When it comes to weathering techniques, one of the most common mistakes among rookies is overdoing it. We all want to create that super cool wear and tear effects that we’ve seen on the internet, that make models look aged under the weather and operating conditions and we just can’t refrain ourselves from putting too much of it.

Mistake example

At the very beginning of my learning and practicing the different weathering techniques, I wanted to create some scratched paint effects on the exposed parts of the model with some random chipping technique (technique is irrelevant for this example). And I overdone it. Now it doesn’t look natural like I wanted to, but quite the opposite.

What I have learned

Refrain yourself! Be extremely gentle with every weathering technique!
Less is more. First, subtle effects are more eye appealing (no matter what you think) and second, it is always easier to add more weathering effect than to remove the excess. Remember that.

The only way to undo this mistake is to re-paint the model but since the weathering comes the last, it is something that you don’t want to do or can’t without creating even bigger damage.

Bonus tip

It’s not mandatory, but it’s very helpful to put a thin layer of varnish after every single phase of painting and weathering. It is time consuming, but it will help you fixing the eventual mistakes.