My plan is to start weathering my fleet of rolling stock over a period of a couple of months. I’ve only used an airbrush in the past. Is there any pros or cons to the few brands of weathering powders out there? Bragdon vs AIM? Has anyone tried the Doc OBrien brand sold by Micro-Mark?
Any info would be helpful. Thanks
Mike
I’ve used AIM powders and I’m very happy with them. That’s what my LHS sells, so that’s why I bought them.
I usually Dull-Coat the model, add weathering with a brush, and then Dull-Coat it again to seal the powder.
Don’t overdo it. Subtle weathering is better than extreme weathering, unless you’re modeling a scrapyard. This…
to this:
Most of the weathering is on the lower half of the engine, because that’s where most of the dirt collects. I used black and rust-red on this one. You can also see how the Dull-Coat flattens the entire paint job as well as providing “tooth” for the powder and then coating the model to keep the powder in place.
Dull-Coat will interact with the powder a bit, and reduce its effect. This is most noticeable with lighter colors.
I have a set of weathering chalks I’ve had for decades. Don’t remember the manufacturer. What I have needs to be over-sprayed with a sealer (Dullcoat has worked for me). The over-spray will lessen the effects and cause you a do-over. One of the manufacturers you mentioned: Bragdon’s or Doc O’Brian’s has a fixative added, so the chalks will stay in place and won’t need to be over-sprayed, I would go with which ever one has the fixative.
I use Doc O’Briens weathering powders & I absolutely love them. I’ve found them very easy to use in conjunction with a make-up/rouge brush. You can buy a set of 4 different size brushes in the women’s facial care/make-up section at Walmart for $3.-$4. I’ve used Doc O’Briens on rolling stock, locos, structures & even gotten some very nice effects with them on landscaping, like rock faces. Here’s a couple pieces of rolling stock that I did with them.
For the money, I think you’ll find a set of Doc O’Briens well worth it.
Carl
I use Smokey mountains stuff, it’s nice but I wish I didn’t have to put a second layer of dullcote onto the weathering. it looses it’s effect, so this has to be done in layers. Tell me PC fans is she dirty enough?
There are a lot of different options out there. A lot of times it comes down to what was in stock at the LHS. I like Taimeya Weathering powders myself.
Your mileage may vary, Derek
http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87080weathering/
Thanks for all the info so far. I know that Bragdon and AIM advertise as being self-adhesive … is that true with all the weathering powders?
Hi Kelley,
I can’t speak for ALL weathering powders. I can say that Tamiya is “self-adhesive” . It stays stuck where you apply it. So much so that I don’t need to be concerned about shooting it with Dull Coat right away.
No, most chalk manufacturers do not come as self adhesive (have fixative). Most colored chalks are not manufactured for the purposes of weathering model railroad models. They are used as an artistic media, similar to water colors; or, oil paints.
Your bringing up the name AIM has jogged my memory. That is what I have, although mine comes from before they added fixative to their chalks.