Old rust – AK GOUACHE

Old rust, an AK weathering gouache

A water-thinnable gouache from the AK interactive weathering range in the shade of old rust. Gouache is an opaque paint with a high pigment content that dries completely flat and stays soluble in water even after drying, so a finished effect can be toned down, washed out or added to at any time. The old rust shade is deliberately dark and muted: this is what corrosion looks like when it has sat on metal for years, not the fresh orange bloom after the first rains.

How it differs from fresh and medium rust

Rust is not one color. Fresh rust is light and orange; in time it darkens to a brownish red and finally to a deep brown with almost black areas. That last stage is exactly what old rust stands for. Rust looks realistic when the shades are layered from dark to light: dark as the base where the corrosion has lived longest, and lighter tones only in spots on top.

Where it is useful

• Wrecks, long-parked equipment, agricultural machinery and the metal elements of dioramas.
• A dark base layer under lighter shades of rust.
• Rust runs from rivets, hinges, bolts and damaged welds: put a dot down and draw it downward with a damp brush.
• Chipped paint: dark rust into the hollows of the chips, where the metal is attacked most.
• Darkening exhausts and sheet metal stressed by heat.

Who it is for

For modelers who do heavy weathering and want to stay in control of the rust. Because it remains reactive to water, the effect can be worked in stages and backed out of when the result goes too far.

Seal the finished effect with a flat clear, or damp can damage it. Work on a dry, sealed surface.