I was wondering what the model railroad community uses for weathering powders other than the usual powders from (example) doc o’briens,aim bagdon etc.Has anyone tried using pigments that are put into clay or mortar mix.
ordinary pastel chalks. That’s all weathering powders are. (Except they are ground up)
You shave it off by scrapping the stick with a #11 blade.
There’s a good selection at dick blicks:
http://www.dickblick.com/categories/pastels/#mediumandhardpastels
These worked very well for me and were recommended by my wife who does art as a hobby
http://www.dickblick.com/products/prismacolor-nupastel-color-sticks/
True weathering powders have an adhesive quality to them. I prefer Bragdon, regular chaulk will work but also is harder to set w/ a flat finish. Much of your hard work will disappear. The Bragdom holds quite well, may times I don’t have to recoat to protect the finish.
Weathering powders are not chalk. I believe they are pigments used in making paint. While on a visit to Bar Mills a few years ago, Art was telling us of their packaging weathering powders, how the powder would get all over everything. I casually asked him what the powders actually were, but he wasn’t giving out any secrets!
Packages of multiple boxes of weathering powders from any of the manufacturers aren’t very expensive, why bother trying to find alternatives?
The reason for asking about alternatives especially the pigment was I found a place that sells the pigments by the pound for like 2 or 3 dollars depending on the colors.That seems inexpensive enough at least to try but thought I’d ask if anyone else has done this.Thanks for the responses.
But how would you know if he didn’t tell you the secret ingrediants?
True artist chalks are not sidewalk chalk!
I’ve tried name brand weathering powders, and the prisma colors artist chalks and I get just as good results with a wider variety of colors for less money.
But if you are worried about adhesion, you could always use oil based chalks which adhere better because they are softer.
Oil-based chalks cost more than the weatherinng powders from Bragdon and you would still have to make powder out of them and that’s actually not that easy with oil-based chalks - they’re more like crayons.
What’s this aversion towards using the powders from Bragdon and others? They work great, as good as or better than chalks.
Pastels aren’t chalk either. They do have an oil base to help them adhere. But I agree with the general sentiment: commercial weathering powders are a pretty cheap investment, and it’s not really worth trying to find an alternative, since the Internet gives everyone access to all products.
You can use dry brushing or airbrushing as an alternative to weathering with powders, if you wish, but if you’re going to use powders, use the stuff designed for weathering.
The origina of weathering powders was mentioned on another forum at another time.
The origins of weathering powders was mentioned on another forum at another time.
Oh I’m not adverse to Bragdon or Doc O’Brian powders. In fact I own them both.
But the OP asked about alternatives. And I gave them. They really do work well for me and give me more choices of colors.
About twenty years ago I wandered into a local art supply store where they were in the process of relocating and hence were discounting a lot of their merchandise. On their discount table they had two packs of chalks of unknown manufacturer - the labels were unreadable and no one currently employed could even remember them ever having been on the sales floor - which someone had discovered shoved to the back of a shelf in the storeroom… I will presume they are artist chalks.
I forked over the grand total of a buck for both packages, ground them up in an electric pencil sharpener, stored them in film cassettes, and have been using them for my weathering projects ever since. They have worked fine although I have had little use for some of the more exotic blends. I have set through several Bragdon clinics at NMRA conventions and his product works well but I will probably stay with chalks since I have gotten used to working with them.
Regarding the use of coloring pigments: when I broached this subject to a clerk at this same art supply store.she said that she could see no reason why they would not work.
Not often mentioned but I have had good success with the weathering powders from A.I.M. here is their website: http://www.aimprodx.com/index.php?page=order
I have used sifted fireplace ash with some success as a weathering powder. I have also used ground up charred wood from the fireplace, also sifted.
They darken wood and give a sense of age and detail to Chooch cast resin walls. They are less effective on plastic unless the plastic has a rough or dulled surface.
Dave Nelson