Weathering Trepidation

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

So I have a bunch of Rolling Stock (17 pieces. A small collection by some standards), and three loco’s (2-6-0, 4-6-2, and GP7…aka the motley crew). I have looked in awe at Aggrojones’ work, shaking my head at the incredible job he has done weathering his loco’s and rolling stock. I personally see him as king of weathering.

All of my rolling stock and loco’s are pristine and like new out of the box. I want to weather them, but I’m afraid to take the plunge. I’m afraid of botching it up. Has any else had this trepidation about weathering? How did you get over it? Did you just dive in? Were you successful on your first go round or did you ruin a perfectly good piece of rolling stock…or worse a loco?

I guess I need a little push and a pep talk to get me going.

Trevor

2

Oh yes, I can relate.

I started weathering my cheapest rolling stock first. That way, if I screwed up, the loss would be minimal. I slowly worked up to some of my more pricey rolling stock (keep in mind that I don’t own any really expensive stuff). In then end, I have yet to really foul anything up – but it’s bound to happen. You just have to accept it.

To this day I still have not attempted any weathering on my Locos. And it’s not like I have expensive Kato’s either… It’s just that my skills still need additional developing before I take it that far.

3

Do not start on your favorite stuff! Buy some garage sale stuff, or some new bottom of the line rolling stock. Start with the basics, dull-coat and and pastel chalks. Then try a few rust marks and scratches with small (tiny) brushes and paint you can clean up with water. Go slow and determine what you like, and what you are good at. Then move on to one of your keepers.

4

I can certainly understand your hesitation! I went through the same thing.

It’s really hard to really botch weathering, fortunately (that’s why I can do a halfway decent job!).

eng22 really has the key - start with the basics and work up from there. Before you know it, you’ll be a pro!

5

Good advice from eng22. Just jump in and try it, you’ll be amazed how easy it is to do and the difference it makes. Start with a little and keep building it up until it looks right.

On light colored cars (white, light green, light blue) a great way to simulate faded paint is to dull coat, then spray with regular rubbing alcohol. If you don’t like it, just dull coat again and it goes away.

eng22, where is Annpere?

Larry
Holly, MI

6

I hear ya.
eng22’s idea of starting with garage sale trains is a good one, but frankly you can also start with something as cheap and common as a discarded plastic laundry detergent bottle or a piece of cardboard. Washes are easy; so are chalks that are fixed with dullcoat. They are also more reversible. Years ago a young man wrote an article for MR about using spray cans of paint but not hitting the engine or car directly – he painted hard against a sheet of cardboard that was held at an angle near the train so the paint would “bounce” onto the train. With practice (such as on that cheapo train or plastic bottle etc) surprisingly sophisticated effects can be achieved without having to fire up the air brush. I found some camoflage color spray paints at the hardware store that work well
Dave Nelson

7

I agree,go to trainshows,there’s always boxes of inexpensive stuff around, on your own stuff,start with the trucks and wheels,older cars are grimy black,add some browns to simulate rust,and diffenately get some chalks and dullcote.

8

TrevorG, jump in the water is fine! If I start to compare my own work with aggrojones’ (and so many others here at the forum), I would never work with my scenery and rolling stock. The only way to learn how to weather rolling stock is to jump in and try it. You will soon find what works for you and what doesn’t. Have fun and be sure to post it here for us see.

Have fun!

9

I am not very good at this yet, but have a lot of fun doing it. I started by weathering some cheap and nasty rolling stock that I purchased from e-bay before I knew the difference between junk and decent. I particularly enjoy weathering with my boys.

The milk reefer done by my son (5) and the box car on the right by his cousin (11). It was the first time the cousin had ever tried weathering anything.

Have fun with it, and let your skill develop.

10

Trevor,

I took a page out of MAbruce’s book and weathered a cheap $6 Athearn tanker first. For a first attempt, I think it turned out okay.

Trevor, it’s any consolation, I STILL havent’ weathered any of my nicer cars or locomotives. I want to finish up (i.e. finalize) my layout design before working on or thinking about weathering. I would like to study up on it more before attempting anything serious. There are some good help references out there on the subject. MR Purblishing makes a couple.

The way I see it, weathering to me is like icing on the cake. First I want to finishing “baking my cake” before I start trying to “ice” it. [:)]

Tom

11

Wow guys, thanks for the encouragment[tup]. I know I’m gonna jump in and get not just my feet wet, but all of me wet![(-D]

Do you have any suggestions (step-by-step) on how to weather an oxide coloured boxcar? I think I’ll start there. I do NOT have an airbrush. Go from there…

Thanks Again,
Trevor

12

I agree with what I’ve read in these messages. I started with dry brushing acrylics and using chalk on old cars. I put off weathering valuable things (to me, any smooth-running engine or a Kadee car is valuable) but gained confidence, tried it, and liked the results. Recently, I’ve even experimented with using spray cans of primer (for rust) and flat black sprayed directly (but sparingly) onto cars then using a soft brush and paint thinner to brush off as much paint as possible (not the original paint ;-)). The results are surprisingly good, I think. I’ve seen overly weathered cars and engines that look like they were caught in a mud ball fight, so caution against over doing it, except for a special effect
PS, I’m new to this. Who is Aggrojones?

