I recently picked up some acrylic weathering colors by Polly Scale. I want to add some weathering to my rolling stock and diesel. I have used them on buildings using the drybrush method once a base color had been painted on. There have been articles in MR on weathering with acrylics and painting with brushes.I plan on using brushes because I don’t own an airbru***hey indicated that the colors were thinned to either 80:20 or 90:10 ratio with water. This seems to me to be a little thin. Wouldn’t this cause the the color to run down the side of the car and puddle at the bottom? What is a good ratio of color to water? Does weathering on the side of either a boxcar or engine cover most of the side or is it generally around the bottom near the trucks and also on the top of the car or engine? Thanks for any help with this. Bob
Can’t help you on the ratios but here’s an Athearn idea.
One method of fading is to Dullcote the car, let it dry overnight, then hit it with a regular spray of
isopropyl alcohol.
Should you not like it, it’s quite reversible-just re-spray will Dullcoat.
The ingredients cause a chemical reaction.
Probably works best on darker colors
You may also consider modeling modern graffiti.
MR July 2000. Use Pentel GEL Pens, thru office supply, Sams club. Comes in 9-10 colors
Bob, I can not help you on the ratio for using with an air brush, the only suggestion I have is try it on some old box cars first. See how it works, then alter the ratio if required. Remember that they are acrylics and that they can be removed with water so if you mess up you can wipe it off your car with a wet cloth. As with you I have only drybrushed for weathering jobs, I would think that unless you have an ultra fine spray your weathering may go on too thick. Best of luck and let us know how your results. Ron.
Ron-If I get the results I’m after would you suggest spraying the car with a light coat of matte finish and if so what brand would you suggest? Thanks Bob
I’ve had much better experience with chalks than with diluted paint to weather models. I usually start by spraying the model with dullcoat, then overweather the model. I complete the process by spraying a final coat of dull coat on the model. the final coat of dullcoat removes part of the chalk. I over weather to compensate for this removal. I like to apply the chalk with a paint brush.
Bob,
Using very thin paint for weathering is what’s refered to as a “wash”.
It is a different technique than dry-brushing, but the two techniques work well together.
Dry-brushing is done with undilluted paint, & wiping most of the paint off the brush.
A wash is made by thinning the paint. It can be brushed or sprayed on. Any excess wash can ce wiped away with a cloth.
Light colored washes are best for dark colored models, & dark washes work best for light colored models.
One thing a wash does best is to add definition to molded-in details, like rivets, seams, ladders, wood grain, bricks, etc…
Remember, though, regardless of what weathering technique you use, it’s best to start out subtle, & gradually build up the weathering in layers.
also, BLAIR LINE makes graffitti decals.
there are several companies that make graffitti decals, including Blair Line and Microscale. I have made some great grafitti decals by taking photographs of protype cars using a 50mm lens. I then had the camera shop put the pictures on a CD. If you have adigital camera or a scanner you can create digital copies of the photos yourself. I sized the images to print in HO scale and printed them on decal paper using an inkjet printer. (Be sure to use decal paper with a white background.) When I added the decals to my models they looked great.
Drew-Thanks for the advise. I’ve been offline for a while. I’ve tried some experimentation with washes and drybrushing. The problem I found with drybrushing is a tendency for a blotchy application. I sort of overcame this by thinning the paint as you would for a wash and then drying off the excess with a paper towel. It works pretty good. I gave also tried using a Q-Tip instead of a brush for drybrushing using the paint full strength and blotting the excess and the applying the color. This too works pretty good. Thanks again for the help.
Here’s a couple of tips you might want to try:- For washes I ususally use ink rather than thinned down paint; indian ink is much better for dark washes it flows really well and really makes the detail stand out (if you look around you can find different coloured inks as well as black, dark brown is really good for wood effects). If I want water stains I tend use white artists acrylic ink, its much harder to get right though!
As far as dry brushing is concerned use the biggest softest brush you can find and get almost all the paint off (it should be dry to the touch) - I tend to use the edge of my workbench to make sure its right, I always find the thicker the paint the better for dry brushing, but if your getting good results with thin paint stick with it.
I have to say that I only purchased an airbrush a couple of years ago (after about 15 years of brush painting) and you really can’t beat it for dirt/grime/rust dust build up.
Finally I hope you enjoy experimenting - weathering for me is just about my favourite bit of this awesome hobby.
James - Hampshire, England
James-Thanks for the tips. When it came to weathering on my layout doing the buildings was not a real problem.The results were good.I used a combination of washes and drybrushing.For some things that were made of wood I got good results using the dirtiest paint thinner I had and used it to stain the wood and in some cases like with wood fences I used full strength acrylics and then used washes and some drybrushing for weathering accents.However the thought of adding weathering to my diesel loco and rolling stock worries me some. After reading all these replies I think the best thing to do would be to test them on an old box car and see which one(s) work the best. Thanks again to you and the others who replied. This is a great place to get help with a great hobby. It’s a good feeling to get help from others and to be able to also help others. Bob