Anyone have any recommendations on either a Polly Scale or Delta Ceramcoat color(s) to use to simulate a used/aged asphalt parking lot?
Hi,
I’ve had a bottle of Testors “rubber” that I use for painting tires. The other day I used it for an overhead crane, and it really came out nice. I believe it will make an excellent “used” asphalt paint as well, for it is an off black with a hint of bronze in it. I suggest you try it out, and let us know how you like it.
Mobilman44
I knew an off black was in the offing. I am surprised though at the bronze you mentioned. I would have never thought of that. I’ll try and give it a shot.
Sorry, but I’m a Scotsman, and thrift will always be my thing. Proud of it, too.
I use basic Gray acrylic paint from the craft store. I’ve bought it on sale for as little as a quarter for a small container that lasts a long time. I usually make my roads with Durhams Water Putty (hardware store stuff) and then paint them with a wash of that gray paint (paint plus water) so that it’s just a trifle uneven, adding to the look. I can still touch it up with straight paint from the container. Also, as the layout grows, I can always get “gray” and it will match up perfectly. That’s a good reason not to mix paints to get a color you will use frequently - you don’t have to worry about duplicating the mix again later.
And that Mr. B is exactly what I am trying to avoid, having to mix a color and then trying to duplicate it later.
Bearman–
Woodland Scenics makes an ‘asphalt’ stain that seems to work pretty well without mixing other shades into it. Although it looks dark going on, it lightens as it dries to a fairly realistic ‘used’ color, at least for me. I used it to lighten up my mountain roads on my layout. Applied it with a sponge, and I was pretty happy with the results. It’s a little more expensive than regular MR paints, but I found out that a little goes a long, long way.
Tom
Another thing to consider is the area you’re modelling. Come up here to NE Pennsylvania and I can show you red roads. When they’re first paved, the asphalt is the standard black color, but as the tar wears off the stone part of the paving, the color of the stone shows through. Up here (mainly Carbon County) they use a red shale for the stone component of the paving. Depending on the stone used in the area you’re modelling, it can easily be one of many shades of grey or brown. As the tar ages, it will also “grey” to a degree. Color photos of the area you’ll be modelling would be the best guide.
I wouldn’t really worry about this. Patches rarely, if ever, match the color of the original paving. Areas paved at different times are not likely to match color either.
I may check into the WS stain, although I wonder if it will work on a nonporous styrene surface. As for Mr. Tom, I am modelling, such as I can, the Arizona desert around here with a touch of the red rock country, and the ashpalt just pretty much turns from black to gray over time. I take to heart your point about patches.
A couple weeks ago a guy had some paper he got from a scrapbook shop that was a perfect match for parking lot asphalt. Check out the fancy papers in the scrapbook shops or Michaels or the equivalent.EASY
I used a light charcoal gray flat latex(Cheap house paint) mostly because I had it laying around.Put that over the drywall mud road, then applied 2-3 washes of flat black.For the cracks I used a fine tip sharpie:
Hope it helps!
Terry
Might want to prime the styrene first. I’ve got that WS and it looks great for newer asphalt but it’s a little dark for used and old roads.
The D.O.T. never worries about matching road colors, why should we![:P]
Asphalt varies so much in weathering that trying to paint all your road the same out of the bottle color just won’t be very realistic. Now if you needed to continue the same street, then you need to save some of the mix and remember your weathering technique.