I would like to know what to mix with some concrete paint to wash the mixture onto a brick wall, wipe the mixture off and leave mortor lines in the indentations between the brick.
I know the technique, I just don't know the proper mix. I have never used it, but I have read about it in a couple of articles, I just have no clue what issue or how long ago.
Rod
I use 'FolkArt' Cabin Gray acrylic paint myself. I just smear some onto the wall with my finger making sure it gets into the mortar lines then wipe it off with a paper towel. Instant mortar lines.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Thanks Jeffrey, can I get this at any good art supply store like Hobby Lobby?
You should be able to. I get mine at Wal-Mart's craft aisle.
Thanks!
IDAHOSURGEThanks Jeffrey, can I get this at any good art supply store like Hobby Lobby? Rod
DrilineI'm sorry Idaho, but that is bad advice. We have some noobies on this forum who like to jump in whenever they can even if they give incorrect advice. Doing it his way gives you way to much paint and smear. It looks awful.
Jeff is hardly a newbie...and his technique works fine. It's the same one I use...
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
And I'm not a noobie. I've been in this hobby for over 40 years and have done mortar lines in many different ways involving chalks and paints an dthis is one I've found that works if done carefully.
nbrodarDrilineI'm sorry Idaho, but that is bad advice. We have some noobies on this forum who like to jump in whenever they can even if they give incorrect advice. Doing it his way gives you way to much paint and smear. It looks awful. Jeff is hardly a newbie...and his technique works fine. It's the same one I use...Nick
jeffrey-wimberlyLooks good to me.
Driline[ Thank you for confirming my worst fears.
Thank you for confirming my worst fears.
I noticed you conveniently left out the first two pictures. So I show you four pictures....you pick the one that intentionally represents a well weathered brick structure, and ignore the two that represent newer buildings....all the while not providing any pictures of your work.
How about letting the original poster be the judge of what he finds works better for him instead of trying to influence him by throwing cold water on everyone else. He could consider your method as being more trouble than he wants to deal with. I know I've tried it and it works but I don't like having cans of paint and bowls of water on the layout while I'm working on it. I find a small squeeze bottle of paint and a paper towel to be much easier.
nbrodarDriline[ Thank you for confirming my worst fears. I noticed you conveniently left out the first two pictures. So I show you four pictures....you pick the one that intentionally represents a well weathered brick structure, and ignore the two that represent newer buildings....all the while not providing any pictures of your work.Nick
I don't see any gray mortar lines at all. I see red mortar lines in red brick and yellow mortar lines in yellow brick. That to me is very unrealistic.
Hold on gents, before this becomes a full-fledged pissing contest, both ways work. For the what it's worth,the question should be answered by more questions, how old is structure? If it's 80 years old, much of the mortar may be black from years of pollution. Something newer, say twenty years old will show mortar clearer. Also, myself, if the structure is closer to the edge of layout I may put little heavier mortar wash on than if it's two feet back. A little prospective so to speak. If your veiwing a building one hundred yards away the mortar maybe just a little finer. Practice what works for yourself, it's the best teacher. mh.
DrilineFire away Ladies.....Less is more.
I have to agree with Jeff: "less" can be "more", but in the case of your nicely painted buildings, "less" appears to be "too little", at least as far as highlighting mortar lines.
