i was wondering…i dont really want to go out to buy chalks to weather my cars with, and i have seen some really good results with acrylic paint, and i was wondering if there was a thread about weathering with paints or if someone could give me some pointers. much appreciated.
You can use acrylics, but there are two ways. One is to dip the brush in the undiluted stuff, and swipe your brush over paper until almost no colour comes off on the paper. That is the point at which you can swipe the brush over the parts to be weathered. Some folks swipe upward, others downward, and many do both in an attempt to get what appears to the eye to be realistic. You will almost certainly have to blend the effect with one other colour, maybe even three. Brown, tan, orange, umber, and charcoal are good bets. Some darker greys might be okay, too.
The other method is to make a wash, with one or two colours, and ‘wet’ it with alcohol or one drop of dish detergent. This wash would be one part paint to fifteen-twenty parts water. You paint the object, and let it dry, repaint, and redry, and so on until you get the desired tones. Once you are satisfied with what you have, in either method, fix the weathering with Dull-coat.
Bottom line, you have to trust your instincts, your courage, your hand, and your eye. You have to try different things, and learn intelligently. This is not for the faint of heart, especially if things begin to look ugly. If they begin to go downhill, wipe off what you have, and use a heavy dark, or light coloured wash, as appropriate for the base coat of the model, to buy back the last two steps. Adjust, and start a new approach.
Good luck.
well luckily i have alot of busted up cars to work with, something to practice on…and cant you wash off the acrylics with water?
Not after the paint has dried.
Why the reluctance to buy some weathering chalks? They aren’t very expensive. Plain chalks can be washed off if you don’t like the effect.
Weathering powders are a different thing - they have a built in adhesive that is activated by rubbing the powder onto the model. They normally do not require a fixative like Dullcoat to protect them.
Bar Mills Models and Bragdon Enterprises both make small boxes of weathering powders that come with four different colors, all for $10.00. Might be worth a try. I know I’m happy with them.
Bob Boudreau
I’d like to give them a try, Bob. I had the acrylics because they were available at Walmart, cheap, and needed for some model painting. I tried my hand at weathering a mine building, and it was,…uh…bad. However, my turntable bridge went very well…I was learning. I used powdered chalk for my LL 0-6-0, and am pleased with that result. If I can find some of the weathering chalks that you describe, I will give them a go so that I can discuss them with confidence.
One of the tricks to weathering with acrylics (like dollar store or craft store paints) is to do the first drybrushing witha colour that is close to the original colour of the car. Do not immediately go for the browns, blacks, greys, rusts or the effect will look too “contrasty”.
If your car is boxcar red, for example, mix up a slightly lighter version using red, green, and a touch of white or tan to “fade” the paint. Drybru***hat on the big flat surfaces of the car before you do your grimy washes and/or drybrushed dirt & dust.
“Fading” the paint job first will make it look like the whole car has been outside for a long time, rather than a brand new car that just ran through a mud puddle.
Andrew
Very thin acrylic paint or paint that has been just applied can be removed from some surfaces. I use q-tips soaked in 70% alcohol cut with a little water to take the sting out of it. That should take care of the newly applied acrylic if you don’t like the result.
When the paint cures for a few days, it becomes dangerous to try to remove it.
I’ve done most of my weathering on locos, rolling stock and buildings with chalks and dullcote. I’ve tried brushing acrylics, but I’m not too good with them. I anticipate getting an airbrush in the near future for some serious weathering, but for now chalks seem to be getting the job done. (and if I don’t like it, I can wash it off and start over!)
I doubt I will ever be as good as AggroJones though! His weathering is fantastic!