I am just finishing the scratchbuilding of a grain elevator, one of the focal industries of my Toledo Erie Central switching layout. I have satisfactorily weathered it (to my liking) with acrylic paint washes and (Bragdon's) powders. I am getting ready to weather my kit and kitbashed structures in like manner.
The question is: What is the best method for weathering freight cars? I do not have an airbrush and have heard (and read) of various methods such as using artist's acrylics, acrylic paint washes, pastels, chalks and powders. What is the consensus out there?
Thanks
The answer is : Yes.
Any and all, separately or in combination, can be successfully used to weather freight cars.
Washes are particularly good at modeling water bourne weathering and powders are good at air bourne/dust/rust effects.
Practice on some less valuable cars or old junkers to test the different effects you can get with each weathering technique and media.
Dave H.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Another vote for powders. I've got black, white and rust from AIM, and I've found these do a good job. My LHS had a series of free evening weathering clinics a couple of summers back. A local club member showed how to use powders, but it's not difficult. As Locogirl recommended, the powders take to the surface better if it's rough, so a light treatment with Dul-Cote is the second step in weathering freight cars. (The first step is to remove the trucks and couplers, so they don't get gummed up with the Dul-Cote!)
Another nice thing about the powders is that you can go to the sink and wash them off if you feel you've overdone it.
Once you're happy with your weathering, spray the car with more Dul-Cote. You may find that the Dul-Cote tones down the weathering effect. In general, that's good, because many people tend to over-weather, at least at first.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
The consensus is that there is no consensus...that is, we can all agree that we can't all agree.
I like to start with powdered charcoal, put it liberally over the entire car, then use a soft dry paper towel (like Viva etc.) wrapped around my finger to make downstrokes to remove much of the powdered charcoal, leaving it primarily in cracks and crevices and around rivets and such, and toning down the colors of the car and the lettering. Then I seal that with flat finish, and use chalks to add touches of gray, brown, rusty red etc. as appropriate. There isn't a really good way to seal in the chalk (if you spray it with dullcote it will disappear) but I find it isn't really necessary. Over time the chalk kinda works itself into the model.
Unless you regularly remove the car by hand from the layout and rub it on your white shirt, there isn't really a problem with the chalk not being sealed in.
Answer D) All of the above.
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