13

cwolf,

Just do a search on “Aggrojones” or “Weekend Photo Fun” and you’ll soon discover who this fella is. He’s quite the talented guy.

Tom

14

Are there any water soluble products available that could be used in conjunction with chalks, and washed off with warm water and soap in the future if the aged look was no longer wanted?

15

Bottom line is, if you want it to look real some degree of weathering is in order. Just go railfanning one weekend and you will realize you can’t “over” weather. Most of the suggestions I read above are appropriate, especially the stuff about getting a cheap car or locomotive to start on. The good thing about that is weathering is the best way to make a cheap model look good. Study the photos, read weathering articles and then dive in and have fun.

16

If by oxide you mean ‘white’ (zinc or titanium oxide, for examples), I would begin with either red or orange chalk, or a wash of the same colours of acrylic paint, and give them one or two light coats, with dull-coat in between each. Each application of whatever, Dull-coat or wash, should be allowed to dry. YOU MUST BE PATIENT!

Once you have done, say, two light coats of the colours, try two more of an India Ink and alcohol wa***o get that streaked soot that RVs pick up over the year, 'cuz really everything gets it due to industrial fallout, pollen, automobile traffic, etc.

My first attempt was an unmitigated flop…no two ways about it. I built the Walthers Concrete Coaling Tower, the monster, with the intent of perching it on the side of my rather huge mountain as a coal mine. I used acrylic paints in what I thought was a ‘wash’, but it was way too strong. It is acceptable now but looks like a heavy hand had at it. I then used diluted acrylic on the Walthers Valley Cement complex, and it had promise that is still promise. It is getting better.

I then dove in with my BLI J-1e (yeooowwww!), but didn’t do any harm because I was timid. I can undo some of the not so realistic parts where the acrylic pooled and dried. I won’t use acrylic on that loco again, but the next item, the bridge on my turntable, was a spectacular success…with acrylics!

The last attempt was with chalk, on my P2K 0-6-0, and it took about five light applications of dusted chalk, then Dull-coat, until it began to look quite good, if I may be the judge.

Sorry, I’ve gone on, but I endorse what the others have said. Learn, enjoy, don’t fret when you err, and do by all means expose yourself to this character-building process. It is not for the faint of heart, true, but you will eventually be happy that you went ‘there’.

17

A word of advice from somebody who financed the hobby for over thirty years by custom painting. All of the above is good advice but the main thing to remember is that the hardest part of weathering is knowing when to STOP.

18

AggroJones is an weathering inspiration. Give it a try yourself, weathering isn’t hard. Practice on something cheap. I’d recommend you “soot” the unit with black chalk first followed by a coat of Testors dull cote. Then add dust, rust, etc. The dull cote “grabs” the chalk and keeps it on. If you apply dull cote over the dust colors they usually don’t show up very well. Good luck!

19

I use Braxton Mills, the more you put em “on” the more they “Stick” then I hit em with dullcoat.

I bought a make up brush set from walmart, I must tell you that applying the powder with the brushes will wear them out over time.

If you check my link to the Falls Valley photos and find a cut of 4 yellow reefers at a cold storage they were weathered. Ive a Bowser caboose that came out really well. That one will lead me to weather my M1a from BLI.

But not before I buy a new set of powder and brushes. I have spend the first part of this year weathering Athearn 40 foot boxcars. They now look acceptable instead of shiny colors.

There is always room for improvement. But really good stuff like the LL Mallet 2-8-8-2 will have to wait for another day.

20

Thanks. Ya’ll gonna make me blush. [:I]

Simple start out : After cleaning all finger prints and oil off the car, I’d give the whole body a wash of redish-brown paint. You can use the cheap Walmart acrylics mixed with rubbing alcohol and water. It doesn’t have to be Polly S. Once dry I’d spray dullcote the car from ever angle to kill any shinny spots. A few days after the finish cures, use a soft bruo work tan color pastel chalks around the car, especially near the bottom edge where the most dirt collects. Then come in with black pastel powder and soot up that roof. If you used enough chalk on the dullcote, then you won’t have to re-apply it after then next step. Spray the entire thing with dullcote again.
Dry bruhe couplers dark rust.

Should be somthing like this.

Study prototype equiptment. All my weathering comes straight from reality. Coming across images of old-school stuff in color is much more difficult than finding images of, say modern Hicube boxes. Some Pentrex videos are packed with great 1940-1950 footage of steam locos and rolling stock. ‘Historic Hotspots’, 'The Big Boy Collection’, ‘Southern Pacific Classic Collector’s Series’ are pretty good . Charles Smiley’s ‘SP Vintage West’ is another great one.

You gotta believe you can do it. Believe.

PS --I was going to kick off the weathering clinic when my Photobucket account bandwith resets or whatever.