I seem to recall seeing something a while back about weathering with iron oxide to make a model look rusty, but I can’t find any specifics about it. Can someone fill me in, or point me in the right direction?
RAY
try this site www.rustall.com
this might be what your looking for. BEN
Also go to
http://www.robbennett.org/ and click on the REAL RUST
And then there is Jeff Saxton’s great tips page http://hometown.aol.com/jbsaxton/Rust.html
Matthew.[bow] Jaa ne…
Here is an interesting thing to do with rust; and evidentally it is just about a world wide thiing.
I do a lot of moulding of Maxgrip ( an advanced concrete mix) blocks and every so often the moulding take on a distinct tan look and by itslef and interspersed with normal blocks they look pretty good, but this should not happen.
The person that sold the system to me comes from New York State and when i mentioned it to her, she has the same problem and her hardware store came up with the same view that a civil engineeer did here in Queensland and also a similar view was offerd from the UK.
Minute particles of iron in the water on tap was rusting slightly and causing the phenonema; i think this is correct and as i said it actually looks pretty good so its pointl;ess going on trying to find a cure we don’t need.
We cannot mould in summer here because it is too hot, however we have sought to increase our moulding times by using cold watter straight out of the water dispenser in out frig and the results have been indeterminate.
Rgds Ian
Another alternative is a solution of iron acetate. This is a fancy name for steel wool, dissolved in ordinary white vinegar. Take a pasta sauce jar, and fill it with vinegar. Then, take a golf-ball sized wad of steel wool, and drop it in. Replace the lid, though it needn’t be tight. Every day or so, shake the solution until all the steel wool has been dissolved into the vinegar. (You may want to tighten the lid prior to shaking.) It typically takes a week or so for this solution to fully react, and it has a limited shelf life once exposed to the atmosphere, so make some up when you start a project, and it should be ready to go when you’re finished (unless you have a 3 month old, and don’t get to the workshop more than once a week. [:)] )
Click on the banner in my signature, then go to “motive power” and then “TRR #3” for photos of the effects. (Or look in the April GR.)
Later,
K
Hi Ray
While you are on the home and colonial web site do check out his figures.
the Guard (Conductor??)on the colonial page thats him the little indian chap with the swallow tailed green flag at the top of the page is mine[:D]
he was a custom made figure the van is Rob’s Corris van.
If you are a live steam railway man also check the “with brass knobs on” pageas well.
The iron vinegar mix Ken metioned is also good for weathering wood to the
greyish colour old wood has as well
So will come in handy for wagon building stain the wood before building once the glue is there it will not grey the wood.
regards John
One quick word of caution about using the iron acetate for weathering wood - not all woods react the same. For instance, basswood will turn something on the greyi***an side of things, while spruce will turn almost orange. Cedar and balsa wood turn completely brown! So, try a little on some scrap wood to see how it develops over an hour or so. (And it will take time to “develop.” It reacts with the oxygen in the air.) You may get a color you like, then again, you may not.
For weathering wood, I’m more and more a fan of a very dilute wash of grey paint–it’s fairly equal regardless of the type of wood; and at a very dilute strength, will soak in like stain into the cracks and crevaces.
But experiment, and see what strikes your fancy. If it weren’t for me playing with iron acetate and spilling it on my workbench, I would never have thought to use it as a rusting agent on painted surfaces.
Later,
K
PS - John, no worries, but it’s “Kevin.” Common mistake, compounded by me not signing my full name.
Hi Kevin
OOPS! Sorry I have been around long enough I should have known.
With the vinegar trick I did not believe it when I was first told about it.
Must have got lucky and the wood I used it turned grey
Will have to fiddle around a bit more and see what it does to some of the
local timbers sounds like a case of make sure you have the right wood for the right effect.
Regards John
I’ve had a wad of steel wool soaking in a jar of white vinegar for several days now, and so far it hasn’t shown the slightest hint of rusting or dissolving. Anyone know what the deal is? The package doesn’t say anything about it being stainless steel or rust-proof.