I had to look at my oils to see if I was overlooking that grainy effect you were getting. Nope, no grainy effect here.
I have been using what ever mood I'm in at weathering time. The oils I've used since 12-23-98 each costing $4.50 to $5.30 for 1.25 U.S. fl.oz. back then depending on color are, Grumbacher (made in USA) Burnt Sienna #520, Burnt Umber #521. Winsor & Newton (made in England) Winton oil color Burnt Sienna #2, Burnt Umber #3, Paynes Gray #32, Raw Sienna #34, Raw Umber #35 and Titanium White #40. I do not recall the thinner I used. I'll have to look and see.
BigDaddy...I've given up using rattle can dullcote...
Henry, you can get Testors' Dullcote (and Glosscote too) in 1.75oz. bottles. It can be thinned for airbrushing using ordinary lacquer thinner in a 1:1 ratio. It goes on easily in nice light coats which dry to the touch in seconds. You can also combine the Dull- and Glosscote in various ratios to create a variety of semi-gloss finishes, useful for rolling stock representing fairly new stuff or for custom-painted automobiles.
BigDaddy...I wanted to try something more than subtle weathering....
Real cars seldom get weathered in one fell swoop, but rather by a gradual build-up of exposure to the elements and to the service in which they're used. This Athearn Blue Box hopper was painted and then lettered with C-D-S dry transfers. I added some airbrushed road dust, but left it at that. One day, I had those cars (there were two lettered for the L&NE, but obviously with different numbers) on the layout, and thought them to be pretty bland-looking.I used a white charcoal pencil to add some chalk markings (not graffiti, but rather cryptic instructions written by the switchmen) which made the cars a little more interesting, but they still lacked realism. I got out the artists' oil pastels, and selected a few rust-coloured ones, rubbing them over coarse sandpaper, then using a cheap 1/2" brush, applied the resultant dust to the cars' sides and ends. After removing as much of the excess dust from the brush as was possible, I then used it to brush away the excess from the car, leaving it only in places where rust might have collected on a real hopper. It's not a rust-bucket, but it's definitely a car that's been in service for a while...
Similarly, I had an Accurail single sheathed boxcar (like the one shown below - but not this car) that I had put into service weathered fairly lightly...
The car in question was weathered in a similar manner, but having all of these cars weathered only lightly wouldn't have been too realistic. On a whim (I was in the layout room, looking for something else when the car caught my eye) I grabbed it off the layout, went straight to the workshop, and after grinding some black and dark grey pastels, used a 1/2" brush to liberally cover the car. After cleaning the brush, I brushed away the excess, but because of the pronounced board detail, much more of the pastel powder remained in place.....
...not a broken-down wreck, but certainly a car with some mileage on it, and probably due soon for a repaint - depending on a car's service and its age, it might get re-painted every 10 or 12 years, while some may never see new paint.
What I'm suggesting is that you choose a car, then use whatever methods with which you're most comfortable to apply weathering in successive light applications, building up the effects, as they would have in real life, over time - even if the time is measured in only a few work sessions. Don't be afraid to mix the methods (well-thinned water-based paint washes, airbrushed dirt and grime, or pastels, even well-thinned oils). If you have a prototype photo to follow, so much the better. You'll soon see what works best for achieving each particular effect, and how the materials interact to create a realistic look (or not - things don't always work out for me like I had hoped, but those events shouldn't stop us from trying...even, or maybe especially when we fail, we learn something.
Wayne
Yes is it oil, oil paint. I wanted to try something more than subtle weathering. I don't want all my cars to be heavily weathered, but a rust bucket or two is OK.
I am comfortable using an airbrush for light effects. I am fairly new to pan pastels. I've given up using rattle can dullcote because of the effects mentioned in another thread, it comes out too thick and it can cause an effect to the pastels similar to squirting scenic cement on ballast. There must be a name for that, but it's not coming to me.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Get some turpintine and try again - on that car.
The oil paint will soften and flow, even days later.
The cheaper the paint, the coarser the pigment is ground. Some oil paints can be quite pricey, depending on what the pigment is made from.
In the scale modeling world, most techniques involve using oils over gloss finishes so they flow. Because there's no water involved, you don't get that beading effect.
