I seem to be using sponge for painting things as often as use a paintbrush recently. Some might say it always looks like I've painted with a tar brush, but we'll let that go...
First job - 16mm scale van roof. In this size I want some texture. This can be achieved with a layer of tissue paper, but since the plastic roof was pretty good, I decided to apply Humbrol 66 and 67 by dabbing them on with a bit of sponge.
This worked a bit, but the paint settled quicker than I hoped, so it was out with the talcum powder. Dabbing this in to the tacky paint worked a treat. Some texture but not too much. OK, this isn't a finescale wagon, but it still looks good.
Next, I needed some ground painting on a little diorama. Splodging on a mix of emulsion paints and working while they were still wet gave me some nice graduated effects. Darker colours towards the edges and light where there might be traffic.
I don't think I could have done this with a conventional brush, and I'm not loading up and airbrush with anything from Wilco - but sponge is cheap (mine came from packing) and works really well.
Sponges are absolutely great for painting in all sorts of ways. I don't have an airbrush so I have actually painted 2 complete 7/8ths locos using the technique. You just have to be careful not to get too much texture into the paint surface unless you want it there! I also use them for weathering of course. You need to collect many types as each type of "grain", for want of a better word, gives a different pattern or texture. It's like brushes, you can never have enough sorts😉
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