I just picked up a plate girder bridge. It’s black. Should I paint over it again in a flat black before I give it some weathering?
Thanx,
Rob Carignan
Portland, Maine
Weathering any structure follows the same principles as weathering a loco or freight car -
- era
- location
- environment
- level of maintenance
- history
A bridge won’t be shiny unless it’s just been painted… but the painting usually takes days because of traffic and the size of the job… so one end can still be dull/weathered while the other is new paint (at the least).
[8D]
PS… you may well find that a coat of dull coat does a better job than matt paint… plus it will make the plastic more receptive to paint and other weathering materials.
[8D]
I just installed the Micro Engineering 160’ combination deck and through girder. I felt that the plastic looked a bit translucent, even though it was black. So, I would recommend a light coat of pure black acrylic over it, and then use a fine brush tip to draw thin orangey lines on each side of the flanges and at rivet rows, on horizontal surfaces and ledges where rusty water might pool and dry over time, and so on.
This view is rather oblique, so the effect seems a bit strong…in my opinion…but here is how it turned out.
Thanks for the photos. There are a plethera of rusty ol’ plate girder bridges in Maine. I think I’ll head out with my camera.