Unusual weathering methoods.

[Ray Dunakin]

Putting a model outdoors and letting the elements "weather" it rarely works out very well. What you end up with, most of the time, is something that looks like exactly what it is -- a miniature structure that's been left outdoors. . . . . . . . . . . . I like to model old, heavily weathered buildings and abandoned ruins. Most of my buildings are made of styrene, which I texture and paint to look like aged wood. It's pretty simple to scribe realistic wood grain into styrene, and to paint it to look realistically weathered. It's even possible to replicate the look of faded, peeling paint. . . . . . . . . . . . I use good quality flat, craft acrylics, such as Apple Barrel or Craft Smart. These have proven to hold up well outdoors. I also top it off with a coat of Krylon UV Resistant Matte finish. . . . . . . . . Here's a photo of some "old" buildings in my desert mining town: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If you're using real wood, letting it age and weather naturally will give much better results than you'd get by doing the same with a plastic model. It won't always scale perfectly but it can still look quite good. The downside is that it will eventually rot away -- and small detail parts will decay very quickly. . . . . . . . I've used real wood on certain structures requiring large timbers, such as headframes, ore bins and trestles. But rather than leaving the raw wood exposed, I paint it. Partly this is to provide some protection for the wood, making it last longer. And partly it is to achieve the variegated golden browns and dark tones typical of aged wood in a desert environment. . . . . . . . . . Here's a photo showing a decrepit, wood-frame blacksmith's shop at an abandoned mine. The building is styrene with corrugated metal roofing. The headframe of the mine was made of real wood (Western red cedar), painted using thinned latex exterior house paint as well as the craft acrylics: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You can see some step by step discussion of how I built, textured and painted one of my buildings here: . . . . . . . . . . http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aff/7/aft/111944/afv/topic/afpgj/2/Default.aspx . . . . . . . . . .

[kstrong]

Aha! It's that common language thing getting in the way again. ;)

On this side of the pond, that kind of paint is known as "tempra" paint or "poster paint." Yeah--definitely not the most stable stuff when exposed to moisture. Might work very well in this instance.

Later,

K

[cabbage]

Here we define "Acrylic" as a water based powder paint as beloved by my wife and son -it is edible but not tasty. When thick it is not unlike oil paints and thin not unlike water colour paints. What you are calling "Acrylic" we might call "Emulsions" or "Enamels"? regards ralph

[ttrigg]

Give this a thought.

Go to Toys-R-Us; get some kids "Face Paint". It will wash off but leaves a heavy stain in wood. Use a propane torch to apply the "burn" as needed. Since even the "burn" will wash off in the rain, apply at least three/four very light coats of Krylon Flat Crystal Kleer.

[Great Western]

A couple of years ago I removed the body of a 'shortie' Aristo boxcar so I could use the base for a caboose bash.  I  repainted the body, which was a bright orange color lettered for the D&RGW, in a lightish grey which then became a ground based MOW store.  The acrylic paint I used was Revell.  I have repainted a few items of stock and some buildings with an Acrylic paint made specifically for military modelers. (their very names conjure up the blood and gore of battle).Usually two coats, but three might be needed over a strong color, is sufficient.  Any qualified painter will always tell you two thin coats are better than one thick one. 

None of these paints have proven unserviceable outdoors and I am delighted with them as they have no sheen.  Some are very finely textured with particular suitability for airbrush use however I much prefer to hand paint using a good quality sable brush.

 

[the North East Rail Modeler]

Acually, I was hoping that the paint would wash off in the rain, leaving trace amounts. The goal of the project is to build a structure that was gutted by fire, and just left there, with no one ever coming around.

Even if the paint I use doesn't wash-off, the fading will still work.

Speeking of fire, How do you think my idea for using real fire to simulate fire damage will work out?

I will try to build this structure as a plank-on-frame structure, so I think it will have good results.

[kstrong]

Ralph, what kind of acrylic paint are you using that washes off in the rain? I've used it outdoors for (literally) decades. In my experience, it holds up every bit as good as the exterior-grade latex that's on my house. It's a bit more prone to fading because it may not have the same degree of UV stabilization as the latex, but beyond that it's good stuff.

Later,

K

[cabbage]

Arcylic paint will not work -it will simply wash off in the rain. However there is a "dodge" that will use the rain to best advantage. Using standard external masonry paint mix in coarse rock salt and plaster that onto your building. The masonry paint sets -but the rain washes out the salt "scabbing" the paintwork -which falls off. I would recommend that you heavily treat your wood structure with preservative and then varnish it before the salt & paint treatment. The same process can be used the weather rolling stock but you must for obvious reasons be very careful that the salt does not attack metal parts on the body work. regards ralph

[the North East Rail Modeler]

 I have plans for starting construction for a building and I would like it to be weathered.

It will be an abandoned building, so heavy weathering is a must.

My plan is to build it, then paint it with acrylic paints and leave it out doors for a few weeks-months,

and then (mabe) scorch some of the structure to represent a fire.

Do you think this will work?

Does anyone have any other ideas for weatheringthat I can use (on a budget of $4.00)?