Printing and Finishing Fallout Power Armor

Stage 5: Nuclear grime and dirt

Power armor in the wasteland is covered in dust, ash, and grime. Apply a thin dirty-brown wash (mix raw umber and a touch of black) across the lower surfaces of every piece — legs, lower torso, knee plates. This simulates the accumulated ground-level contamination the armor picks up walking through fallout zones.

Stage 6: Topcoat

Flat/matte topcoat only. Gloss reads as new and maintained; wasteland power armor is neither. A flat coat also makes the rust and grime layers sit more realistically.

Armor finished. Time to climb in. Continue to Part 5: Assembly — The Enclosure Challenge.

Stage 3: Dark wash for depth

Apply a diluted dark brown/black wash over the entire surface. Let it settle into all recesses, joint lines, and panel lines. Wipe excess from raised flat surfaces before it dries. This creates instant depth and makes panel lines read as shadow gaps rather than surface lines.

Stage 4: Rust effects

Two centuries in the wasteland means rust — but rust in specific locations: water runoff paths from horizontal surfaces, joints where paint has chipped to bare metal, damage areas. Don’t rust everywhere or it looks like a bad paint job, not a weathered suit.

• Streaking rust: Apply burnt sienna and dark orange with a thin brush, pulling vertical strokes downward from the rust source. Thin with water for transparency.
• Pooled rust (static deposits): Stipple orange, brown, and yellow-orange with a sponge in concentrated areas around joints and damage sites.
• AK Interactive or Vallejo rust effects products: Ready-made rust effect products that apply as a paste and dry with a realistic rough, granular texture. Optional but excellent for key damage areas.

Stage 5: Nuclear grime and dirt

Power armor in the wasteland is covered in dust, ash, and grime. Apply a thin dirty-brown wash (mix raw umber and a touch of black) across the lower surfaces of every piece — legs, lower torso, knee plates. This simulates the accumulated ground-level contamination the armor picks up walking through fallout zones.

Stage 6: Topcoat

Flat/matte topcoat only. Gloss reads as new and maintained; wasteland power armor is neither. A flat coat also makes the rust and grime layers sit more realistically.

Armor finished. Time to climb in. Continue to Part 5: Assembly — The Enclosure Challenge.

Stage 3: Dark wash for depth

Apply a diluted dark brown/black wash over the entire surface. Let it settle into all recesses, joint lines, and panel lines. Wipe excess from raised flat surfaces before it dries. This creates instant depth and makes panel lines read as shadow gaps rather than surface lines.

Stage 4: Rust effects

Two centuries in the wasteland means rust — but rust in specific locations: water runoff paths from horizontal surfaces, joints where paint has chipped to bare metal, damage areas. Don’t rust everywhere or it looks like a bad paint job, not a weathered suit.

• Streaking rust: Apply burnt sienna and dark orange with a thin brush, pulling vertical strokes downward from the rust source. Thin with water for transparency.
• Pooled rust (static deposits): Stipple orange, brown, and yellow-orange with a sponge in concentrated areas around joints and damage sites.
• AK Interactive or Vallejo rust effects products: Ready-made rust effect products that apply as a paste and dry with a realistic rough, granular texture. Optional but excellent for key damage areas.

Stage 5: Nuclear grime and dirt

Power armor in the wasteland is covered in dust, ash, and grime. Apply a thin dirty-brown wash (mix raw umber and a touch of black) across the lower surfaces of every piece — legs, lower torso, knee plates. This simulates the accumulated ground-level contamination the armor picks up walking through fallout zones.

Stage 6: Topcoat

Flat/matte topcoat only. Gloss reads as new and maintained; wasteland power armor is neither. A flat coat also makes the rust and grime layers sit more realistically.

Armor finished. Time to climb in. Continue to Part 5: Assembly — The Enclosure Challenge.

Stage 1: Base metal coat

Spray your faction’s primary armor color — steel grey, dark olive, or your custom scheme. This is the surface paint layer that will be damaged by the weathering steps above it.

