We all have had a model at some point in time that has had a name plate or base with raised text. Usually most people want a dark background and light text but that is a pain to do and make it look good. So I got to thinking there had to be an easier way other than masking or doing 12 coats of red on top of black paint. So I had the idea of using the hair spray weathering method to show the light color text. The Hair Spray method is basic you paint the model how you want then coat it hairspray and then paint the “patchy” color on top. Then use a Q-tip or napkin and scrub away some of the paint so it looks worn. I decided to take it a step further for name plate for my Polar Lights 16” Godzilla. Here are the steps I took.

Step 1 I primped me plate white so the read would not take to many coats.

Step 2 Paint the text to look how you want. Once dry I base coated the plate in an Acrylic red. I then wanted to an “Indiana Jones” kind of logo so took yellow and sprayed it at about 45 degrees to get the fading I wanted. I let it dry over night.

Step 3. I Clear coated the plate twice with a spray can gloss coat. I used a spray can so the layer would be enamel so hard to rub off by accident. Think of this as the undo layer, so if something goes bad you get the paint off to this layer fairly easier. Again I used two coats for extra protection. Let dry for a day maybe two.

Step 4. I coated the name plate with hair spray. The idea is that hair spray will not stick to well to the clear enamel, so the paint on top of it later will not have good hold and be removed easy.

Step 5. I then use my dark color background paint that was acrylic as well. I then covered the whole name plate with that paint. I let it dry for about an hour or so.

Step 6. I took a paper napkin with alcohol or water (Depending on the paint) literally wiped the paint off the raised text. I made sure keep the napkin out of the recesses so they stayed dark. I had to turn the napkin often to because it would start to smear after a while.

Step 7. Once the dark color has been removed I let it dry for about 20 minutes then I will do two clear coats (either Flat or Gloss) to help make sure the paint does not cheap off easily
So the only think you really need do this is Primer, Acrylic paints, enamel clear coat, and some napkins. I defiantly plan on using this method again on several of my models.

I made a video of this technique in cased it work I could show it people to help them. If you want you can view it here or go to youtube where it is a little bigger. My camera is fairly low resolution so this is why the video is small.