Im trying to duplicate concrete colors on wood abutments and piers. I want lthe southwest colors more in the beiges and deep orange, not the grays
Deep Orange ??
Painting wood raises the grain - no matter what color.
Sanding sealer is needed. I use Shellac. It is cheap and impervious to most paints. Where I don’t want the grain to show, and in HO it shouldn’t on any surface because it can’t be seen. Did you ever see the wood grain on a building from a distance?
Seal and sand, seal and sand. It should look like Styrene before you paint it.
I would try white or maybe a light grey and add a little brown at a time until you get the shade you want.
Concrete Paint
I have found Delta Creamcoat Acrylic paint the best for concrete. For old concrete I use Sanstone, which has brown in it, and Mudstone, which is more on the gray side for new concrete. Mix it with white to get the color tone you want. I use Mudstone on station platforms and wash it with India ink to show dirt and age. You can buy it in Michael’s Craft store for about 75 cents per 2 ounces. It sure beats the RR paints by color and price.
Doc
Ditto on the shellac. I use that plus a thick primer. After that, there’s no way the grain is showing through. Done it, know what I’m talking about.
Another trick I’ve learned is to cover the wood with masking tape to cover up the grain. Its textured surface is abiut like finished cincrete. It also works great to represent roll roofing when painted black.
Sanding sealer is the trick, along with sanding with fine-grade sandpaper. I used Testor’s for smaller things. I have some model roackets from back in my rocket days that you’d SWEAR the fins are plastic - but they are indeed balsa wood. Lots of sanding and applications of sanding sealer before painting ends up with absolutely no wood grain showing through in the end.
–Randy