Sometimes, to make details more apparent, we have to exaggerate them on our models, so wood grain is perhaps more pronounced than it would be in real life:
...rivets may be larger than actual scale size:
...or moulded-in mortar lines more pronounced than they generally are on the real thing:
The colour you choose for your bricks and for the mortar can make a big difference in the final appearance, too. The structure in the left foreground below was painted an oxide red, then drywall mud was applied to the "brick" areas. Once dried, the excess was wiped off with a dry rag:
It's meant to represent a fairly new building, with the painted concrete pilasters, and very little weathering:
This building was also done with drywall mud, but the base brick colour was Floquil Reefer Orange:
The colour is very typical of locally-made brick in this area, and un-tinted drywall mud is a good representation of mortar with a high lime content. Since this is an older building, I added some dark grey paint to the drywall mud before application, and, because that made only a minor difference in the appearance, I also applied several very well-thinned washes of PollyScale paint over the finished mortar job:
Another Reefer Orange building, this time with no drywall mud and a wash of dark grey PollyScale:
This one's also done in Reefer Orange, but washed with a lighter grey. The more-finely moulded mortar lines give a similar, yet still subtly different, appearance:
This structure, probably painted with some form of "boxcar red", got an over-all wash of dark grey (heavily thinned PollyScale), while the one in the backgound was done with a lighter shade:
Wayne
doctorwayneThe colour is very typical of locally-made brick in this area, and un-tinted drywall mud is a good representation of mortar with a high lime content. Since this is an older building, I added some dark grey paint to the drywall mud before application, and, because that made only a minor difference in the appearance, I also applied several very well-thinned washes of PollyScale paint over the finished mortar job:
DrilineMy contention with Jeffery is that he purports to slap on the paint without diluting it, and then rubbing it off the building.
nbrodar
chutton01nbrodar I just have to ask, what is this structure going to be - some sort of yard tower? Small airport control tower? To me the mortar lines look fine, but the green window roof addition looks incongruous with that style of brick building (if you have Prototype photos post 'em - it would be interesting to see)
Isn't it obvious? The glass enclosed area was a women's jello wrestling tournament that went bad.
FWIW regarding mortar, I find it works better to do the opposite...that is, I spray the flat walls with a light gray to simulate the mortar, then use an art marker to color the raised bricks. "English Red" seems to be very good brick color. Then you can use a small brush to color some other bricks different shades of red, gray or brown if you want some contrast. It also allows you to leave the gray on trim areas like above and below the windows.
WOW?? This is getting a little much for a simple question of what others do to get the results they want.
I also use cheap Folk Art (Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby) or other brands of acrylic paint in squeeze bottles, straight out of the bottle and then wipe it off almost immediately with a paper towel. I get great results and they can vary by how much you wipe off. I brush it on in small areas (about 1"x2" areas) so it doesn't have much time to set. I use a color called Linen for most of my mortar as it is a little off white; I don't want a lot of contrast. Another thing I have done it to paint the walls with 2 or 3 shades of brick and when you put the mortor over it, you get some variations in the bricks. I can see thinning it out a little with water or alcohol but not very much. I have also used a damp paper towel to remove some of the paint from the brick surface when I think it looks to washed out; again depending on the effect I am looking for (old or new brick work).
This method works great for me, doesn't use a lot of 'equipment' and can be done in steps or when I have time to work on the model. My suggestion Rod, is to try a couple of methods and see what works best for you. You may even like both or other methods. Just try some and go from there. One other advantage of what I suggested is that you can wipe the mortor off completelly if you don't like what you did.
Bob
Forgot to add photos of some of the brick mortar I did this way.
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
DrilinenbrodarDriline[ Thank you for confirming my worst fears. I noticed you conveniently left out the first two pictures. So I show you four pictures....you pick the one that intentionally represents a well weathered brick structure, and ignore the two that represent newer buildings....all the while not providing any pictures of your work.Nick Fire away Ladies.....Less is more.
