Weathering

[Anonymous]

I am currently in the process of weathering a Southern woodchip car. What is the best technique to keep the pastel chalks to stay on? It seems dullcote would remove all the work. Some say hairspray works well. Please give me your proven techniques since I am new to this.

Also, does anyone know a prototype picture on the web for weathering such a beast?[:)]

[Anonymous]

I have alwaysed used drybrushed paints and misting from an airbru***o do my weathering, Never used pastel chalks. But I hear that you want to use something avialable from art supply stores called "Fixer" which basicly is a clear coat for pencil drawings. The problem I understand with dull coat on chalks is that it dissolves the chalk and thus lightens the weathering effect you were trying to creat.

[Anonymous]

You don't mention what scale you are working in, but I model in N-scale and I use pastels together with washes to do my weathering. I use "Nupastel" brand name and a fluffy bru***o apply the chalk dust, just slightly heavier than the end result will be. Then, I use a VERY thin wash of black acrylic paint to "set" it. The black adds shadow in the places where it settles, and the chalk stays where you've put it, for the most part. The trick is to get an entire side or area wet with the wash at one time, and for this reason it might be tricker to do in larger scales. Then again, if the car side is broken into natural divisions, you can work one "panel" at a time. I use a supple brush with strands long enough to match the height of my car, load it heavy with the wash, and then roll the wash onto the car side so that I have minimal brush strokes; the brush strokes can move the chalk around.

Of course, after you've practiced this a bit, you'll learn that you can do neat tricks, too. One is to go very heavy with a rust-colored chalk and then apply the wash; the chalk will float on top of the wash in clumps, and then when it dries, they will settle down as random rust spots on the side. Another trick is to use a damp (not wet) brush, dipped directly into rust-colored chalks, to apply rust streaks as though it were paint. This actually can work really good with turpentine, too: you dip the brush in turpentine, then dry it out on a towel, so that it is almost but not quite dry. Then go into the chalks, and then blot this out a bit. Now, you can easily add rain streaks, or apply dry-brush highlights to details, etc.

If your black wash is not quite as THIN as I say, and your chalks are applied really heavy, then you'll get them to mix and produce a range of greys, rather than the original chalk color. In my eye, the random greys look more realistic than "off-the-stick" pastel colors. The way the wash dries, too, it can produce some neat unintended effects; essentially, you're sticking dirt onto the side of the car in the same way that nature does, i.e. with moisture. I don't know if all of this works with brands other than Nupastel, but I suspect that it does; the wash doesn't really dissolve the chalk but rather it acts like a glue.

Give it a try on one of your lesser models, and see if you can get it to work. It's rather easy, honestly.

[Anonymous]

i sent an inquiry to the old Paint Shop column in MR some years ago asking the very question you ask. it was published, but with no solution to the problem. i have tried and tried to "set" powdered chalk on my rolling stock. i have tried spraying a lite coat of paint, with retarder added, to the car and putting the pastels over this. don't do it unless you are going to throw the car away anyhow. i have tried a dilute solution of various types of glue misted on with an airbrush. if i have heard about it, it have tried it. if you want the pastel chalks to look the way they are when you apply them, i suggest you do what i do. nothing. just leave the chalk on the car dry, carefully place the car on the track and do not touch it again. i have gone away from chalks on my rolling stock and now use dry brush and air bru***echniques to get the weathering i seek.

hope you find a solution, a REAL solution, to the problem of fixing pastels to rolling stock. i have not.

tom

[Anonymous]

I use chalk all the time to do weathering. My technique is using Krylons Clear Matte. I hold the car/loc about arms distance away and spray it on. Actually I spray it spray it in burst. Meaning I'll psuh the button down just enuff so that the spray ome out. Also you can put the car/loco on a table and as you spray, move from side to side just as if you were airbrushing. Remember if any of the chaulk is blown off, add more after the spray dries (a few seconds). You can build up the weathering effect. Also if the chaulk blows off, add more chalk while the spray is wet.

[Anonymous]

Gap:

You don't say what scale you are working in...it does make a difference. I work in HO and the following seems to work for me.

First, wa***he car, assuming it is prepainted plastic or some other non-wood, you want it clean of all oils or other contamination which will make it difficult for pigments to stick.

Second, give the car a LIGHT spray of dullcote or matte finish. The aim is to provide a 'toothy' surface for the coloring.

Third. brush on whatever mixture of colors you want.

Fourth, again spray lightly with dullcote to set the weathering powder. If you are using a spray can use short bursts and be far enough from the surface to minimize the blowing effect of the propellent. If you are using an air brush use the lowest air pressure which will atomize the material you are spraying. In either case begin spraying first and move the spray over the model, ending having moved the spray off the opposite end of the model. I like to use a slight angle rather than straight at the surface. The idea is to cover the model in several passes with the least amount of 'wind' to blow the powder off the model. Do not over-wet the surface.

You may need/want to make several applications to achieve the amount of weathering for a particular project. Its best to use less rather than more.

Rule of thumb: When you don't think you have enough weathering set the car aside for a day or two and then look at it. Its usual to change your mind and realize you have done enough. Remember you can always add later. Its much more time consuming to take weathering off.

I like to weather the trucks separately from the car, using small detail brush work and a final spray of grime with an admixture of whatever the prevailing dirt color is on your road.

With practice you will shortly see the difference.

Good luck

Randy

[tomwatkins]

I use Krylon #1306 " Workable Fixatif ". That really is the correct spelling. It's a clear spray for art work which prevents smudging on pencil drawings and such. You still do lose some of the effect of the chalks, but not nearly as much as with Dull Coat. I've also started using Bragdon Enterprise's weathering powders. They have a powdered adhesive mixed in with the chalk which is activated by the brush strokes. They seem to stick quite well without overspraying.
Tom Watkins