Brick Mortar lines

[decoderboy]

I have built a bunch of brick buildings over the last year or so and Roberts Brick Mortar formula seems to do the best job of making nice white or tinted motar lines. But, no matter how carefull i am, and how hard i rub to clean up the face of the brick it never looks as good as i would like. I just finished the walls on the Walthers Prairie Star Milling co and sprayed everything with Polyscale Lt. Freight Car Red. Has anyone tried spraying the walls with Testors Dull Coat, or a semi gloss before applying the mortar. My thought was that it might make it easyer to remove the paste from the face of the brick. Thanks Mike

[wholeman]

I don't think spraying Dullcote before the mortar lines will help.  I would think that the Dullcote would "trap" some of the paint in.

Just my

[tbdanny]

I'm not sure what Roberts Brick Mortar formula is based in (water, oil, etc.)  But what works for me is using a product called 'light filler'.  You can find it at hardware stores in a tube.  Basically, it's a form of plaster-like paste used to repair minor holes in walls.

To use it to create mortar lines, I dip a finger in water and use this finger to smear the light filler over the side of the brick building, using my fingers to work it into corners and wipe off any excess.  As well as providing excellent mortar lines, it also tones down the plastic sheen of the bricks.

If the product you're using isn't giving you the results you want, maybe you should try another one.

[GMTRacing]

The stuff is water soluble and I've used a slightly damp (very slightly) sponge. Lightpressure and care and you can clean the excess off the brick but you'll need patience and you'll need to clean the sponge often so it doesn't simply streak the surface.Good luck.  J.R.

[doctorwayne]

I use pre-mixed drywall mud for mortar - it's white, although you can tint it with acrylic paints.  It comes in plastic tubs of varying sizes - a little goes a long way.  I leave it white, then add a weathering wash of dilute PollyScale paint to the entire structure. 

To apply it, I stretch a rag over my fingertip, dip it into the mud, then rub it over the pre-painted "brick" surface.  Work it in around projecting details such as window sills, etc.  If you're careful, you can apply it on a completed structure, although I find it's easiest to do an assembled building with the windows and doors not yet installed.  This way, there's no need to be too neat.  Let the "mortar" dry - it usually takes only a few minutes - then use a clean, dry rag to wipe the excess off the face of the bricks.  This is best done outdoors, as it does make some dust, especially when you periodically shake-out the rag.

Apply a weathering wash if you wish - I usually complete the structure before doing so, but feel free to experiment.  Don't brush the wash too much, or you'll remove the "mortar".  I flow it on with a 1" brush, letting it run down the walls, then siphon-off the excess with the corner of a paper towel.  Here are a few examples:

Wayne

 

[loathar]

wholeman

I don't think spraying Dullcote before the mortar lines will help.  I would think that the Dullcote would "trap" some of the paint in.

Just my

Agreed.

[dehusman]

Paint the brick with a coat of black and one or two coats of brick color.  Spread the mortar and wipe it off as normal.  After it dries, use a Bright Boy or wet dry sandpaper to gently remove excess mortar from the surface.  If you use black and two coats of brick color each a different shade, depending on how thick the coats are and how heavily you rub, you could get variations in the color of the bricks.  I have tried this in a couple tests, but I use a paint wash instead of a plaster based material for mortar.

[0-6-0]

Hello I used Polyscale aged concrete thinned down just a little for my mortar.And then I take a damp rag wipe lightly to clean the brick. And then I take a tuscan red pencil cut the wood back 1'' or so and use the side and rub it on the brick for color. It comes close to the color of some of the brick by me. Hope this helps Frank

[decoderboy]

Thanks for the replys. Nice job on the buildings by the way. The rolled roofing with flashing up the wall looks great. The idea behind the dullcoat before the mortar is to seal the paint so you do not get the white patchy look on the face of the brick. I am going to try one wall on the back to see if it makes it easyer to clean up. mike

[alanprocter]

Wayne:

Thanks for your process - It was very timely for me as I was about to decide how to "motorize" my Cornerstone Modular freelanced construction.  I tried it yesterday and it worked like a charm.  I had already spray painted the walls [no windows/doors yet] with a light brown not unlike the original colour.  I also tried the darkened wallpaper paste [on a test piece] but I don't think this turned out so well.  My task now is how to add some decals.  I am experimenting with some gash pieces.  Do you have any suggetions?  I see that you have decals or signage on one of the structures.  I was thinking of dullcoating first.  Your photos are incredible - hope mine turn out as well.

Alan

[doctorwayne]

Thank you for the kind words, Alan.  I'm glad to hear that the method worked well for you, too.  If you're planning on using decals, it might be a good idea to apply some sort of sealer, such as Dullcote, first - no telling how the "mortar" will react to water and decal setting solution.