Your pictures prove NOTHING for all any of us know these structures could have been purchased or done by someone else but what your replies do indicate s your sheer arrogance and ignorance to personally attack another members modeling.which if I recall is strictly forbidden according to the rules of the board. Jeff's techniques do have some merit and I have seen the same such techniques done by published modelers and some even in Allen Keller's video collection of Great Model Railroads can any of that be said for your work I suspect not. What are posted here are techniques and opinions on how one does things thee is no right or wrong answer. One can choose to disagree with a posters opinions in a much more civilized manner in which you've chosen to do so. You've proven not that you have a valuable technique but that you are an arrogant individual who owes Jeff and apology
To the O/P not all structures are weathered or detailed the same so doing everything one way is a sure fire way of making your layout have a cookie cutter appearance. Jeff's method has some merit to it and I feel is worth a try if you do or don't then thats up to you as it's your.railroad. My current method of choice for masonry grout lines are is something i picked up from reading Marty McGuirk's Kalmbach book "A model railroaders guide to Locomotive Servicing Terminals"
In which he describes how you first lay your panels flat on the workbench and brush on a copious amount of water over the brick surface, then simply take straight color be it gray or aged concrete or aged white what ever mortar color you decide on is up to you. The water will cause the color to wick through and fill all of the grout lines similar to capillary action but not exactly the same. After the color has set up for a bit you can wipe off the excess with either a paper towel soft cotton cloth or a sponge brush I use a combination of all three some times and some times just one or two. If you want the wash to be lighter simply brush on some more water if you want the lines darker and more pronounced dry the surface of a bit before you apply color.
I feel it gives a very nice appearance of not only the grout-lines but it gives the appearance of aged brick as well.
below is an example,
As noted, there are lots of ways to accomplish this task, and anyone wishing to do so might try all of the techniques suggested in order to avoid having all of your brick structures look the same. As shown, there are good results to be had from all of these methods.
Drilinejeffrey-wimberlyLooks good to me. I've seen pictures of your layout numerous times. You should be the poster boy for "Looks good to me". Thanks, but....no thanks.
Yard office...
doctorwayne As noted, there are lots of ways to accomplish this task, and anyone wishing to do so might try all of the techniques suggested in order to avoid having all of your brick structures look the same. As shown, there are good results to be had from all of these methods
As noted, there are lots of ways to accomplish this task, and anyone wishing to do so might try all of the techniques suggested in order to avoid having all of your brick structures look the same. As shown, there are good results to be had from all of these methods
Perhaps the OP can buy a set of modular brick wall panels like DPM or Walthers offers - perhaps 6 or so. Then, try out the different mortar methods given, plus whatever other ones you may read on the web or in magazines/reference books. Compare and contrast, and then for methods that yield results you like, strip off the paint from the other wall panels and redo them with your favored methods, tweaking a the methods a bit to see if you get results you like better - make notes of what seems to work for you, plus you get practice in finishing buildings. Preferably get wall panels w/ windows/doors/quoins so you can see how the mortar methods works with such details - for example, does the mortar build up around these extrusions?When done, strip the paint off all the wall panels and use them to build a background building flat (or whatever) using your new-found skills.
wjstixFWIW regarding mortar, I find it works better to do the opposite...that is, I spray the flat walls with a light gray to simulate the mortar, then use an art marker to color the raised bricks. "English Red" seems to be very good brick color. Then you can use a small brush to color some other bricks different shades of red, gray or brown if you want some contrast. It also allows you to leave the gray on trim areas like above and below the windows.
I use this technique as well...
Art Markers:
Colored pencils work too:
Just a personal observation here...a bit off topic, but addressing Driline's first post to this thread. It seems he has derieded this forum because he feels it is populated by dilettantes who like to encourage each other and who talk about more frivolous things associated with the hobby...no depth. Then, when a thread like this starts, and different experiences are shared, with the depth that obviously accomplished modelers have imparted by their posts, his contribution was sneering disdain and more derision.
I would like those who helped to educate Driline by supporting Jeff to know that this forum is stronger and better by your presence. Personally, I am happy that you are here and willing to contribute instead of taking away.
-Crandell
nbrodar Yard office... Nick
Aha, I thought the building style looked a little incongruous with the tower addition. Your prototype has the plain, simple look of many service buildings starting from, well, the late 1930s I think - no lintels about the windows, no stonework/roof parapets etc. No real adornments, plain railroad service style (and actually the style of municipal and government service buildings from the 1940s till...well today even). It was kinda bugging me, as the 'minimalist' style slanted glass tower and the 'ornate' brick building don't fit well.However, I do like how you ran the rolled roofing up onto the interior sides of the walls, very prototypically common.