Wesley Scoggins
Indy Mogul
Wesley's Weekly HOW TO: Fake Oil/Grime
Chances are that you've seen at least one movie in your life that featured a shady Mechanic character, or a group of people working together on a machine of some sort. Something that I have always noticed in these scenes is that nearly everyone is always splattered with oil or grime. Little touches like these can really help add to the realism of a scene and really help the audience accept the reality of whatever you're working on. So since a request for fake oil or grime has been presented a few times, I thought I would try to whip up something that could easily work, and not stain everything you own with actual motor oil.
I think one of the best things you can use is black indian ink. Yes, I know what you're saying, "Won't that stain?", the answer is a definitely YES... BUT, only if you don't dilute it properly. You've got to think of it the same way that you think of food coloring. While a few drops of red in some food coloring may not be intense enough to stain your favorite shirt... using the dye straight from the bottle most likely will. The same concept applies here, CONCENTRATION is everything when you're dealing with dyes and paints.
I mixed just TWO DROPS in with the same Glycerine based personal lubricant that I used a few week's ago for The Blood Test, and it turned it a nice dark black, that is still translucent. I think this would be nice for a very light oil.
It's viscosity is nice, and it splatters nicely. While it's very close to oil, it is still a little bit too runny, which could be an issue if you're dealing with a thicker oil.
I think it looks good on fabric, but it gets a little to "gray" for my liking. Hand-washing it in the sink, the "oil" readily came out, so I can say that this isn't a hardcore staining agent, but I would still try to keep from using large amounts on a pourous surface.
Another suggestion I have read in regards to oil and grime, is to use chocolate syrup. This doesn't look to bad, except for me it's a bit too brown, and it's just a little too thick. So...
So, to kill two birds with one stone, I take the glycerine mixture (that remember, was a bit too thin) and mixed it into this, with a couple of extra drops of ink. I like the color of this a LOT more, and it's very dark, yet has that slight slight brown tinge that i've seen in oil and grime.
I like the viscosity of this a LOT more, it's not to thick, and not to runny.
And I really like how it looks on fabric. This also responds well to simple hand-washing, and I think would come out fully after a round in your own washing machine.
So just to go back over it the final recipe that I am happiest with is...
FAKE OIL/GRIME RECIPE:
1 Part Glycerine Based Personal Lubricant
1/2 Part Water
2 1/2 Part Chocolate Syrup
4 Drops of Indian Ink
It has a nice thickness, isn't to runny, sticks to fabric, yet doesn't stain it. I think this is an ideal mixture that could be modified for whatever purpose you need it for in your film.
Good Luck!
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