I’m a little new to weathering and would like to know what tips you guys may have. I have experimented a bit with pastels but haven’t figured out what to use to seal it with. I am also thinking about getting into airbrushing. What should I get to airbrush with and again, what techniques do you guys use?
Try adding pastels to alcohol And creating a wash with it, simple and no need to seal it. Remember, less is always better.
I do almost all of my weathering using dry-brushing, where you remove most of the pain from the brush before swiping or dabbing the item to be weathered. I have used an airbrush, even taken a workshop in doing so, but I still only use it to cover entire structures / cars ( using a light gray to simulate fading of the paint.
I completely agree with Geared Steam, though. Go easy on the weathering. It’s much easier to add a little more than to try to remove it and start over.
Get some old cheap cars from a flea market or train show to try first before you do your good stuff. Then you can try anything without fear of ruining your good cars.
Most of my weathering is done with the Chalks that are available from Walthers!
I usually only weather cars that get damaged and I have to fix (glue) them up
Rather than try and repain them - I just weather the H— out of them to hide the damaged part!
As my layout is for OPERATIONS! and not looking at how much detail I can knock off
The cars look OK! weathered up to hide the bad spots!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
All my equipment and buildings get at least a generic weathering of powdered charcoal. You can get it at an art supply store like Michael’s. I apply it liberally, then use a soft kitchen paper towel to remove a lot of it, leaving ‘dirt’ in cracks and crevices, around rivets, etc. You can seal it in with a flat spray like Testor’s dullcote or Tamiya semi-gloss spray cans. The charcoal doesn’t dissolve like some chalk-type weathering powders do when sprayed. (I often add a little chalk weathering after sealing in the charcoal.)
Unlike paint or alcohol/india ink weathering, the powdered charcoal can be washed off up until the time you seal it in with flat spray. So if you don’t like the results, clean it off and start over!!