Simple weathering techinque I learned from this forum.

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Months ago, before I had any rolling stock, while lurking around the forum I stumbled upon a post that described a very simple way to weather cars.

I wasn’t looking to turn the cars into works of art, only to get rid of the glossy finish, and add some age and character.Now none of this is going to be a great revelation to the old hands, but if you’re still looking to turn new cars into old ones, it might be worth a try.

The car in question is an Accurail 55 ton open hopper. The finish out of the box is dull black.

I used these 3 acrylic paints.

Mix together until you get the color that you like

Thin this mixture with a little water to create the wash, then it brush on. You do not have to be neat, just slosh it on. I try to avoid wetting the couplers. It will dry in about 30 minutes. If you don’t like the way it looks, a wet paper towel will remove it. Start over. You can also add additional coats. Practice on an old test car.

The result. This works for me. A tip of the hat to the forum.

2

Looks like a heavily used car to me. Maybe you want to fade the lettering a little more as it looks too clean and crisp for the state of repair the car is in.

Personally, I´d like my locos and rolling stock a little less weathered, as I model a region and time when railroad staff took pride in keeping their equipment in excellent condition. I call that the “used, but not abused”-look.

3

If I told my yard crew once, I told them a hundred times. " Please take better care of the rolling stock "

They never listen.

4

I will have to try that sometime. Looks great.

where did you get the paint?

sfb

5

I learned from an article in MRR that water colors, those paints that kids use for watercolor painting works quite well. What I like about the watercolors is that you can get a subtle look of weathering with them. I tried it on some gray covered hoppers, that would have more of a “dusty” look than an “industrial grime” look. They suit me fine; took away the “clean toy-like” finish, dulled it down and added some subtle weathering as well. What’s nice about these watercolors is that you can take a damp cloth and wipe them off if you don’t like the effect.

6

I got this paint at Jo-Ann’s. It’s also available at almost every on-line art supply store I’ve been to. Each brand also has it own web site. Mike.

7

Another easy way is when you put thinner in your airbrush cup to clean it out use it as a wash to weather stuff rather then just blow it into the air.

8

Well, I tried it, only forgot to water it down. The results still looked really good. I’ll have pictures as soon as I figure out how[:D]. Thanks for the idea, Tashtego.

sfb

9

You use a similar technique I use. The only difference is I paint it on and then take a paper towel and get the excess off and build up the layers as it also lets the paint get more heavy around the rivets and seams and in the end I get the lightly dirty rolling stock look. Yours looks good ![Y]

10

Nice work! I’ll have to give that a whirl when I get around to tackling the rolling stock. I was planning on the chalk method, but this is certainly worth a try as well.

Thanks for the pics!

Jim

11

I tried that too, it also looks very good. Thanks all.

sfb

12

I’m with Ulrich on this one. A light dusting if you will.[;)]

Those paints are available in The Great White North at Walmart for $2.00 each. I grab a few every time I go in.I may give your method a go, but with a much more diluted brew

Brent