Trains.com

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

red paint color for chimney?

2630 views
15 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    January 2014
  • 197 posts
red paint color for chimney?
Posted by ChrisVA on Sunday, September 11, 2022 4:51 AM

I'm trying to find a suitable red acyrlic paint for metal chimney castings that come with some kits. I've not been able to find a suitable color yet that looks realistic enough.

Any suggestions on specific red colors you have used  that look realistic?
Thanks!

  • Member since
    May 2020
  • 1,057 posts
Posted by wrench567 on Sunday, September 11, 2022 8:49 AM

  The color of brick is variable to region, how long it was fired, content of ingredients, and also where the brick is cooled. So there really isn't one color of brick. The only suggestion I could give is to start with a basic red and mix in a drop of yellow, black, brown and even green for a mossy covered brick.

  My brick walkway came from the same company made the same time and the colors very wildly from a reddish orange to a dark brown. I even have a few with a blueish brown color.

     There are a vast number of YouTube videos on modeling bricks. Some look awesome.

          Pete.

  • Member since
    September 2004
  • From: Dearborn Station
  • 24,281 posts
Posted by richhotrain on Sunday, September 11, 2022 8:52 AM

I have used Boxcar Red in the past with good results.

Rich

Alton Junction

  • Member since
    January 2014
  • 1,500 posts
Posted by ROBERT PETRICK on Sunday, September 11, 2022 1:13 PM

wrench567

The color of brick is variable to region, how long it was fired, content of ingredients, and also where the brick is cooled. 

Pete is right.

I know a guy who collects bricks. Don't laugh! He has hundreds, and every one is a different shade of red. The only color that has more variations of shade is white.

What I'd do is start with Tamiya Hull Red XF-9 (the stuff ship modellers use). It is a fairly dark brownish-red. To brighten it a little, add a drop or two of Tamiya Flat Red XF-7. To brownen it a little, add a drop or two of Tamiya Red-Brown XF-64. Tamiya paints are very easy to work with. There are also some good flat shades of brick red in Tamiya rattle cans.

It doesn't matter if your mixing process gets a little haphazard from one batch to the next. Subtle differences and mottling help add to the realism. Plus, chimneys are notoriously weathered and dirty, so how bad could it get?

Good luck.

Robert

LINK to SNSR Blog


  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
  • 5,557 posts
Posted by York1 on Sunday, September 11, 2022 1:30 PM

ChrisVA
Any suggestions on specific red colors you have used  that look realistic? Thanks!

I'm sorry I can't give you any specific colors.

I've always been disappointed in how the brick looks with out-of-the-bottle colors, and I ended up mixing reds with browns and blacks to get the color I wanted.

The mistake was not mixing enough.  I could never mix exactly the same tint.  I finally made sure to mix more than I thought I needed (much more) to get what I considered the right brick color.

York1 John       

  • Member since
    November 2013
  • 2,775 posts
Posted by snjroy on Sunday, September 11, 2022 5:37 PM

I start with burnt sienna and add some brown for variation. If it's too bright, I just apply a black wash. There is also variation in mortar color, from grey to brick color, and even some black. Check out some pictures using google.

Simon

  • Member since
    March 2012
  • 1,162 posts
Posted by PC101 on Sunday, September 11, 2022 5:38 PM

I use out of the bottle 'brick' colors for brick work but I mix (small batchs) with a drop of other shades I know it will look like my photos. I have many photos of the same object taked at different times of the day and seasons.

Have you noticed, at least around here, some of the chimneys (at least over 100 years old) lean towards the EAST. Something to do with cold damp bricks and the rising sun I have been told by the 'Old' guysHmm.

Oh and I do not forget to have a 'soft' brick here and there. Kinda like the top self Model trains now a days that have under rigging, nice to see when newly done but forgotten about in a few months.

I quoted two above posts (wrench567 and Robert Petrick) that I agreed with but of course they did not show up here.   

  • Member since
    March 2011
  • 1,950 posts
Posted by NVSRR on Sunday, September 11, 2022 6:10 PM

Vallejo has a red terraccata. which is iin the brick color range.  plus they have a bunch of similar shades that work with the different brick tones

 

SHane

A pessimist sees a dark tunnel

An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel

A realist sees a frieght train

An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space

  • Member since
    November 2003
  • 266 posts
Posted by Ron High on Sunday, September 11, 2022 6:40 PM

I use this paint for brick.  https://www.homedepot.com/p/DecoArt-Americana-2-oz-Heritage-Brick-Acrylic-Paint-DA219-3/203709445

After it dries brush a little dry plaster powder brushed on and then spray one light squirt of warm water with a spray bottle. I have also used black brown or grey ground chalk to vary the color. The powder tones down the brick color and also leaves mortar lines Sometimes a second application of the plaster powder helps with the mortar lines.Again avery light one squirt spray of warm water . I usually use an empty household clear or window cleaner that has bee rinsed.

With the water spray the powder will stay in place but you can clean it out with a tooth brush and water if you wish. Then try again.

