I always liked the Polly S Aged Concrete paint . . . thought it looked pretty darn good. Has anyone found a good replacement now that the Polly S color has gone to that great big paint bucket up in the sky?
Micro-Mark has released their MicroLux line of acrylic paints that they claim are color matched to the old Floquil Pollyscale line. They do have an 'Aged Concrete' in the line:
http://www.micromark.com/microlux-acrylic-paint-aged-concrete-2-ounces,11278.html
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
I should add that I want to use the paint for sidewalks and roads.
I have used Tamiya rattle can paints where I spray two colors at the same time, creating a varied and blended look that I think is convincing. The two colors that work best for concrete are TS-68 Wooden Deck Tan or AS-15Tan (USAF) PLUS AS-16 Light Gray (USAF). It takes some practice.
Dave Nelson
I like Testors Camouflage Gray.
Much of this cement plant was painted with the Camouflage Gray. Other parts were a color called "Stone Gray" that I found at a craft store, but I forget the brand for that. It had a semi-gloss finish so it requred oversprays of clear flat. I've also used the Testors color for sidewalks and other concrete.
Rob Spangler
Concrete isn't a single color. I use a technique I call speckle painting. First paint a base color of white or off-white (bone or eggshell.) If you're using plaster there's no need to paint a base coat.
Then I cover the floor of the workshop with newspaper and lay the concrete parts on it. I hold a couple of cans of spray paint about four feet above the floor and give a few bursts of each. The particles will settle on the parts giving them a speckled look. I use a couple of shades of brown (Valspar Sagebrush and Krylon Brown Boots) or something similar. Avoid very dark browns.
Then I dunk everything in a wash of alcohol and India ink.
This is Depron foam...
This is plaster with various amounts of paint and weathering...
Steve S
I've built a lot of concrete structures - from coal towers to bridge abutments - and needed a lot of base concrete color. My solution was to take my favorite base color (Floquil Aged Concrete) to the local paint store and had them mix me a quart of flat latex paint to match it.
Flat latex paint works surprisingly well on everything from styrene to plaster. I've even had success in thinning it and airbrushing it. The quart of paint cost about a much as two bottles of Floquil !
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Steve,
You have done it again. First you posted the idea of using the thin foam sheets from Hobby Lobby or the other one. Now this interesting paint approach. It is why I love this forum. The ideas just keep on coming.
Thanks!!
Chris
Mark R. I've built a lot of concrete structures - from coal towers to bridge abutments - and needed a lot of base concrete color. My solution was to take my favorite base color (Floquil Aged Concrete) to the local paint store and had them mix me a quart of flat latex paint to match it. Flat latex paint works surprisingly well on everything from styrene to plaster. I've even had success in thinning it and airbrushing it. The quart of paint cost about a much as two bottles of Floquil ! Mark.
I did the same thing at Lowes.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
I'm bumping this up because I finally got around to testing something I've been wanting to try. In my above post, the two plaster pieces were made using a mold made from Depron foam like this one. The texture is a bit rough for HO, but would work for O. So I tried using some waterproof sandpaper and the results are much better suited to HO scale.
(click to enlarge)
You could also use this for retaining walls and even make concrete walls for buildings with it. Glue squares and rectangles of foam to the sandpaper where the windows and doors would be and pour plaster around them. The sheets of sandpaper are 11" x 9", so you could make a fairly large wall. I keep wanting to build a CNC machine. It would be fun to try engraving a brick pattern into plaster slabs like this. You could do custom brickwork.
I've used Testors "Flat Light Aircraft Gray" for concrete in the past. I use and India ink wash to give it an aged look. I used the color on the base of this signal bridge:
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
Take a look around where you live and what part of the World You live and what Era you would like to Model, not all aged concrete is the same color. What is sold is a rough generalization of what it looks like. Concrete from the 30's up even before, does not look the same, more Beige than gray.
Aged concrete abutment, from the Midwest:
Frank
is it ok if i bump this interesting thread?
Steven S I'm bumping this up because I finally got around to testing something I've been wanting to try. In my above post, the two plaster pieces were made using a mold made from Depron foam like this one. The texture is a bit rough for HO, but would work for O. So I tried using some waterproof sandpaper and the results are much better suited to HO scale. (click to enlarge) You could also use this for retaining walls and even make concrete walls for buildings with it. Glue squares and rectangles of foam to the sandpaper where the windows and doors would be and pour plaster around them. The sheets of sandpaper are 11" x 9", so you could make a fairly large wall. I keep wanting to build a CNC machine. It would be fun to try engraving a brick pattern into plaster slabs like this. You could do custom brickwork. Steve S
Hi Steve,
Your ideas about using foam molds and plaster castings to create retaining walls are very interesting and innovative -- but I have to ask, why not just simply use some thin foam to create the retaining walls themselves?
