I see a lot of powdered pastel weathering products out there. Can I get the same effects by buying chalk pastels at the art store and grinding them up myself. Seems like it would be cheaper. Comments?[*-)]
Yes you can.
I got a set of drawing chalks about 20 years ago to use for weathering. You want an ‘earth tone’ set if you can get it, or just buy the individual colors. However, I have used the red to tome down white lettering on a red boxcar.
I don’t know if they are cheaper or not. You will have to be the judge of that.
I used pastels for a while also. I ran into a couple of problems that could be traced back to the use of powdered chalk(pastels). When chalks are made they have a small amount of oil added as well as an ingredient to bind them together into a stick. When you rub that stick on some sand paper to get your powder there is no way you can get the particle size small enough to match that of one of the weathering powders. The smaller the particle size the better the adhesion. Also the residual oil and binder act as lubricants hindering the powder from sticking to the surface of the model .If you want to seal the surface after weathering with the powder, you’ll find that the sealant- in most cases Dullcote- will blow away the chalk you have just applied. Then you will have to re-apply your chalk powder. I have repeated the process 3 to 4 times over per car- wasting a lot of time and Dullcote. I found that using the powders and then sealing I may only lose a relatively small amount of the powder and there is seldom the need for multiple applications. The savings in time and Dullcote are well worh the costs of the powders.
There are several suppliers of weathering powders and some have small trial sized mini-kits reasonably priced.
I hope this helps.
Mark B
I tried them one time, and threw them in the trash!!
You would be better off to spend alittle extra money and get some better powders. Those powders will have to be done over and over. Several steps to get them to show. The better brands, about one time. Two if you want some depth.
Two brands are Bragdons, and AIMS. I use AIMS 100% of the time. Its a great powder, and good prices.
You do know that ordinary ground pigments for paint fabrication is way cheaper than all of the above…
It works like the weathering pigments as well. Maybe except from the MIG powders, those are mixed with something that makes them stick really good!
I’ve used both and found the powders to be better for 90% of applications. They do seem expensive but the amount you get lasts a lo-o-o-ong time.