm painting some figures that have metal armor, and I want a weathered and badly kept look [they are not spit'n polished dark ages soldiers].

On the other hand, I don't want them to look like ressurrected dead, either.

Anyone have some tips for weathered, campaigned, perhaps not well kept armor? Both [chain] mail and some armored shields and helmets are are the figs.

Thanks for your tips!

Well, not sure how much of a tip this is, but when I paint armour I i) undercoat in black, ii) paint it in silver, iii) shade with something like Nuln Oil – seems to work fairly well to show armour "in the field" – could add a dry brush of something like a rust colour too if you want to show troops that have been around a bit and not too well taken care of

Paint on a well mixed layer of Minwax Polyrethane Stain -- Royal Walnut (commonly known as The Dip Technique -- be sure to brush it on, not dip the figures into the can). Wait 10 minutes, then wick away any pools of urethane stain, to avoid dark puddles.

Army Painter Dark Wash is basically the same, only at around 3x the price. Get a pint can: Wal-Mart, Amazon, local DIY store. Water or oil based will work, but water based is faster drying, without the strong, long-lasting, odor…

Examples of what it can do: 28mm Mounted Knights with Plate Barding -- simple base coats of craft paints (silver for armor), then Dip'ed; 24mm Gnomes -- silver armor, then Dip'ed; 40mm Cyclopes -- block painted w/o Dip, and with freshly applied Dip, shows just what it can do on flesh and clothes, wooden weapons, and metal parts.

After the Minwax dries fully, you will need to apply a clear matte coat. Cheers!

GW/Citadel Agrax Earthshade (and not the gloss), works wonders. It's magic in a bottle for grunging up things.

A black primer, dark metal drybrush, Agrax wash and a light silver drybrush would probably work. The brown tint to Agrax should add a bit of grubbyness.