Oils have their place, but as Dr. Wayne said, they can't do everything, at least not easily. Check over on the FineScale Modeler forums and you might find some good tips for using oils.
Eric
The only oil I use is artist paint for creating rust.
Just to make sure, you did buy regular oil paint and not water soluble oil paint?
Most of the time, it helps to put the oil paint on a piece of paper, cardstock or cardboard to soak up the linseed oil, this way, you're working with the pigments. After 10-20 minutes, dab the paint on your subject and try thinning it with the mineral spirits, or thin this before placing on your item. I have been able to re-use oil paint days after it's been placed on paper, just by peeling back the outer skin and using the pigments underneath.
On your boxcar, the paint is too thick. Using a brush with mineral spirits will help remove the excess and thin the layer. Some times it helps to wipe the brush on a paper towel or rag to remove the oil paint as you thin, move around what you've applied. A little oil paint goes a long way.
Terry
Inspired by Addiction
See more on my YouTube Channel
doctorwayneWhat else would you have expected?
Well I didn't expect the thick bits would be so thick, but I always welcome your expertise and constructive criticism. It's all about learning to do better, not getting a trophy for showing up.
BigDaddyThe advantages are it doesn't disappear with dullkote, there is a wide variety of colors, and it's solvent is not the solvent for the underlying paint job....
The only weathering, of which I'm aware, that disappears with dullcote, is chalk. For weathering effects similar in appearance to chalk, but without disappearing with an application of Dullcote, a good choice is oil-based pastels. In most cases, they don't even require overspraying with Dullcote.Oil paints, on the other hand, generally dry with some gloss, requiring Dullcote to kill the shine.
BigDaddy...Experiment 1: Direct from the tube. It's thick stuff, think tooth paste. I used oderless mineral spirits on a brush to swipe downward, thinning the color. What happened was I got a gradation from hardly any color at all to grainy to thick stuff....
What else would you have expected?
BigDaddy...Experiment 2, paint mixed with oderless mineral spirits, hereafter known as OMS. What I noticed immediately, was that it wasn't a very good solvent. There was always a bit of very thick paint and there was an area of very thin paint. I applied weathering, using something in the middle of consistencies. Washing it with OMS made it look a lot better, just a tad too thick in some places....
It sounds to me as if you simply didn't mix the paint and thinner fully enough. One of the benefits of using oils is that if you don't like the results, you have a considerably longer time to wipe it off, as opposed to most other weathering methods.
In my opinion, you need to look at some photos of weathered prototypes before attempting to replicate such effects on your models: the boxcar shown in the photo has no source of the rust stain - no dent or gouge in the car's side, no sign that the holes through which the rivets pass have begun to corrode - it's simply a stain with no cause or source.If you want a more forgiving weathering method, try using a wash, created by thinning water-based paint with water - who'da thunk it? To make it easier to apply, add a drop of dish detergent, which will make it flow in a more realistic manner, rather than beading-up on the car's sides. If you just want to make the car appear "not-brand-new" use well-thinned paint. Once the first coat has dried, you can always add another application if it's not dirty enough, and that can be repeated as much as you wish.
If you have an airbrush, one of the easiest ways to make a new car look not-quite-so-new is to use a paint similar in colour to that of the car - it doesn't need to be an exact match, and in many cases, it's better if it isn't. Any kind of paint will work, water-based, lacquer-based, or alcohol-based - use about 10% paint and 90% thinner, and simply airbrush the entire car. You'll immediately notice that the lettering is less stark than before, but that it's otherwise not noticeably dirty.
This car was sprayed, as described above, then got only a very light application of "road dust" on the trucks and underbody...
This car has just been Dullcoted after lettering....
...and the same car after weathering...
...another just-lettered car from the same lot...
...and the same car weathered...
On my layout, the car shown below, would be, at most, only two months old. It got the overspray of a similar colour, and a very light spray of "road dust" on its trucks and the lower area of the sides - the latter was done by rolling the car back and forth in the spray booth, while following along with the spray...
While my preferred method of weathering is with an airbrush, oil-based artists pastels are also a useful resource. They come as paper-wrapped sticks, round or square in cross-section, similar to ordinary crayons. To use them for weathering, I simply rub them over some coarse sandpaper, then dump the resultant dust into a suitable container. You can use one colour at a time, or mix them together, then apply them using a suitably-sized brush.
