[banghead][banghead][banghead] It drives me nuts to ask this…
I’m doing some weathering - mostly trying to keep it minimal or less - and the thing I can’t figure is what to do about the extra shiny “out of the packet” silver roofs on a whole variety of makers cars.
I assume that roofs that aren’t painted a colour are galvanised and would therefore be pretty shiny when new… but what happens next please?
Okay there will be atmospheric crud, stuff dropped on them and, eventually, rust patches… there may also be exhaust mess if they run next to a smoking loco… That all applies to any roof I figure…
But what about that galvanising… surely it must fade… mustn’t it? A galvanised bucket never stays shiny for long… they got various shades of grey… Do the boxcar roofs do the same thing please?
Which natuarlly leads to the question of whether people just dull down car roofs or do they completely over-paint them?
A thin wash of 70% alcohol and a bit of acrylic burnt sienna (rust colored) and/or black or burnt umber (dirt colored) should do the trick. Apply with a brush.
What I have observed is the roofs get scraped or the gavinized coating wears down allowing rust to form. Or chemicals, powders and dirt accumulate to discolor or rust the roof. It is generally a spotty rust or part of panels. If that is not the case, the galvinizing takes on a patina. Yours, The Ferrequinologist
Dave-the-Train: There’s a number of good photo gallery sites out there. Try browsing them for boxcar pics and find shots that show the roof of the car.
If you want to replicate the straight weathered galvanized metal, just look at guard rail to light poles, these are all delivered as shiny galvanized metal, and quickly oxidize to a grayish color.
In pre 60’s or so times boxcar roofs were often painted over the galvanized steel. As the car aged splotches of paint would peel or flake off leaving grayed galvanizing showing. Later roofs were unpainted galvanized steel; however there was often overspray around the roof edges.