I finished painting a 1/350 USS Wasp. I used the Sovereign Hobbies Colourcoats (Old White Ensign Models formula). I used the modern navy Flight Deck, Deck and Haze Grays and Hull Red.

The colors seem to "pop" and I'd like to tone it down. I do not want to weather the ship, but i'd like to make it look a little faded.

What do you recommend to give it a faded look?

Ivan,
I do mostly armor, but when I want to blend the colors on an AFV so they aren't so bright, I overspray the whole thing with a very highly thinned(almost completely transparent) coat of the primary color, usually blended with some other pale, neutral color to tone things down and tie it all together. For AFVs I typically use a very light tan color for this, but for a ship maybe a very light grey would work better. Not sure.

I don't know if I've done a very good job of explaining myself, but I hope it's useful.

Sounds like Dull Coat would do the job for you, but I would test it on something else before you sprayed the whole model. Perhaps you could paint the same colors on some scrap plastic and see what results you achieve.

SECOND TO NONE- 2d Battle Group, 23rd Infantry - 1963 How about you Ivan?

I did some dullcoat rattle can on it still looks bright and "new". I'm going to paint my paint mule and try what Mark said with some haze gray with a little white and buff.

Chuck I was a driver in the 2BDE HQ. The most fun job a grunt could have in Korea 1985. Went to 5 ID after that.

I mix in about 18-19% white with the primary colors to make them look faded.

Mark

I try to avoid white to lighten colors because it can sometimes produce strange results. Most of the stuff I've read recommends light tan/buff or light grey to lighten or fade colors. But can't argue with success if it works!

For ships, I lighten the primary color with white, then mix up a very thin batch of paint at a ratio of 80:20 (80% thinner) then overspray the entire model from about 2 feet away with my airbrush set at the widest pattern. To complete the effect of "fading", which in reality occurs at various rates on surfaces, I sometimes use the adhesive part of "sticky notes" to block off areas where I don't want as much "shading". This will give a very nice representation, especially on hull plates, and looks very realistic when completed. Careful not to overdo it, the effect should be subtle. I also do this for aircraft and armored vehicles, keeping in mind that "fading" usually occurs from the highest to the lowest point in real life. The closer to the ground (or sea), the less fading effect. Using this technique, you can also go the opposite way and darken the effect, but instead of using white, use burnt umber or off-black in the base color instead of white.
VR, Russ

Thanks so much for all the replies. I will try all your techniques on my test piece.

Nice description of your technique, Russ!

Thanks Mark, just to add a little to this, I very rarely use black (or near black) but more often use burnt sienna or raw umber as a "shading" color. I wasn't really clear with the post-it notes either, I do use them, but Office Depot actually sells roles of 3M "paper tape" which is the same thing, it just has adhesive throughout the length of the roll. It has just enough "tackiness" that when cut into strips it can be moved around without disturbing the paint. I also turn my air pressure down to about 10-12 PSI when I do "fading" or "shading". You know, I didn't come up with the idea either. It's sites like Kitmaker that let us pass on these tips.
VR, Russ