Ron High

  • Member since
    January 2019
  • 2,572 posts
Posted by John-NYBW on Sunday, September 11, 2022 7:14 PM

richhotrain

I have used Boxcar Red in the past with good results.

Rich

 

I have used that as well but more recently I've found basic oxide red primers to be a suitable base color for brick. To vary the color I use dark and light rust colored weathering powders. 

As others have noted, bricks come in many colors and shades so there is no one right color. If it looks right to you, it's right. 

  • Member since
    October 2008
  • From: Canada
  • 1,820 posts
Posted by cv_acr on Monday, September 12, 2022 10:37 AM

wrench567
The color of brick is variable to region, how long it was fired, content of ingredients, and also where the brick is cooled. So there really isn't one color of brick.

There are a number of buildings including several of the older churches in town here that were built with a yellow brick that was common/popular in this area in a certain era.

A station on my railway that I just finished scratchbuilding was also built from a yellowish buff coloured brick.

Use cheap red/orange/yellow craft paints and choose or mix a colour that "looks right" to your eye.

  • Member since
    August 2006
  • From: Franconia, NH
  • 3,130 posts
Posted by dstarr on Monday, September 12, 2022 11:33 AM

ChrisVA

I'm trying to find a suitable red acyrlic paint for metal chimney castings that come with some kits. I've not been able to find a suitable color yet that looks realistic enough.

Any suggestions on specific red colors you have used  that look realistic?
Thanks!

 

I use red auto primer, from a rattle can. Either Krylon or Rustoleum works well.

 

  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: Canada, eh?
  • 13,375 posts
Posted by doctorwayne on Monday, September 12, 2022 11:25 PM

cv_acr
There are a number of buildings including several of the older churches in town here that were built with a yellow brick that was common/popular in this area in a certain era. A station on my railway that I just finished scratchbuilding was also built from a yellowish buff coloured brick.

Roughly 40 or 50 miles north of here, yellow/buff coloured bricks are quite common.  I used a similar colour for the station in my version of Mount Forest...

Also, in my version of Mount Forest, is Tucketts Tobacco, which is not far from here, in Hamilton, Ontario.

While the real one is still existent, it's no longer a cigarette producer, but like many of the buildings in the city, it was built with orange bricks...

I also used orange brick for the Mount Forest roundhouse...

...but since it's an older structure, the orange is less pronounced.

Westinghouse had several factories in Hamilton, so I decided to add one in Mount Forest, too, and again used orange brick...

This one, where I spent my first six years, was orange brick, too, but it's been painted-over with red....

It's now gone, as is the missing other half of it, along with another structure, to the left, where the home owner operated a barbershop in his livingroom. 
Next door to it was this one....

...gone, too.

 

Here's a very small portion of what's left of the former Cockshutt factory in Brantford, Ontario, where they made tractors and other farm machinery.  A lot of structures there were built with the buff-coloured brick...

This is only a small part of one of the five Westinghouse factories in Hamilton, Ontario...

This was the Hamilton headquarters building of Westinghouse....

...currently being restored and re-purposed.

This one was the Imperial Cotton Mill, one of several in the city, now being re-purposed for various smaller businesses...

And, somewhat oddly, the American Can Co., in Hamilton, Ont.

Wayne

  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: Canada, eh?
  • 13,375 posts
Posted by doctorwayne on Tuesday, September 13, 2022 12:08 AM

ChrisVA
I'm trying to find a suitable red acyrlic paint for metal chimney castings that come with some kits. I've not been able to find a suitable color yet that looks realistic enough.

There's only a zillion-or-so versions of red brick, so all you need to do is select the one which looks the most convincing to you.

Here are a few...

This one was originally red brick, but I changed it to orange, and added some mortar detail (pre-mixed patching plaster, applied using a rag over my fingertips).
Once it dries, use a cloth over your fingertips to remove excess plaster from the face of the brick...work outdoors if possible, as the clean-up can create quite a bit of plaster dust...

Wayne

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Mpls/St.Paul
  • 13,892 posts
Posted by wjstix on Thursday, September 22, 2022 8:51 AM

Another way to do it is to spray paint the chimney gray or tan (I like to use Tamiya spray can paint), then color the bricks using an art marker. Brand names may differ from store to store, but you usually can find one called "Brick Red"; some brands have an "English Red" that's very similar. The tip of the marker is fairly stiff, so unless you press down super hard it only colors the bricks, leaving the recessed areas where the mortar would be as gray or tan.

Stix
  • Member since
    July 2021
  • 194 posts
Posted by NorthsideChi on Saturday, September 24, 2022 5:34 PM

For large projects I use rustoleum flat red.  This is just the base.  As others mentioned, brick is local clay and of course you want a little variation.  So the next step is I buy these charcoals from the art store in reds and browns, rub that on a piece of paper towel and the wipe the surface of the painted wall with that.  I've been extemely happy with the realstic appearance.  

Somtimes, I'll get a little more complex and use spraypaint, then apply spackle compound to make mortar joints and then do the charcoal application at the end 

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Users Online

There are no community member online

Search the Community

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!