Surfaces and layers intact
Each surface is its own paintable submesh, each layer its own part, and hidden layers stay hidden.
LWO + MechaPaint
LightWave objects, LWO2 and LWO3, read natively and written back out.
WHY MECHAPAINT
In and out of LightWave with nothing lost
LightWave is where I come from, so .lwo gets native treatment both ways. Every save from LightWave 6.0 to 2025 opens with surfaces as paintable submeshes and layers as parts, and Export writes an LWO with your new textures.
Textures found
Color maps are followed through the surface node graph and LightWave's Images folder conventions and placed on the model.
LWO out as well
Export writes a .lwo in meters with the painted maps assigned to its surfaces, so the model goes back into Layout ready to render.
The full story
Read the LightWave page for archive rescue, SubPatch handling, and the pipeline.
PIPELINE
Three steps
01
Open the .lwo
Drag it on MechaPaint.
02
Paint
Layers, masks, symmetry, the clone stamp, Mecha Lines, decals, and the full PBR channel set, painted straight on the model.
03
Export LWO
File > Export, LWO in the Mesh row, or textures only for Surface Editor.
LightWave deserved a modern painter. Here it is.
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