Painting Brick - Feb Issue

[EVB]

Hello folks-

I loved the recent issue of MR and the article on painting bricks. I have many such buildings needed and eagerly started to try this appoach of thinned paint as a mortar wash.

My enthusiasm was dashed quickly, however, as the wash really stays on the brick faces leaving 1. lovely sections far from where I applied wash with mortar lines that look great, 2. areas where I applied paint where the faces are covered and are about as mortary as the mortar lines.  I've tried different sized brushes - small ones limit the face-painting but result in circles where the brush touched - large ones paint all the faces.  Does anyone have a better approach to making this work?

 

I've also used chalk sticks (don't like), or spackle (very vibrant, not sublte, but keeps the faces mostly clean.)

 

I want to perfect this before I tackle my recently built industries. Thanks!

[eaglescout]

I think you may be applying your paint too thick.  I water it down quite a bit and only do one wall at a time.  After a minute or two blot it off with a paper towel and then rub with a clean paper towel until you get the effect you want.  Some paint will remain on the face of the brick but it should be very transparent and dull the brightness of the styrene look if the paint was sufficiently watered down.  If you don't like the look wash it off and start over.

[MisterBeasley]

I use drywall compound.  Any excess comes off easily with a wet sponge or paper towel.  I usually thin it a bit with water before applying it.

[markie97]

I use a much thinner solution than they recommended in the article. I also try to use a smaller brush and just touch it to a gap and let it flow into the mortar lines. I then wipe as another poster indicated.

[doctorwayne]

Like Mister B, I use pre-mixed drywall compound.  I use a rag or paper towel over my fingertip to apply it, working it in around any raised details.  Once it's dried (takes only a few minutes if you don't apply it too thickly), I use a dry cloth to wipe off the excess - best done outside, as it can be dusty.
To tone-down the overly white appearance, I generally add a wash of either dilute India ink or very-well-thinned PollyScale paint - black, brown, grey, or whatever you think most suitable.  Using these washes in a heavily-diluted form allows you to build up the weathering until you achieve the effect you want. 
And do apply them as a wash - wide brush, loaded with the solution, touched to the top of the wall, then let it run down.  Do not brush it, as the mortar will be removed.  Use the brush or a paper towel to wick-away the excess as it collects at the base of the wall.
Here's a structure painted with Floquil's Reefer Orange, with mortar applied and then weathered with washes of thinned PollyScale:

Same colour, but with a lighter-coloured wash:

Wayne

[EVB]

Folks- Thanks for the replies. I love the pictures! I have spent some time today trying spackle and colored washes. I've been using a brown/black mix to tone down the mortar, and then going over the whole thing with a wash of boxcar red which blends the mortar back into the wall. The result has been nicely mottled and a lot more subtle (photos to come). I think with variation on the black, brown or black/brown washes, and different red washes, I can get a ton of variation. Still looking for other ideas though!

[dknelson]

One old piece of advice, which I am sure I read in MR, was to use white shoe polish (the kind you'd use to make tennis shoes white again) and again gently wipe it off after a few minutes drying so that it stays only in the mortar lines not on the brick face, or  only gently lightens the brick face.

Dave Nelson

[modelmaker51]

If you get too much mortar on the bricks, let it dry and then sand the faces of the bricks.

[BobL609]

I have used the Roberts brick mortar and am very pleased with the results.

[CTValleyRR]

I have had very good results using a wash.  A couple of guidelines:

1) The dilution ratio for a successful wash greatly depends on the thickness of the original paints. I'm using Vallejo acrylics, for which I find 1:15 (paint to thinner) to be a good ratio.  Formerly, I used PollyScale Dirty White in a 1:10 ratio.

2) Apply sparingly, one side at a time.  Spread it over the surface, then use the brush, paper towel, or a rag to remove pools on top of the bricks.  You just want the paint down in the cracks between the bricks.

3) As with everything else, don't slavishly follow someone else's instructions and assume they will work.  Experiment on a scrap piece of your own until you find what works for you.