Stage 2: Salt chipping — battle damage

The salt chipping technique creates realistic paint chips exposing bare metal underneath:

1. Spray the base color and let it cure.
2. Apply a thin coat of hairspray over the base.
3. While still slightly tacky, sprinkle table salt or coarse sea salt over the surface in irregular patterns. Concentrate salt on edges, high-contact areas, and anywhere a weapon strike or hard impact would land.
4. Spray your faction’s primary color over the salt.
5. Once fully cured, scrub with a damp cloth or stiff brush. The salt dissolves, lifting the paint layer on top and revealing the metal base beneath — creating randomized, natural-looking paint chips.

Stage 3: Dark wash for depth

Apply a diluted dark brown/black wash over the entire surface. Let it settle into all recesses, joint lines, and panel lines. Wipe excess from raised flat surfaces before it dries. This creates instant depth and makes panel lines read as shadow gaps rather than surface lines.

Stage 4: Rust effects

Two centuries in the wasteland means rust — but rust in specific locations: water runoff paths from horizontal surfaces, joints where paint has chipped to bare metal, damage areas. Don’t rust everywhere or it looks like a bad paint job, not a weathered suit.

• Streaking rust: Apply burnt sienna and dark orange with a thin brush, pulling vertical strokes downward from the rust source. Thin with water for transparency.
• Pooled rust (static deposits): Stipple orange, brown, and yellow-orange with a sponge in concentrated areas around joints and damage sites.
• AK Interactive or Vallejo rust effects products: Ready-made rust effect products that apply as a paste and dry with a realistic rough, granular texture. Optional but excellent for key damage areas.

Stage 5: Nuclear grime and dirt

Power armor in the wasteland is covered in dust, ash, and grime. Apply a thin dirty-brown wash (mix raw umber and a touch of black) across the lower surfaces of every piece — legs, lower torso, knee plates. This simulates the accumulated ground-level contamination the armor picks up walking through fallout zones.

Stage 6: Topcoat

Flat/matte topcoat only. Gloss reads as new and maintained; wasteland power armor is neither. A flat coat also makes the rust and grime layers sit more realistically.

Armor finished. Time to climb in. Continue to Part 5: Assembly — The Enclosure Challenge.

Stage 1: Base metal coat

Spray your faction’s primary armor color — steel grey, dark olive, or your custom scheme. This is the surface paint layer that will be damaged by the weathering steps above it.

Stage 2: Salt chipping — battle damage

The salt chipping technique creates realistic paint chips exposing bare metal underneath:

1. Spray the base color and let it cure.
2. Apply a thin coat of hairspray over the base.
3. While still slightly tacky, sprinkle table salt or coarse sea salt over the surface in irregular patterns. Concentrate salt on edges, high-contact areas, and anywhere a weapon strike or hard impact would land.
4. Spray your faction’s primary color over the salt.
5. Once fully cured, scrub with a damp cloth or stiff brush. The salt dissolves, lifting the paint layer on top and revealing the metal base beneath — creating randomized, natural-looking paint chips.

Stage 3: Dark wash for depth

Apply a diluted dark brown/black wash over the entire surface. Let it settle into all recesses, joint lines, and panel lines. Wipe excess from raised flat surfaces before it dries. This creates instant depth and makes panel lines read as shadow gaps rather than surface lines.

Stage 4: Rust effects

Two centuries in the wasteland means rust — but rust in specific locations: water runoff paths from horizontal surfaces, joints where paint has chipped to bare metal, damage areas. Don’t rust everywhere or it looks like a bad paint job, not a weathered suit.

• Streaking rust: Apply burnt sienna and dark orange with a thin brush, pulling vertical strokes downward from the rust source. Thin with water for transparency.
• Pooled rust (static deposits): Stipple orange, brown, and yellow-orange with a sponge in concentrated areas around joints and damage sites.
• AK Interactive or Vallejo rust effects products: Ready-made rust effect products that apply as a paste and dry with a realistic rough, granular texture. Optional but excellent for key damage areas.

Stage 5: Nuclear grime and dirt

Power armor in the wasteland is covered in dust, ash, and grime. Apply a thin dirty-brown wash (mix raw umber and a touch of black) across the lower surfaces of every piece — legs, lower torso, knee plates. This simulates the accumulated ground-level contamination the armor picks up walking through fallout zones.