You might need to provide a styrene sheet backing to stiffen up such a foam wall, but that approach seems easier and cheaper than creating molds and using potentially costly plaster material to achieve essentially the same result.
The foam itself provides a nice texture to replicate ho scale 'concrete' and with the right kind of paint to cover it over, nobody would even guess what it really was?
Your thoughts?
Jonas
These are some great ideas for concrete. Sand paper molds. Depron foam. As for color. Aged concrete can be beige colors to light tans. even some cream.colors will work. New Crete is almost white. Like Polly scale undercuts grey which is almost white to darker greys. a wide range. It gives the ability to make a lot of variation. around water, browns come.into.play. having worked with concrete for years, there is now no incorrect color. Concrete can even be tinted nowadays.
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
I'm not sure if sand paper and other coarse materials are a good way. Nowadays coated plywood is used as concrete formwork. The cement paste covers all aggregates and forms a smooth surface. If wood boards are used as formwork you likely see the wood grain but no aggregates. When you have defects in the concrete cover you might see single pieces of gravel.
There are exceptions. Exposed-aggregate concrete is sometimes used for architectural reasons.
Steve's excample looks like sandblasted concrete, used for architectural reasons too.Regards, Volker (Germany)
The "stone grey" is made by Vallejo. It's pretty good stuff but (too) prefer Poly Scale.
I'm a longtime fan of Pollyscale, and wish that someone would revive the formulae for making it, as it was far better than most of what's available nowadays.I often altered the Concrete or Aged Concrete colours to suit, depending on what structures I was building. Here are a few...
Wayne
This old thread isn't the only one looking for substitutes for Pollyscale Aged Concrete. There are several old threads out there. Here is a somewhat more recent one.
https://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/p/260441/3313498.aspx#3313498
Another option is Woodland Scenics Concrete. It is a fairly close match to other Aged Concrete paints. $6.00 or so for a 6 ounce bottle.
Rich
Alton Junction
FWIW a couple of subs are as follows (from charts I have):
Vallejo 70.976
or
Vallejo 71.143 (pre-thinned for air brush)
I have not verified these myself.
There is no one shade that is right for aged concrete. Concrete yellows over time so you can age it as much or as little as you like. It isn't necessary to match Polly Scale aged concrete or any other shade. I like to use cheap craft paints to get a shade that looks right for to me.
John-NYBW There is no one shade that is right for aged concrete. Concrete yellows over time so you can age it as much or as little as you like. It isn't necessary to match Polly Scale aged concrete or any other shade. I like to use cheap craft paints to get a shade that looks right for to me.
When Testors dropped the Polly Scale line of acrylic paints, an exact replacement for Polly Scale Aged Concrete was one of the most sought after replacements. Several threads have been started on this forum over the past 8 to 10 years or so. Personally, Polly Scale Aged Concrete was one of my most prized paint colors.
When Testors first produced Polly Scale Aged Concrete, the formula was dead on as to color - - gray with a hint of green. Sure, concrete actually appears to be many different colors or shades of colors, depending upon a lot of factors including when it was poured, where it was poured, and the components used to produce the concrete. But there is only one shade of one color that can match Polly Scale Aged Concrete.
I still don't understand the need to match to Polly Scale Aged Concrete. It is just one shade that some think looks like aged concrete. I see nothing exceptional about it. I think I still have a half bottle of it although I bet it has dried out. I'd have to add water back to it but I've found many different shades over the years that look better to me than that.
John-NYBW I still don't understand the need to match to Polly Scale Aged Concrete. It is just one shade that some think looks like aged concrete. I see nothing exceptional about it.
I still don't understand the need to match to Polly Scale Aged Concrete. It is just one shade that some think looks like aged concrete. I see nothing exceptional about it.
Hopefully this will help some:
I did a test paint this morning comparing the different paints. I gave each about 45 minutes to dry before taking photos under a cool blue white (6500K) led hobby light. I recolor balanced. Notes are below photos.
From left to right:
Vallegjo Stone Grey 70.884
PollyScale Aged Concrete
Testors Model Master Aged Concrete Flat
Generic Craft Store Paint (My Studio-72764 Grey)
Coverage: Notes how easy it goes on to the plastic
Consistency: How evenly it goes on. No color variations
Thickness: Thickness is how thick it feels (how hard to push) Thicker paints tend to build up thicker layers and are harder to lay flat. However thickness can be counter acted with a drop or two or water at the expense of Coverage/consistency. Thick paints are harder to paint details onto depressed areas or corners.
Flatness: Flatness relates to thickness. If a paint is too thick, it will create uneven surfaces. You will lose detail.
Notes on Vallejo:
Coverage: Good.
Consistency: Acceptable. Way above craft store, but below PollyScale. Minor banding effects.
