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Dullcoat and alcohol

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  • Member since
    February 2017
  • From: Harrisburg, PA
  • 636 posts
Dullcoat and alcohol
Posted by hbgatsf on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 5:48 PM

I have often used an india ink in alcohol wash as a weathering technique.  I have also put dullcoat on top of that wash many times. 

I had a building that had been treated that way.  After I put the roof on I used more of that wash on it. Some dripped  on the side of the building and it appears that it interacted with the dullcoat as it turned milky. 

This isn't a total disaster but it looks out of place compared to the other buildings near it.  Will another coat of dullcoat or something else undo this?

Rick

Rick

  • Member since
    March 2017
  • 8,017 posts
Posted by Track fiddler on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 8:43 PM

Dullcoat and alcohol

LaughLaughJust Kidding!

I couldn't resist that onePirateWhistling

 

I had that exact same thing happened when I was building my Viaduct Bridge Rick.  It may have been a different order but I got that same milky cloudiness.

I had treated some random stone styrene with black India ink diluted with alcohol then sprayed with dullcoat.  The first sheet I did seemed to turn out fine.  I may have rushed the dry time a little bit on the second sheet when I sprayed the dullcoat on and it clouded up.

I remember I set it aside and after it dried overnight the cloudiness went away.  It may have even been a couple nights.

Perhaps the India ink alcohol solution reactivated the dullcoat and you got the same chemical reaction and it just needs some time.

 

 

TF

  • Member since
    November 2002
  • From: US
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Posted by wp8thsub on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 9:18 PM

hbgatsf
 Will another coat of dullcoat or something else undo this?

Another spray of Dullcote should eliminate it.  If the affected area is small, you can apply the Dullcote with a brush to avoid having to mask windows or anything else that needs protection.

Rob Spangler

  • Member since
    February 2017
  • From: Harrisburg, PA
  • 636 posts
Posted by hbgatsf on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 10:32 PM

Thanks for the responses. I'll let it dry for a couple days and if it doesn't clear up by itself I'll hit it with another coat of dullcoat.  

Rick

Rick

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 134 posts
Posted by Mark B on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 7:53 AM

I believe DullCote has talc in it. The talc helps absorb reflected light,hence making the model less shiny. When you hit it with the alcohol the talc sort of precipitates out to make a talc-like milky finish. The above answers are correct. Just reapply the DullCote and the white will go away. I've used this method to give a whitish finish to some cement carrying covered hoppers. Spray with DullCote. let dry, spray with alcohol and you get a white "dust" simulating spilled concrete.

Mark B.

  • Member since
    February 2017
  • From: Harrisburg, PA
  • 636 posts
Posted by hbgatsf on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 8:13 AM

Mark B

I believe DullCote has talc in it. The talc helps absorb reflected light,hence making the model less shiny. When you hit it with the alcohol the talc sort of precipitates out to make a talc-like milky finish. The above answers are correct. Just reapply the DullCote and the white will go away. I've used this method to give a whitish finish to some cement carrying covered hoppers. Spray with DullCote. let dry, spray with alcohol and you get a white "dust" simulating spilled concrete.

Mark B.

 

Funny you should mention this.  When it happened I thought it be a good way to do some weathering of rolling stock.  I am going to try it for that purpose.

Rick

Rick

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
  • 21,342 posts
Posted by MisterBeasley on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 3:08 PM

I was weathering a Geep and the last step was to apply Dullcoat with a spray to the shell and let it dry.  It went fine, but I did it on a dreary, humid and misty day out in the garage.  When I got back, the dark roof of the engine was no longer black, but a cloudy gray.

I gave some thought to re-applying the Dullcoat, but when I put that Geep up next to its twin I had done earlier, I liked the difference in weathering effects.

I don't Dullcoat in high humidity anymore.

 

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

  • Member since
    January 2018
  • From: Douglas AZ.
  • 634 posts
Posted by Little Timmy on Monday, March 7, 2022 4:28 PM

Dullcote reacts that way to moisture.

With a little practice,  you can get some surprisingly realistic bird droppings on rolling stock that has been parked too long under a bridge, or wherever pidgions roost.

Rust...... It's a good thing !

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