Stage 6: Topcoat

Flat/matte topcoat only. Gloss reads as new and maintained; wasteland power armor is neither. A flat coat also makes the rust and grime layers sit more realistically.

Armor finished. Time to climb in. Continue to Part 5: Assembly — The Enclosure Challenge.

Fallout power armor is supposed to look like it’s been through a nuclear war. Unlike Stormtrooper or Clone trooper armor (where a perfect surface is the target), power armor should show two centuries of use, repair, and neglect. This is arguably the most fun finishing pipeline in any armor build — you get to destroy things.

Print Settings

Every structural and wearable piece is FDM. Power armor at wearable scale is far too large and too weight-critical to print in resin. Reserve resin only for the smallest non-wearable accessories: a miniature Pip-Boy prop, small faction emblems, tiny decorative hardware.

• Material: PLA+ for most pieces. The weathering pipeline sands and paints aggressively, and PLA+ handles both well.
• Layer height: 0.2mm is fine. Surface texture actually helps some weathering techniques adhere. Use 0.15mm only if you’re doing very clean Brotherhood or Institute armor builds.
• Wall count: 5 perimeters. Power armor pieces are large and transport stress is significant.
• Infill: 20% for most; 25% for the helmet and torso.

Surface Prep

1. Remove supports and clean seams.
2. Join split pieces with super glue + activator or epoxy. Fill seams with spot putty.
3. Sand to 220 — you don’t need to go finer than this for a weathered build.
4. Apply grey filler primer. This is your inspection layer: under the primer, any remaining surface problems will be obvious. Fix them now.

The Nuclear Weathering Pipeline

Stage 1: Base metal coat

Spray your faction’s primary armor color — steel grey, dark olive, or your custom scheme. This is the surface paint layer that will be damaged by the weathering steps above it.

Stage 2: Salt chipping — battle damage

The salt chipping technique creates realistic paint chips exposing bare metal underneath:

1. Spray the base color and let it cure.
2. Apply a thin coat of hairspray over the base.
3. While still slightly tacky, sprinkle table salt or coarse sea salt over the surface in irregular patterns. Concentrate salt on edges, high-contact areas, and anywhere a weapon strike or hard impact would land.
4. Spray your faction’s primary color over the salt.
5. Once fully cured, scrub with a damp cloth or stiff brush. The salt dissolves, lifting the paint layer on top and revealing the metal base beneath — creating randomized, natural-looking paint chips.

Stage 3: Dark wash for depth

Apply a diluted dark brown/black wash over the entire surface. Let it settle into all recesses, joint lines, and panel lines. Wipe excess from raised flat surfaces before it dries. This creates instant depth and makes panel lines read as shadow gaps rather than surface lines.

Stage 4: Rust effects

Two centuries in the wasteland means rust — but rust in specific locations: water runoff paths from horizontal surfaces, joints where paint has chipped to bare metal, damage areas. Don’t rust everywhere or it looks like a bad paint job, not a weathered suit.

• Streaking rust: Apply burnt sienna and dark orange with a thin brush, pulling vertical strokes downward from the rust source. Thin with water for transparency.
• Pooled rust (static deposits): Stipple orange, brown, and yellow-orange with a sponge in concentrated areas around joints and damage sites.
• AK Interactive or Vallejo rust effects products: Ready-made rust effect products that apply as a paste and dry with a realistic rough, granular texture. Optional but excellent for key damage areas.

Stage 5: Nuclear grime and dirt

Power armor in the wasteland is covered in dust, ash, and grime. Apply a thin dirty-brown wash (mix raw umber and a touch of black) across the lower surfaces of every piece — legs, lower torso, knee plates. This simulates the accumulated ground-level contamination the armor picks up walking through fallout zones.

Stage 6: Topcoat

Flat/matte topcoat only. Gloss reads as new and maintained; wasteland power armor is neither. A flat coat also makes the rust and grime layers sit more realistically.

Armor finished. Time to climb in. Continue to Part 5: Assembly — The Enclosure Challenge.