There is a commercial product for this - Robert’s Mortar. Paint brick color, let dry. Paint mortar on building, let dry. Wipe off mortar from bricks, grout is left. Sounds much like the drywall procedure.
I cut and pasted the info into one document so I can print it out for my file. Very useful, Doctor Wayne. And as always, wonderful modeling to illustrate the points. (How do you get all this modeling done if you photograph and post all these tutorials on multiple forums?)
[Those photos using the rag to apply the drywall compound look like frosting on a sheet cake! No wonder the removal stage creates a bit of debris. I noted the later mention of a stiff paintbrush for lighter applications.]
One technique that used to be popular before Robert’s Mortar came on the scene was to paint the brick the color you want (or darker, since this and other methods tends to lighten the brick too) and then use liquid easy-to-apply white shoe polish (actually not polish, but the stuff used to revive the white of white sneakers and tennis shoes and other canvas shoes). It comes with its own sponge applicator, and then wiping it off the brick surface with a rag. To avoid digging into – and removing the “white” from – the mortar cracks, wrap the rag around a block of wood or a large pink pearl type eraser with a sizable flat surface. This might be easier to do if the building is painted and weathered and “mortarized” (have I just coined a word?) before the structure is built and the parts can be laid flat and pressed down on.
You know, with some (prototype) brick buildings you notice the “white” of the mortar lines quite clearly, even from a fair distance away - and with others it is barely noticable even if you get pretty close
Thanks for your kind comments, Dave.
Your point about the oversize bricks is good advice - no need to emphasise them with highly contrasting mortar, or, in some cases, any mortar at all.
As you can see from the almost-finished (it still needs a big sign on the roof of the main building) Tuckett’s building, I weathered it to tone down the contrast, using some well-diluted Pollyscale, with a drop or two of dish detergent added to make it flow better. I used a soft 1/2" brush to apply it generously (before the doors and windows were added) and as it ran down the walls and collected at the bottom, used a paper towel to siphon-off the excess.
If the first application isn’t dark enough, let it dry, then repeat with another wash (or two).
If I’m not mistaken, a high lime content was the key to creating white mortar on the prototype, and on many older structures, especially outside of big cities, that mortar is still almost as white as the day it was mixed.
I’d guess that if one wanted mortar that wasn’t white, it might be possible to tint the pre-mixed drywall mud using craft paints from the dollar store.
I have several structures with the mortar “suggested” simply by applying a wash of well-thinned water-based paint, with a drop or two of dish detergent added. This one might be from Magnuson - it was in pieces (not unassembled, but disassembled, and none too carefully, either) in a plastic bag when I got it for a couple dollars at a nearby hobbyshop. After assembling the useable pieces and airbrushing it with Floquil Reefer Orange, I brush-painted the stonework and window frames, then gave the brick grey wash…
…some of the windows (cast as part of the walls) were broken, so the repair made them partially open…
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