Herr Reschke,
My finishing process is pretty simple...primer, basecoat, gloss coat, decals, wash, flat coat, weathering, flat coat. I use Future Floor Wax - its the best clear coat I've found in all my years of doing this. Granted, Future dries glossy, so I add Tamiya X-21 Flat base to the Future to flatten it. The washes are my own, I own a mail-order modeling supply business called Modeler's Warehouse. Product line is called Warpigs, both acrylic washes and pigments, and we're working a new line of paint masks at the moment.
However, on the cheap, if you want to do an acrylic wash, here's what you need...distilled water, dish soap (Dawn works best), and an acrylic paint of the color you want. Mix the three, I typically go 4:1:1, but you can mix to your own personal tastes. Once the gloss coat on the model has dried and cured (at least 48 hours), apply the wash mix to the panel lines. Hit it with a hair dryer or allow it to dry naturally. Using a damp, soft cloth, wipe the excess off the model going in the direction of the slipstream. This will remove the wash from the panel surfaces but leave it in the panel lines themselves.
Sorry Saxman, I simply haven't gotten around to dirtying it up....wait until you see this FAA Corsair I'm doing...scratches everywhere!
Caldera - these are for you...
Wolfala, this is a strange business to be in. For the most part, you have to get to the point where you're doing something that others cannot. I've built models for customers and had them complain to me later that my prices were too high, that they could go to Walmart and buy a 1/18 airplane for $59.00. At that point, I tell them to have fun at Wally World. Businesses are a little differnet, since most of the time you're building something from their drawings and to their specs. I've managed to survive by retaining customers who have more money than common sense, and like the work I do. Without them, I'd be SOL.
