Weathering

[CBQ_Guy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AggroJones

Thats right Paul. The alcohol makes the talcum powder in the dullcote visable. Re-applying dullcote turns it back.

Hi Aggro,

Actually, there's a little story that goes along with this and is how I learned "the hard way", that the Dullcote gets white and almost moldy looking when you over spray it with the alcohol/India ink solution...It's also how I learned that I really DID need to start wearing glasses!

Several years ago I was at a swap meet at the Burlington Route Historical Society in the Chicag area. The swap was crowded and it was hard at times to get up close to see some of the items on back tables. I found a beautiful, custom painted RBBL car for the Burlington in reefer yellow paint sitting in the pile. It was a model of an unavailable car at the time (which is why I like to attend the historical society swap in the first place!).

I had to lean over the front table and squint to look at the price marked on the end of the box, and to me it looked like $5! Geez, good bargain for a custom painted and lettered car. Maybe the guy doesn't know any better. I had to wait in line and avoid other "lookers" at the table to get to where the vendor was, and of course by that time there were others behind me, too. When my turn came I directed him to the car in question and told him I wanted it. He "rang it up" and announced the price I owed was $35! Whoa. That was big bucks back then. But the "peer pressure" all around me at the time kept me from saying never mind and I went ahead and forked out the bucks.

I got it home and to me the car was beautiful ... and one of a kind. I didn't want to grunge it up but wanted to at least slightly weather it to make it look more realistic. So I sprayed on a thin wash of the India Ink and alcohol.

Aaackk! What had I done? After the mix dried I had what looked to me like a moldy, white car! I ruined it! I played around with fine light sand paper, ink eraser, very fine steel wool, trying to just take off that white without screwing up the lettering or paint. Well, I went on the side of caution and was able to improve the look, though not negating the effect entirely. It was "good enough" to use on the layout, but it always bugged me I couldn't get it back to it's original look.

Since then I have learned of the "negating the effect procedure of respraying with the Dullcote", but presently the car is in "deep storage" in the basement awaiting construction of the layout. Maybe someday I'll actually try resurrecting the finish using the Dullcote...or not.

[ClinchValleySD40]

Alcohol over dull coat does make it visible and is a great way to make a faded paint look on lighter colored pieces. If you have something say light green or blue (PC or GTW), try it. Spray with dull coat and when it's dry, spray with 70% (cheap rubbing) alcohol. And if you don't like it, just respray with dull coat.

[cwclark]

...i use syringes to mix it with alcohol..I do it by mixing 0.1 or 1/10th cc of india ink to the amount of alcohol i need in a throw away plastic cup.....usually like this...
dark -0.1 cc (which is about three drops) to 3 cc's of alcohol - 1:30 ratio
medium - 0.1 cc to 6 cc's alcohol - 1:60 ratio
light - 0.1 cc to 8 cc's alhohol - 1:80 ratio

light wash - 0.1 cc poly S cement paint to 30 cc's alcohol 1:30 ratio Chuck [:D]

[AggroJones]

Thats right Paul. The alcohol makes the talcum powder in the dullcote visable. Re-applying dullcote turns it back.

[CBQ_Guy]

The formula is . . .

Some India Ink...and some alcohol!

Experiment!!

Here's a free tip: If you don't want to wait around while the mixture dries on the car to see how it looks, hit it with a hair blow dryer.

Oh, what the heck...here's another free tip: If you spray the mix on the car, especially a light colored one, over previously applied Dullcote, don't freak out at the weird effect when dry. I've heard, but haven't tried, to just spray over with another coat of Dullcote and it should go back to looking okay.

[darth9x9]

QUOTE: Originally posted by choocher

hey, i thought alcohol can dissolve paint jobs if youre not careful!

Not if you do a proper job of flat coating the model after you are done decaling it.

It is wise to have a couple different mixtures of india ink and alcohol. Some stronger that others as not everything is weathered the same amount.

[Anonymous]

hey, i thought alcohol can dissolve paint jobs if youre not careful!

[on30francisco]

You can also use black leather dye mixed with alcohol.

[Anonymous]

I use 2 drops of India ink to 60 drops alcohol. Buy low water alcohol, not over 5-7% water. You can use any pigment source mixed in alcohol for washes. Rather than making them overly strong, make two or more applications. Apply them any way you care to, from dipping to spraying.

Good Luck

Randy

[Jetrock]

4 ounces gin 1 splash vermouth, add an olive and serve over ice.

2 parts ink to 5 parts alcohol makes one heck of a black, black wash--the basic India ink wash recipe I know is more like 60 parts alcohol to 1 part ink--maybe a drop or two of ink in an ounce of alcohol.

[Anonymous]

Hmm ithink it is 2 parts ink 5 parts alcohol.

[AggroJones]

2 teaspoons of ink in 1 pint of alcohol is good for staining raw wood.

[nfmisso]

It depends on the effect you want. Experiment ! Start with a drop of india Ink in a couple ounces of alcohol.

[Anonymous]

Can someone out there give me the formula for India Ink & Alcohol Washes[?][?][?]