For the lettering on National Grocers, the sign areas were masked-off, then airbrushed with Floquil Reefer White.  When the paint was fully dried, I used dry transfer alphabet sets to apply the lettering (the colour of the dry transfers is unimportant, as they're used merely as a masking device).  If you use this method, don't burnish the letters after they're applied.  I also used masking tape to cover the edges of the white areas, then sprayed all of the sign areas black.  As soon as the paint was dry to the touch, I removed all of the masking tape, then "dabbed" at the lettering using the sticky side of more masking tape - this lifts the dry transfers, revealing the white paint underneath.  This method will work for any colour combination, although white on black was very common.  Here's an aerial view from the "working" side of the complex:

Wayne

 

 

[jwhitten]

doctorwayne

I use pre-mixed drywall mud for mortar

Wayne

 

 

 

Really nice mortar job Wayne!

 

However, I am wondering how one goes about getting rid of those seams where the walls come together? BTW, I don't mean that as a dig at you, I would just really like to know how- if you or anybody knows the answer to that...???

[doctorwayne]

That particular structure was in a plastic bag on the bargain table at a LHS - the former owner had made a mess of building it, and then it had been broken apart, with parts of one wall stuck to the adjoining wall.  As far as I could tell, it's part of a Magnuson model, made from resin castings, but several walls appeared to be missing.  The two unseen sides, plus the roof , were done with .060" sheet stryrene.   As you can see, I didn't get a particularly good joint on that corner - not too noticeable on the layout, but the camera doesn't miss much.   You'll notice, though, that the bricks on the trackside wall don't match up with those on the wall facing the camera - they're aligned at the 7th and 8th courses above the loading dock, then again at the 3rd,4th, and 5th courses below the stone trim near the top of the doorways.  I had considered filling the crack with body filler, but felt that carving the mortar detail would make the misaligned bricks just as "eye-catching" as the slightly open seam.   In most cases, a few passes with a file or dragging the mating edges over a sheet of sandpaper will eliminate the gap, but all of the corners had bits of the mating walls cemented securely in place.  On a structure where the bricks do line-up around the corners, you can fill the gap, then re-carve the mortar lines using the backside of an X-Acto #11 blade.  On some structures, you can add a downspout (good at a corner or anywhere on a straight wall), and another choice would be an electrical conduit.  The windows of this building are cast as an integral part of the walls, and several had broken or missing muntins - I used strip styrene to replace the missing parts, and took the opportunity to model some windows in an open position.  After scratchbuilding the loading dock, it was installed on the layout.  Guess it's time to install a couple of downspouts.

Wayne

[jwhitten]

doctorwayne

That particular structure was in a plastic bag on the bargain table at a LHS - the former owner had made a mess of building it, and then it had been broken apart, with parts of one wall stuck to the adjoining wall. [...]  I had considered filling the crack with body filler, but felt that carving the mortar detail would make the misaligned bricks just as "eye-catching" as the slightly open seam.   In most cases, a few passes with a file or dragging the mating edges over a sheet of sandpaper will eliminate the gap, but all of the corners had bits of the mating walls cemented securely in place.  On a structure where the bricks do line-up around the corners, you can fill the gap, then re-carve the mortar lines using the backside of an X-Acto #11 blade.  On some structures, you can add a downspout (good at a corner or anywhere on a straight wall), and another choice would be an electrical conduit.  The windows of this building are cast as an integral part of the walls, and several had broken or missing muntins - I used strip styrene to replace the missing parts, and took the opportunity to model some windows in an open position.  After scratchbuilding the loading dock, it was installed on the layout.  Guess it's time to install a couple of downspouts.

Wayne

 

 

Thanks for the tips. I appreciate it. I have a bunch of structures like that-- whole towns in fact that I've bought cheap off ebay (see my other post about "trolling" and "good deals" :) I figure at the very least (and the primary reason I bought them) is that they will help me lay out and determine where I want buildings to go and be placeholders for this and that. Or if they're in good shape, just (re)paint them and go. Some are in good shape. Some aren't. Most of them have all the parts but just weren't put together very well. I figure they can probably be taken apart and rebuilt, or else will make good pieces for my scrap box. But one of the niggling little problems I hadn't figured out how to handle yet was the wall seams-- thanks for the info.

 

John

[markpierce]

dehusman

Paint the brick with a coat of black and one or two coats of brick color.  Spread the mortar and wipe it off as normal.  After it dries, use a Bright Boy or wet dry sandpaper to gently remove excess mortar from the surface.  If you use black and two coats of brick color each a different shade, depending on how thick the coats are and how heavily you rub, you could get variations in the color of the bricks. 

I like the idea of the black undercoat.  I'll have to try that on my next brick structure.  Yellow and orange should also work under a red-brick overcoat, speaking of which "rust" paint makes a decent brick color too.

Mark

[steamage]

I use a wash of off white indoor Latex paint brushed on each wall facing up and flat, let dry before turning the structure to the next wall.  When all walls are finished, a soft cloth is rubbed over the walls to bring up the face bricks back to color. Windows and doors are painted last.