Fading Paint/Logos???

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I cannot seem to get down pat fading paint and logos. Anyone out there have any advice?

uspscsx

2

FWIW…I’ve used Kresto Painters Hand Cleaner to strip slot car bodies, ( Lexan and styrene ) and a couple of Tyco locos, as well as some Lifelike passenger cars, with pretty good success. For repainting, I wasn’t always trying to strip the cars completely of paint, but rather the tampo or screen printing on top of the base color. A dab of Kresto, and a little scrubbing with a toothbrush, I removed any of the lettering that was on the equipment. As I was doing this, I noticed the lettering “faded” first. I thought this looked good the way it faded the lettering. It might be something to look at for weathering your trains. A little scrubbing, a little lettering removal. More brushing, and more lettering disappeared.

Best yet, it seems to have no adverse effects on the plastic.

Rotor

3

As for fading paint, I kinda liked somones suggestion about placing them on the back porch for 3 months… That would definitely fade and weather your cars all with no effort involed!!! [;)][:)][:D]

Rotor

4

This worked on a boxcar, don’t imagine it would be the same on a multicolored loco: The boxcar was oxide red, so I diluted some Floquil boxcar red greatly , so there wasn’t much to it. Then I airbrushed in onto the boxcar, giving the white lettering a real faded look. This wasn’t my idea, I read about it somewhere.

Bob Boudreau

5

A summer issue of MR (June or July 2005 I think?) had an article about weathering a fleet of N-scale locos in Montana Rail Link, WC and various BNSF schemes. One of them was a GE with a faded red war bonnet.

6

Here’s a few ideas (none are originally mine, but I’ve tried them all!):

  1. On an undecorated car, lighten the base car color by adding white to it. The mnore white, the more “faded” the car will look.

  2. On a decorated car, add a LIGHT overspray of the base color, lightened with white. This will fade the base car color and the lettering.

  3. On a decorated car that you want to REALLY fade, add an even layer of Dullcote. Once that’s thoroughly dry, spray the entire car with an even layer of 70% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Let sit for a day. The alcohol will react with the Dullcote, and give the car a white “chalked” effect. Any areas you don’t want to look faded can be “unfaded” by brushing on a new layer of Dullcote (and if you don’t like the effect, it is reversable by respraying the entire car with Dullcote). This extreme fading method is only really appropriate to represent cars that haven’t been repainted in over 20 years. Add “regular” weathering (rust, dirt, crud) over the faded Dullcote treatment.

7

Okay, thanks for the tips guys, I’ll have to look in to some of these.

uspscsx