Weathering Engines and Train Cars, What is the easy and best way?

[Anonymous]

I have not mastered the airbrush painting and was thinking of weathering my engines and freight cars with paint and chaulk and then spray on a sealant to keep the chaulk on the plastic body. Is this OK or try a different option.

Thanks,
Greg

[simon1966]

Hi Greg,

I have fun weathering with my two young sons. An effective and simple method is to use an india ink wash. Mix a couple of teaspoons of ink into a pint bottle or Isophoryl alchohol from the pharmacy. Using a cheap smallish paint brush, you can build up some good looking dirty cars. After this has dried we use powders to add rust to the trucks and couplers. Rust to steps and rust streaks on the roof. Powders can also add dust and grime over the inkwash. The chalk powders are great because you can build them up an wa***hem off if you are not happy. Seal the lot with dull coat spray.

[Anonymous]

That sound great, thanks Simon.

[Dayliner]

Hi Greg and Simon,

I'm just getting into weathering, and I've found that chalks work better for me than trying to weather with an airbrush. Just a couple of points to watch for, though. The "sealant" (Dullcote, flat finish, or whatever) tends wash a lot of the powder off, so you have to keep reapplying until you get a satisfactory effect. Be careful that you don't do what I did the first couple of times, and over-compensate for this by putting a really heavy coat of chalk dust on (and I mean really heavy--on the principle that if a little is good, a whole ton must be even better). The resulting mess looked like the car had seen five years' continuous use in unit coal train service--a little unconvincing when the car in question is a low-sided gon! And once the sealant is on, there is nothing you can do if the weathering effect is too heavy.

I also use the "ink (or grimy black paint) in alcohol" wash and this is an excellent way to cut down the factory shine--depending on the car and era modelled, sometimes very little extra weathering is needed. Couplers, trucks and wheels all benefit from a coat of grimy black mixed with a bit of dark brown, preferably applied with a brush.

I've found weathering does take some practice and trial and error, but once you get good at it, it makes a huge improvement in the realism of your rolling stock. Definitely worth the effort.

[eng22]

Dull coat, Grime wash,dull coat again, pastel chalk. I use several pastels including earth, dirt, and rust colors to create a used look. This, IMHO is a light weathering. I must say that I am not happy with the coils in the gon. I will attempt to dull them down, and I will brush paint on the banding straps.

[snowey]

I learned this from a guy on the ATLAS forum:
if you spray the sealer (TESTORS "Dullcoat, "FLOQUILL "Figure-Flat) on the surface BEFORE applying the chalk dust or pastels, you don't have to apply it after. The sealer provides a "tooth" for the powder and holds it in place.

Also, about the india ink/alcohol wash, you can also use paint thinner and india ink or rubbing alcohol/ india ink. Theres nothing "set in stone" about how much-just open the conainer of alcohol or thinner and put in as much ink as you feel is enough.

One more thing you can use: I saw this in MODEL RAILROADER once, back in 1997: mix together 5 teaspoons of grimy black paint (any brand) to 1 teasspoon of windshield washer fluid from an auto parts store. Brush it on the surface, wait 20 to 30 seconds, then wipe it off with a rag or paper towel or something, going from top to bottom. It ecspecially looks good on dark or semi dark surfaces (black,boxcar red, tuscon red, rail brown, caboose red, etc.)

[MAbruce]

I've experimented with various weathering methods, and I found that this one yielded some interesting results. I'm not trying to suggest it's better than any other method, but just one of many.

Since it’s close to dry brushing, so I will call it “Damp Brushing”.

Materials needed: An un-weathered car of your choice, water color paints (more colors the better), brush, water cup, paper towels, and Dullcote (or your favorite equivalent).

I do not pre-treat the car (with Dullcote), but you could try it. I’m not sure if it will improve the results or not. Some say it provides a better surface to accept washes, etc.

First, dampen the brush and slightly dampen the paint color you want to start with. Dab the brush (full of paint) on a paper towel to further dry it, and then softly brush it on the car. It should leave some streaks of the color you are using. If it’s too wet, it will bead up and you will need to dry out the brush more.

Once you get some streaks of color, with a scrubbing action (up and down), further smear the streaks with the brush until you get the desired weathering effect. It’s a careful balance of not getting it too wet or too dry, and working out the brush strokes. Different colors can then be added and worked in. You can really achieve some interesting patterns.






The advantage of this method is that if you don’t like how it turns out, just wash it off and start over.

When you get something that you like, then seal it with your matte clear coat of choice (like Dullcote).

The trucks and couplers were done the same way, but I would not recommend sealing them unless you really know what you are doing.

I also plan to experiment further by applying an India ink wash as a pre-treatment.

[Anonymous]

With cars I think that the most important step is to weather the trucks and wheels to kill the shine. The rest is gravy. I use lots of techniques.

I have used powders from Bragdon that have an adhesive in them so you don't have to fix them. They work very well. I use box lids from copy paper boxes as catch basins, one for each color. This way you can save the extra and re-use it.

I still paint trucks and wheels by hand with polly scale. I have also moved to hand painting techniques for weathering cars as well. Mixing colors is the ticket here. Black, brown, rust, white and a shade of the car color can all be combined in various ways. Mix em on foil, and then apply to the car when you like the color. With the water based paints, I have found that it helps to build up enough moisture on the car to get a wet on wet technique. This allows for adjustment of the colors by adding and blending them while still wet. If you let them dry, they are very hard to remove.

For weatherbeaten roofs I use paint that is a shade lighter than the color of the roof and then sprinkle a similar colored powder on it after it dries for a chalky paint look. For severe rust, I like rust-all over a yellow base coat.

I have weathered a couple of locos and have found powders and hand painting to be less than satisfactory. I think the airbrush is the secret here. I have one friend who uses Floquil Railroad colors spray paint to weather locos. He gets good results, but he is an expert with the spray cans....Everyone else I know uses airbrushes for motive power.


I think the secret is to keep trying until you get something you like. You may get some cars that you don't like. Everyone has a few cars that didn't turn out hidden some where on the layout....

My two cents,

Guy

[Anonymous]

I prefer chalks, followed by a thin spray of Dullcoat. I make sure that the chalks are applied to a non-glossy surface. When I weather structures with chalk, I don't follow-up with the Dullcoat since the structures are not handled to the same extent that rolling stock is. Here are some pictures:

http://community.webshots.com/album/105640445VTDutw?437

[Anonymous]

I agree with the chalks and india ink wash, but some other pretty easy things to try. I found that the chalk dust seems to stick better after you do the india ink alcohol wash on the car. Make up a similar wash with burnt umber acryllic paint and alcohol. Adding a few brownish streaks here and there adds to the effect. Spray paint the underside and trucks with grimy black, or as I prefer since I have an airbrush is to paint the underside with a 50/50 mixture of grimy black and rust, or grimy black and D&RGW Depot brown. Spray a light mist of the brown at an angle to the underframe and trucks and this will add some highlights. Using these techniques doesn't really require much talent with an airbrush. Practice a little on some cheap rolling stock.
My $.02
Mark
http://webusers.warwick.net/~u1015590/