Im about to start weathering my spectrum Dash 8, and I want to try something new. I found a prototype picture that I like and plan on copying, the paint on the nose is faded. Im wondering what kind of luck you guys have had fading paint and how you did it.
Thanks.
The method I use requires having an airbrush. I start with clear flat in a 1 oz. bottle about half full and thinned about 50% and add a few drops of flat white or light grey. If it is a locomotive I either mask off or remove the windows. I set the airbrush to a light spray and aiming from above the body spray a coat or two over the area I want faded. Horizontal surfaces will fade more than vertical surfaces and this is accomplished by spraying from above.
I only do one or two coats at a time and wait for the paint to dry. If the effect isnt as great as I want I repeat the process until the desired effect is achieved.
It’s best to go slow as this is basically a one way process and it would be difficult to undo. It would probably be best to practice on a cheap boxcar before committing to weathering an expensive locomotive.
Bob DeWoody
Thats a lot like what i used to do. But my compressor broke about a year ago and I never got around to replacing it. Also the effect I am looking for is like spotty and splotchy fading, so evenly fading the whole thing isnt exactly what im looking for. I seem to remember a long time ago somebody talking about a pencil eraser, maybe i will try that on an old car and see how it works.
Bah; this technique will work, but it works best on an engine you’re completely painting from scratch.
The quick N easy way to get a dfaded paint effect was invented by Mike Rose. Just give the model a good, even coat of Dullcoat from a rattlecan. Let dry, and then with a mister bottle spray the model evenly with 70% isoproply alcohol (don’t use 90%, as we use it to strip paint!). Let the alcohol dry overnight. The alcohol will fog the dullcoat and give you a nice, usually even, faded and chalked look. If you want certain areas to be more fogged, add more alcohol to those areas. If you want less fogging, either mask those areas off forst, or mask everything else and add another layer of dullcote (adding more dullcote reverses the effects of the alcohol).
This process actually does work; I tried it in front of Mike during a weathering clinic a few years ago. One thing to keep in mond though: this dramatic weathering effect is only useful on models representing the post-1960 period, as the steam and transition eras had different paints and weathering.
Yeah I dont really like the way the alcohol and dullcote looks for fading. I use it for some effects but it looks more foggy than faded. Or to put it another way, it looks like something on top of the paint, not the paint itself deteriorating. Maybe I will just overlook the fading and do all my normal stuff.