Weathered up some N scale 40' box cars. They looked good last night. Today, they are looking ugly. :(
Caught the local CSX today at the intersection, hoping to see some confirmation. A mile of brand new hoppers heading to the Phosphate mines, with nigh a scratch or rust stain on 'em.
Man, I overdid it. :'(
Take a paintbrush and some 90% alcohol, brush them and brush some of the weathering away let it dry and then take another look.
When I over do it this is how I undo it sometimes they even look better,
If they end up with a white film wipe it off with a q-tip or just give them A light coat of dulkote I use testers.
NM-JEff
Quote from: NarrowMinded on January 26, 2012, 08:12:11 PM
Take a paintbrush and some 90% alcohol, brush them and brush some of the weathering away let it dry and then take another look.
When I over do it this is how I undo it sometimes they even look better,
If they end up with a white film wipe it off with a q-tip or just give them A light coat of dulkote I use testers.
NM-JEff
Thanks. My past experioence building Soviet WWII tank models causes me to over do weathering, I think?
Cane Man-
If you look at modern prototype rolling stock you'll find that,
in many cases, it's every bit as weathered as any WWII Soviet
tank.
-- D
The greatest error, made in weathering, is too much. I have found the best course of action is to apply a little weathering, let it stand overnight, and see what it looks like the next day. Usually, I only have to 'touch up' with a very light coat...which is far easier than trying to remove a heavy coat (this is especially true with weathering powders on wood).
Ray
I think the single biggest mistake I see when people "Over Weather" is they the forget to Fade the paint, many times I see a nice job of applying the weathering accents, but it is on top of bright paint.
Bright fresh looking paint will be on a fairly clean car/loco.
Tons of rust and grime will be on a faded oxidized car/loco.
NM-Jeff
If you are speaking of just knocking down the factory's shiny paint start with a coat of Testors Dullcote...
There's an Easy way that takes time and a little harder way.
I use the dullkote rattle can for a lightly weathered car, if it's going to be heavily weathered I first spray it with dulkote, let it dry then get my alcohol and pastel chalks out, I pick a color that is close but lighter then the original color, next I dip the brush in 90% alcohol and then rub it on the pastel chalk to pick up some color, I give the entire car (except the bottom) a brush down with this, then I let it dry and then spray it with dulkote again.
Second way is to set the car in the sun for a few weeks rotating it everyday, in summer you will be surprised at how it fades when placed next to a car kept inside.
(I live in california it's summer all the time)
NM-JEff
My wife says that I'm a little overweathered.
Quote from: NarrowMinded on January 29, 2012, 12:46:09 AM
There's an Easy way that takes time and a little harder way.
I use the dullkote rattle can for a lightly weathered car, if it's going to be heavily weathered I first spray it with dulkote, let it dry then get my alcohol and pastel chalks out, I pick a color that is close but lighter then the original color, next I dip the brush in 90% alcohol and then rub it on the pastel chalk to pick up some color, I give the entire car (except the bottom) a brush down with this, then I let it dry and then spray it with dulkote again.
Second way is to set the car in the sun for a few weeks rotating it everyday, in summer you will be surprised at how it fades when placed next to a car kept inside.
(I live in california it's summer all the time)
NM-JEff
Nice system, thanks for the tips
If I may divert you to another forum, there's an excellent tutorial on fading paint that may be found at http://www.nscale.net/forums/showthread.php?19187-Fading-paint-on-rollingstock.
NM - My experience with Dullcote, and alcohol, is that the alcohol turns the Dullcote white (in aviation restoration that is called 'blushing'). Perhaps I did something wrong on my one attempt to use an alcohol-based wash over a surface that had previously been sealed with Dullcote. I have found that boxcar red cars will 'weather' or fade nicely with just a couple of coats of plain isopropanol...allowed to dry on the surface.
Ray
PS: mhampton - That was an interesting link...I will have to try that in the future. Thanks.
Quote from: CNE Runner on January 29, 2012, 10:05:30 AM
NM - My experience with Dullcote, and alcohol, is that the alcohol turns the Dullcote white (in aviation restoration that is called 'blushing'). Perhaps I did something wrong on my one attempt to use an alcohol-based wash over a surface that had previously been sealed with Dullcote. I have found that boxcar red cars will 'weather' or fade nicely with just a couple of coats of plain isopropanol...allowed to dry on the surface.
Ray
PS: mhampton - That was an interesting link...I will have to try that in the future. Thanks.
I believe that Dullcote contains talc which gives it the flat look. The alcohol reacts with the talc which causes the blushing.
