I have several construction vehicles and other vehicles for that matter that are way too shiny. Would it look right to give them a semi-gloss appearance? Do other modelers do it?
Look for a matte finish product such as Krylon in a spray can or Testor’s Dull Coat. Spray one coat, let it dry, and repeat only once the dried product is deemed insufficient. Or, wash the product well to get any organics off the surface that isn’t paint, and then try a light wash of acrylic craft paint, either dark or very light grey/white.
Crandell
I just use some weathering powder from Tamiya. Work it in to the body and wheels…looks good…
http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87080weathering/index.htm
Will, like Crandell said… a spray of Testors Dullcote works wonders. I also use a suitable color weathering powder on older, dusty vehicles.
Jarrell
I have an older pickup truck that I bought from a train show, but I can’t remember the name of the manufacturer. It’s a snap to take apart and spray with Testors Dullcote. I used Bragdon powders to weather it.
I use Pastello colored paper chalk’s ( pack of 24 various colors from Staples ) I scrape colors i want to use to a powder, wet mist object and apply with a wet brush, after I get it close to what I want I remist it and use a big soft brush (shaving brush) to blend it a bit. This loader took about five minits to do. What I enjoy about this method is that If I dont like it or get tired of looking at I can wash it off and do it over.
I want to thank you all for the response and the photos are all excellent. What about new vehicles? I have several new construction vehicles that will be placed on flat cars. Should they be Dull Coated as well?
Its important that vehicles look right, but not all cars are going to be dirty. Sure trucks and construction machines will, but most people wash/wax their cars with some regularity to try to make them look shiny! Just my thoughts.
Cahrn
I agree with Cahrn, most cars are kept clean, weather it’s the 50s or today. Just drive down the road and notice how many cars are filthy dirty, not that many. Specially people in California, they are crazy about clean detailed out cars, trucks, suvs, in fact there are car washes on every street (like starbucks),
Will,I urge to use caution when weathering construction vehicles…You see these massive machines isn’t extremely filthy or rust buckets.
Keep the dirty areas in prospective such as the tracks,around the track clog gears,blade,bucket.I would dullcote the body.
Construction company trucks are well maintain and kept clean since these trucks portray the company’s public image.
…even out on country back roads I don’t see too many dust covered vehicles of any sort…
…out of all the trucks I’ve seen at various elevators…dump trucks and such I’ve only seen 3…maybe 4 trucks all told that were dirt/rust/grime/dust infested…[;)]
Getting the shine right is still one of the biggest challenges for realistic modeling and realistic photography of automobiles and even railroad rolling stock for that matter.
My own feeling is that we tend to over dullcoat stuff in reaction to the factory shine just not looking right to our eyes. And yet, take a walk through a junk yard and it is surprising how much shine can still be seen on really old and long-abandoned vehicles. Certain paint colors, and perhaps certain paints used by certain auto makers, seem more prone than others to become chalky with age. Construction vehicles and trucks that become dusty at the work site are a different matter of course.
I think the shine of vehicles is one area where on balance we are “not quite there yet” in terms of reliable out of the box realism. I do not know whether it is the paints or the surfaces - or maybe our eyes just react negatively to too much shine in a model railroad context.
Dave Nelson
Actually you said the magic word in your OP - Semi-Gloss.
Instead of Dullcote, which I think leaves too dull a finish for most passenger vehicles (and trucks for that matter) I have used Model Master Semi-Gloss. The results are usually pretty good, but since it is a spray can sometimes they can be a bit off. I see on the web some various bottles are available, so perhaps you can spray the semi-gloss and get a better, smoother finish than from the Spray can.
Cuts down the glossy finish, but still leaves a bit of a shine, which is what you would expect to see from the normal model viewing distances…
Here in The Future, we are blessed with durable, UV-resistant paints for cars. Back in the Transition Era where I come from, though, such was not the case. So, looking at today’s bright, shiny cars and using them as models for the Good Old Days isn’t necessarily going to give you the right look. It was very hard to keep cars looking bright and shiny. Simple washing wouldn’t do it after a while, and even vigorous hand-waxing could only keep the gleam on the surface for so long. Exposure to the sun really killed the old paints. “Undercoating” was a new term back in the 1970’s, so cars would rust out from the inside and the outside. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
I gave this truck a spray of Dullcoat, a bit of rust and dirt with AIM powders, and another spray of Dullcoat. These powders tend to get subdued with the Dullcoat sealant, which helps if I put on too much.
One thing to be careful with is the windows. In general, you don’t want them to be sprayed. You can’t see it too well in this picture (sorry) but on this truck I cut blue painters’ tape to mask the windows before spraying. On the windshield, I didn’t do the whole thing, but rather a couple of arcs where the windshield wipers clear the glass. After spraying, I had a slightly frosted look other than the area cleared by the wipers.