Here's a car, just lettered and Dullcoted...
...and the same car, weathered as described above, with rust-coloured pastels brushed onto the rivets on the ribs on the outside of the car, then most of it brushed away using a clean brush - this leaves "rust" around the rivet heads, but that's about all. I added some airbrushed "road dust" to the car's exterior, too.The interior of the car, though, is subjected to more physical abuse, so a lot of the paint has been worn off the inner sides, which are now showing rust, some of which has been washed down, onto the wooden floor...
For this Train Miniature boxcar, I used various weathering methods, including washes of water-based paint, airbrushing, using custom-cut stencils to blacken the areas around the panel seams and rivets, and regular airbrushing to build-up various road-dirt effects...
...but when I back-dated my layout's era, I re-did the car in an earlier paint scheme, with a somewhat lighter version of the weathering...
I think that if you can get the hang of doing lighter versions of weathering, the more exteme stuff will then become easier.
I've been/am using the same as you, Henry, I'll have to take a "closer" look the next time and see if I get the same "grainy" thing.
I haven't really noticed anything. Maybe it's the type or brand of paint?
As a "side note", with all the fertilizer trains about, you get a good chance to see some really "over weathered" PS2 type hoppers. Some look so bad, like you can put your fist through the side.
Sorry, I digress.
Mike.
My You Tube
I have not gone whole hog into oil paint weathering. Mostly what I have tried to capture is a rust spot that is leaching rusty stains down the painted side of the freight car, or a rust spot on a galvanized roof.
I use no solvent. I squeeze out a tiny amount of pure oil paint in a rusty color, burnt sienna or whatever, and run a toothpick through it. Rub the toothpick on a bit of cardstock. Lightly dot the rust spot on the shell. Rub the toothpick again on a bit of paper or cardstock so that almost no oil paint remains. Use the end of the toothpick to draw down the rust stains. I suppose you could call this a variation on "dry brush" weathering but there is no brush. I would not use a brush, it holds too much and is too difficult to control. I have used those mini-swabs with roughly the same results.
It is rather amazing how long oil paints stay, if not "wet," at least something other than dry.
But again I am trying for just one effect when I use oils. My general weathering uses pastels and powders. Dullcote is step one. Then a wash of isopropyl alcohol and india ink. This gives a toothy surface for powders and pastels - I find less of it just disappears after yet another Dullcote, um, coat. It might still be a multi-step process however.
Dave Nelson
P.S. I should add that as with all of my weathering methods, I practiced first on junk shells purchased cheap at a swap meet, or culled from my own stuff. Of course it is a bit painful to do a wonderful job of weathering on a car you'll never run, but not nearly as painful as doing a horrible job on a nice car you very much hoped would turn out great.
The advantages are it doesn't disappear with dullkote, there is a wide variety of colors, and it's solvent is not the solvent for the underlying paint job.
Various craft stores will bombard you email with daily 40% off coupons, so cost is minor.
Experiment 1: Direct from the tube.
It's thick stuff, think tooth paste. I used oderless mineral spirits on a brush to swipe downward, thinning the color. What happened was I got a gradation from hardly any color at all to grainy to thick stuff.
Experiment 2, paint mixed with oderless mineral spirits, hereafter known as OMS.
What I noticed immediately, was that it wasn't a very good solvent. There was always a bit of very thick paint and there was an area of very thin paint. I applied weathering, using something in the middle of consistencies. Washing it with OMS made it look a lot better, just a tad too thick in some places.
"Turpanoid" was a name I remembered, and there are youtube videos using that too. I don't understand the chemistry of turpanoid vs OMS vs turpentine. The results I saw on the youtube videos, were the same as mine, it was too thick, but they didn't comment on the thickness at all.
I found some artsy blogs that said you shouldn't use either OMS or turpanoid with artists paints. They aren't good solvents, and they can delay drying of the oil paints. Mine dried quick enough for me. One should use "essential oils" like Rosemary oil.
This is #2, complete with flash on the ladder, I just noticed. From a distance it looks pretty good and there are times when you want some graininess.
If you use this technique, what are you using for solvents?