Introductions

Wilder has launched a new line of oil paints: Weathering Oils, Matt Fast Drying Paints. This review looks at two of them, LS05, Brown Rust and LS06, Medium Rust.

For many modelers, oil paints are firmly established as a preferred weathering medium. But they can take forever to dry, require solvents that can attack model paints, and usually dry with at least a semi-gloss finish.

Weathering Oils Matt Fast Drying Oils

Wilder's Adam Wilder is a force in the weathering and finishing realm of modeling. His Weathering Oils are formulated to dry faster than traditional artist oils and also dry to a matt sheen. Wilder uses a tube that is supposed to retain its shape after being squeezed. Traditional oil tubes stay squished and malformed. The tubes also have tips that are smaller and pointier than artist oils, affording more control to the modeler.

This review demonstrates products

LS05 Brown Rust

LS06 Medium Rust

Let's see how they perform.

Application

Wilder's smaller tube tip is sealed with foil that is easy to flip off. The nozzle is smaller than artist oils and thus allows one to squeeze out a smaller amount. Wilder recommends to apply the working gob onto a paper towel or other absorbent item to suck even more oil from the oil. That will help it to dry even faster.

One oil exited the tube as a paste. Medium Rust came out swimming in a pool of carrier medium.

I used stiff acrylic brushes to daub irregular patches of paint on a silver (for greater contrast) boxcar. I also directly brushed it on. Quickly, the daubed paint began to set and needed firm passes of the brush to streak and spread it. This oil paint brushed nicely and stayed where I put it. It clings well to the painted body and to the engineering plastic the trucks are molded with.

I applied LS05, Brown Rust to the left side of the boxcar and LS06, Medium Rust to the right side. I did not put much on the door to create a contrast between the two very similar colors. If you would like to see how heavily boxcars can weather, see Click here for additional images for this review, below.

After drying about 12 hours the Wilder's Weathering Oils did dry matt. But they are still oily enough to smudge. This helped me because I noticed a couple of fingerprints that I was able to just smear away. I wondered if they are intended to be applied over an acrylic primer that can remove some of the oil? Read on!

Two days later I tried to manipulate the dried Weathering Oils with mineral spirits. They would not budge unless I scrubbed them and that only removed the oils, not made washes of them. However, I mixed some fresh Weathering Oils with mineral spirits, and they made a fine wet wash. This I applied to the model along the top edge and also put a loaded brush to the top of rivet lines, allowing the wash to flow where gravity and surface imperfections allowed. I also brushed it across the roof panels.

The gondola was flooded with the wash. Eight hours later I took the photos. The gondola had a sheen that it did not have before while the boxcar dried matt.

Applied over acrylic

Now, those freight cars were either painted at the factory with an unknown paint or left in bare plastic. I tried that very wet Medium Rust on a very cured LifeColor acrylic. Again, M.R. gushed out. I let paper soak up as much of the oil as practice, then brushed a thin layer across the acrylic. Even after drying for four days, the paint was too wet to touch. That contrasts with its companion test, as I used Wilder Neutral Earth (see link Weathering Oils - Mud & Earth, below) in the same test; after 3 days it was almost dry to the touch, and I considered it dry enough to handle after 4 days.

That is a curious contrast to applying it directly to the factory painted model.

Conclusion

I enjoyed using these Wilder Weathering Oils. First, the tubes are indeed easier to use than the oils I still have from my days as an illustrator. Second, the pigments and carrier of these retain the rich qualities of oil paint. They do seem to dry faster but not to-the-touch overnight. They do indeed dry matt.

Wilder Weathering Oils are easy to use. If you are looking for some thing to dry to-the-touch overnight or sooner, then these did not work for me. Whether applied to a factory model or over dried acrylic, they did not dry enough to handle after 24 hours.

I have no meaningful complaint about these new weathering products. I look forward to using them more, and happily recommend them.

Please remember to tell vendors and retailers that you saw these oils here - on RailRoad Modeling.