Graphite on paint technique help

[rasmus lj]

I know a lot of people do the graphite powder rub on paint to help with a gun metal finish. I was wondering what the proper materials and technique was to accomplish this.

First, the powder. Is this a material in the art section of craft stores and/or just grinding up pencil lead (if so, best way to do it).

I am assuming the paint on the item is dry, then just rubbed directly on... correct? What do most people us, soft cloth?

Is a clear coat applied afterwards?

Any important aspect I am not asking about?

Late response, but might help someone.
In my experience, the graphite didn’t stick to basically any paint I could get my hands on. (Tried 4 matte and 4 glossy)
Then I experimented with applying it to half dried 1k clear coat that was sprayed on top of matte black. After 2 minutes of drying time, I softly rubbed on graphite with a small microfiber towel. Worked REALLY well. And because the graphite is somewhat incorporated into the paint it won’t rub off nearly at all. I hope this helps someone struggling with getting to stick! (Try technique on a test piece first to get the timing right)

 

[Indy Magnoli]

I just posted this up in the SW section and the process is basically the same:

Mando Armorer Helmet refinished using Nail Polish Powder!

We received this awesome finished Armorer helmet from MinuteFett a while back: The paint scheme was based on the dark coloring seen in season 1... but after seeing the Armorer in BoBF... I knew I wanted something shinier! Not too long ago I saw a YouTube video showing someone using nail...

www.therpf.com

In the end, I found that the gloss paint+primer spray worked the best for adhesion.