weathering and stuff i dont know and have a lot of questions.

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

mixing paint for air brush,water based paint. how much of each to thin? how much alcahol do put in water when u do ballast or scenery. i will have more to ask in the future or is there another place to find out this,or what do you all recamend? thanks, frank

2

The paint will give you the recommended ratio on the bottle. It should say something like 75% paint- 25% acrylic reducer, or something of that nature. I’ve only tried acrylics once, and I can say I don’t care for them as my primary medium. If I try them again, I would probably use a little alcohol in the mix. Regardless of how you mix, make sure you wash the plastic well with soap and water beforehand.

As for the ballast, I’m a ways away from that but believe it was 10% alcohol.

3

Kalmbach has many excellent “How To” books that can be found on this Web Page’s tool bar: Shop/Books. There is also a “How To” and “Video” link on the tool bar that has useful information on a number of topics.

These links can also direct you to numerous digital downloads on a variety of topics that will be very valuable for your Model Railroad Library.

Wayne

4

Frank, far as ground foam I use straight water with a drop of dish soap in a spray bottle. Wet well, for glue I use 50% Elmer’s and 50% water. For Ballast I do the same as I listed for ground foam, but before I apply the glue I use a eye dropper with Alcohol and apply it to the Ballast. Then I add the Glue. Any spot that the Glue does not soak in fast, I hit with some more Alcohol.

You might all so do a search here on the topic you want to read about.

Cuda Ken

5

For acrylic paints you want to thin it to a milky consistency. For thinner you can use an 80/20 mix of water/alcohol.

For ballasting and scenery, I mist it (use a fine mister, like a plant mister) with alcohol until it’s wet then add the glue, thinned about 50-60% with water. I usually add a couple of drops of dish detergent to that to help it soak in. I put this mix in an Elmers bottle and adjust it to just barely dribble out. Dribble it on until you start to see the glue puddle.