Thickness: Easy to push. I would say it was the 2nd thinnest in the group
Flatness: Because consistency wasn't perfect, I had to put on two layers which lead to some layering effects.
Price: ~$4.00 which is okay for .57mL. I would estimate it's about volume bottle wise as PolyScale.
Availability: Easy to find.
Coverage: Good. Better than Vallejo. (Look at edges of vallejo which required more than one pass)
Consistency: Good. But as the paint aged, I had to add distilled water to thin it up creating some consistency problems.
Thickness: Required water to thin up. But overall still decent
Flatness: Very flat and mostly even.
Price: Ever hear of first born? (if you can find a bottle)
Availability: Hens teeth
Testors Aged Concrete Flat
Coverage: Excellent
Consistency: Excellent. Didn't require many brush strokes to get even color
Thickness: Pushed very easy.
Flatness: Extremely flat
Price: Astronomical for small bottle. 14.7mL can sell as high as $10
Availability: Hard to find. Sometimes you get lucky on Amazon.
Generic Craft Store Paint: (My Studio 72764 Grey)
Coverage: Poor
Consistency: Almost unacceptable. Did not want to stick to the plastic at all creating minor pooling. Will require multiple passes after drying. This will affect flatness and thickness of the paint layer.
Thickness: Watery. Should go through airbrush easy.
Flatness: Watery leaving for uneven surface. But flatter than Vellajo. Easy to push in crevices, but multiple layers will affect flatness.
Price: Not even a chicken has this many "Cheaps"
Availability: Hobby Lobby
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
Very nice piece of work, Don.
Thanks for posting.
I've never tried to apply craft paint directly to plastic. I always spray it with a primer first. Craft paint is so cheap, you can mix several colors to get the shade you want. For aged concrete, I wouldn't use gray as my base coat. I'd use a light beige and then add a few drops of gray until I got the shade I wanted. I could get something very close to any of those other three colors. It just takes a little trial and error. You can also thin it with a few drops of water.
John-NYBW For aged concrete, I wouldn't use gray as my base coat. I'd use a light beige and then add a few drops of gray until I got the shade I wanted. I could get something very close to any of those other three colors.
For aged concrete, I wouldn't use gray as my base coat. I'd use a light beige and then add a few drops of gray until I got the shade I wanted. I could get something very close to any of those other three colors.
I think it's a lot of fun to try to create custom colors with cheap craft paints. For starters, they come in so many shades that you can usually find one that's very close to what you are trying to achieve. The other thing is with something like aged concrete, there is no one right shade. I am far more interested in achieving something that looks right to my eye under my basement light than I am in matching what somebody else's idea of what aged concrete should look like. That's why I don't look upon Polly Scale Aged Concrete as if it is some sort of standard to strive for. At best it is a shade of concrete at some point during the aging process. I used it a few times but it didn't appear aged enough for what I was trying to achieve.
Take a look at these images. Not all are concrete but you still see a wide variety of colors and shades, not to mention weathering. Anyone would be a correct color of aged concrete:
images old concrete walls - Yahoo Image Search Results
When I'm trying to achieve the look of aged concrete, it's something similar to this:
an-old-concrete-wall-with-cracks-1639278.jpg (1600×1071) (freeimages.com)
John-NYBW I think it's a lot of fun to try to create custom colors with cheap craft paints. For starters, they come in so many shades that you can usually find one that's very close to what you are trying to achieve. The other thing is with something like aged concrete, there is no one right shade. I am far more interested in achieving something that looks right to my eye under my basement light than I am in matching what somebody else's idea of what aged concrete should look like. That's why I don't look upon Polly Scale Aged Concrete as if it is some sort of standard to strive for. At best it is a shade of concrete at some point during the aging process. I used it a few times but it didn't appear aged enough for what I was trying to achieve. Take a look at these images. Not all are concrete but you still see a wide variety of colors and shades, not to mention weathering. Anyone would be a correct color of aged concrete: images old concrete walls - Yahoo Image Search Results When I'm trying to achieve the look of aged concrete, it's something similar to this: an-old-concrete-wall-with-cracks-1639278.jpg (1600×1071) (freeimages.com)
I'll try your technique later today with a base primer layer for craft store paints with mixing. I have a ton of gray, white, and earth tones/tans/greens which I bought for scenery. I'll also try watering them both down for mortar (couple drops dish soap + distilled water). I'll use the Testors, Vallego and craft store custom mix. I'm a little dubious as craft store paints are a little too thick. Craft paints aren't designed for smooth plastics, but uneven surfaces like woods/fabrics. Even Vallejo recommends their acryllic paints for woods. But we'll see. You do have the experience here.
I also have some Tiyama coming in (two shades)
I'll then update this post.
My second concern is having enough and saving paint for touchups. You'll have to store the extra for final stage touchups so the colors match.