OK, so after my many scratch-built projects, I now need some input for weathering my stuff. Keep in mind I haven't joined the 21st century and own an air-brush thingamajig. (That'll come when I come into more money). What other ways can I weather rolling stock, buildings, or anything else? I've heard of Crayola powders from craft stores, and hand-brush weathering...any other tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
I tell you, I don't have one of those "thingamajigs" either and you don't necessarily need one. As far as weathering materials go, there are some great commercially-made materials and you can make your own as well. Now, I've weathered a few structures so far and I've used washes of acrylic paints (about 8 parts isopropyl alcohol to One part paint. I've mixed browns and blacks or even oxide red or yellow. I've also used a commercially-made material called Bragdon's Powders. These powders do not require that a sealant (Dullcote, etc.) be applied as they adhere to the material you're weathering. Chalks work well too but a sealant needs to be applied in order for them to stay on the model. When this is applied, however, the sealant soaks up quite a bit of the chalk, so either a heavier application of chalk or several weathering application-sealer applications would be in order. This all takes a bit of trial and error and maybe a bit of practice. I suggest you take a model that is your least favorite project and play with it alittle. The material you're trying to weather and the desired effect you're after also depends on the weathering method that you'll use. The main thing is - - have fun!
I have used the powdered chalk, not the sticky Bragdon stuff, and it was a bit of a trial to make it show up. In fact, it fooled me after the last application of Dull Coat covering and when it dried I had actually overdone it. I have since gone over the really bright, glaring deposits on the one engine on which I tried the technique and dulled it with black acrylic washes. Looks a lot better. The point is, the overspray fixatives tend to mask, or appear to wash away, your nicely deposited layers of chalk dust.
Now I just use heavy washes of artist's acrylic craft paint diluted about 5/1 in favour of water. I dip a suitable fine brush in the solution, wipe it on a paper towel until it leaves almost no wash showing, and then do what is called a "dry brush" weathering. It is time consuming, and often requires going over and over the spot with different colours of washes until you begin to appreciate the outcome and judge it right. Then, when you photograph the results, you'll learn that it needs yet more work....either that or your lighting does. The Allegheny in my avatar at upper left of this reply has been weathered using this technique. It was once a shiny black engine.
There are other techniques using gouache that are best left to the experts...creating highly realistic rust blotches and scabs with rust stains running below them on the sides of metal cars. Aggro comes to mind. I hope he offers us some guidance.
-Crandell