Always happy to provide links to other alternatives. The myriad ways to solve a single problem fascinate me.
[quote alcohol turns the Dullcote white ][/quote]
I have experienced this as well usually when I try the alcohol wash without allowing the dulkote to dry a few days, but this is not always a bad thing, with a light dusting coat of dulkote it usually disappears and sometimes i like the oxidized paint look and just leave it.
NM-Jeff
Here's a crummy i did yesterday ,simply a light overspray of Pollyscale Dirt,trick is to not get carried away,some do and the next thing you know you can't even read the road name on them. merely need to clean up a couple of the windows and darken up the smoke stack for that sooty look and a touch of rust on the couplers and its good to go.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/lkemling/IMG_0193.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/lkemling/IMG_0194.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/lkemling/IMG_0195.jpg)
Nice work. ;)
Nice looking caboose!
Let me suggest another method. I like using artist's acrylic paints. You can get a faded effect by choosing a color close to the color of the car (a little lighter). This this with alcohol or a mix of alcohol and water. Brush on this thinned paint in vertical strokes. Let each coat dry before applying the next, to gradually build up the effect. When doing this, coat the entire car, including any lettering or heralds. If you study the actual cars, you will find the base color bleeds over the lettering.
This method only creates faded paint. You still need to add the rest of the weathering over this.
Les
Another variation on a theme as given by Desertdweller is to use a VERY dry brush technique over all of the car. Choose as similar a colour from Floquil/Scalecoat/Pollyscale (or whatever) and - I repeat, using a VERY dry brush - scrub it over the car. Direction of brushing doesnt seem to matter that much.
To get that VERY dry brush, dip the end of the brush tip into the paint, then scrub it onto a clean paper towel or clean rag until it looks like its all gone. Then apply it to the model.
Steve Magee
Newcastle NSW Aust
Quote from: Steve Magee on January 31, 2012, 08:26:28 PM
Another variation on a theme as given by Desertdweller is to use a VERY dry brush technique over all of the car. Choose as similar a colour from Floquil/Scalecoat/Pollyscale (or whatever) and - I repeat, using a VERY dry brush - scrub it over the car. Direction of brushing doesnt seem to matter that much.
To get that VERY dry brush, dip the end of the brush tip into the paint, then scrub it onto a clean paper towel or clean rag until it looks like its all gone. Then apply it to the model.
Steve Magee
Newcastle NSW Aust
That's how I usually do it
Wow...another cache of great ideas! I knew the talc was the 'dulling' agent in Dullcote; but also suspect humidity to be a contributing factor. In the restoration of fabric-covered aircraft, one must be careful spraying 'dope' when the humidity is high as it will cause 'blushing'...a similar look to my Dullcote/alcohol fiasco.
Love the look of that caboose. I guess I'll have to dig out the old airbrush and do some experimenting. The other suggestions are super - and I plan on bookmarking this thread for future reference.
Thanks,
Ray
Next day did my N&W crummy,,note the windows were not masked.....they would accumulate the same dirt as the car body also it helps hide the lack of interior details.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/lkemling/003-10.jpg)
Quote from: GN.2-6-8-0 on February 01, 2012, 12:27:23 PM
Next day did my N&W crummy,,note the windows were not masked.....they would accumulate the same dirt as the car body also it helps hide the lack of interior details.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/lkemling/003-10.jpg)
Now that's some good stuff.
Maybe a couple streaks of dirt/grime sloping down the roof in places?
Here's a Caboose I did using the technique I mentioned
Sorry it's an Iphone picture.
(http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy202/NarrowmindedRR/1266472492.jpg)
And here'sone of the examples I used, this model will sit abandoned on a spur(http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy202/NarrowmindedRR/upexample.jpg)
NM-Jeff
Quote from: GN.2-6-8-0 on February 01, 2012, 12:27:23 PM
Next day did my N&W crummy,,note the windows were not masked.....they would accumulate the same dirt as the car body also it helps hide the lack of interior details.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/lkemling/003-10.jpg)
Nice work. :)
Quote from: GN.2-6-8-0 on January 30, 2012, 10:46:49 AM
Here's a crummy i did yesterday ,simply a light overspray of Pollyscale Dirt,trick is to not get carried away,some do and the next thing you know you can't even read the road name on them. merely need to clean up a couple of the windows and darken up the smoke stack for that sooty look and a touch of rust on the couplers and its good to go.
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/lkemling/IMG_0193.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/lkemling/IMG_0194.jpg)
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/lkemling/IMG_0195.jpg)
I'm a big fan of well done weatheing and all I can say here is "Nice weathering job." :)