Hello forum readers,
I recently purchased some nice N scale cast resin double tunnel portals off of Ebay. They are quite nice and are homemade by a modeler in Ohio.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Concrete-Tunnel-Portal-pair-Double-N-Scale-/351039468662?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item51bb953476
They are clean and solidly cast, but they are tinged a little yellow and don't look like they are the right color for a concrete tunnel portal. I'm trying to figure out how to color them. I don't know whether I should try using a simple wash, or paints, or pastels, or something else. I'd like some advice before I ruin them. If anyone has done this sort of thing before, how did it work, and how did it turn out for you??? Do you have any tips?
Thanks a ton,
Nathan B.
Welcome to the Forums.
I am also a resin caster. Most cast resin items don't come ready for installation on your layout. Only some of the larger manufacturers do that. So you should paint them first. The color that you said yours are, a yellowish white, appears to be the color of the cured resin in its raw unpainted state.
Start by washing them in warm water and dishwashing detergent to remove the oils and release agents. Let them dry over night. Next, I spray my cast resin parts with a flat gray enamel to act as a primer, or you can use a gray primer, both from a spray can. Once that is done, you can paint them any color you wish, or in your case, you might just want to put on a black wash if the gray is the right color for you.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Thanks. That sounds like a great idea. I have never worked with resin castings before and just didn't know what to do. One question: Is the resin absorbant like plaster castings? In other words, let's say I use a wash over them afterwards. Will the material absorb the colors right into itself like plaster, or will the wash just run off and collect in the little cracks and crevises? When you said to dry them overnight, I wondered if that was the case. I can't picture plastics like that behaving in that sort of way. I am curious.
I do have sone white enamel paint, but I will probably use some gray. That sounds great.
Thanks,
No, the resin is not absorbant like plaster. It is more like plastic. The reason I said to let them dry over night is so they are really dry before you spray paint them.