I'm looking for information on ways to create an aged, weathered, rusted effect on steel bridges. I'm not finding anything when I search in MR. Any suggestions or references? Thanks.
Jim
The bridge in this picture is nscale and slighly weathered.
The ME girder bridges parts where first airbrushed fadded black ( I use Golden acrilycs artist paint)
When dry I added some very small patch of rust color ( again Golden) whith a small brush, the color is diluted whith water.
Happy whith the result I come back whith some wash here and there of a natural grey stone (Golden again).
I finished the wheatering by brushing on the side of the bridges rust pigment.
The whole bridge was airbrushed whith a slight spray of a matte varnish (Golden again.
Well, at this point, you need to specify or determine how aged or weathered it is going to be, and what is the color of the bridge. A dark colored bridge will show aging more than a silver colored bridge will. An air brush will give you the best effects and best results, but you can still do it with a brush. The first thing is to figure out how long the bridge has been there. If a very long time with no maintenance it will be dirty and rusty, and more dirty over the rust. Rust can be simulated in a couple of different ways:
One is to use chalks for the weathering process. You want old rust, new rust, dirt and dust. Chalks should be applied to a flat painted surface for best results. Once chalks are applied and you are happy with them, spray the whole thing with clear flat to fix the chalk in place. This will also tone down the weathering. The advantage with chalks is that if you are not happy with the results before you spray the clear flat coat on, you can wash them off and start over.
The second way is with paint using mostly the dry brush technique or an air brush. Apply new rust first so if you get too much you can go over it with old darker rust. Its hard to apply dust and dirt with a dry brush so you may have to mist on some dirt and dust from a spray can held far away. Using an air brush for this is better because you have more control. You should practice that before doing your actual bridge. You could also apply a gray wash to the bridge instead of the paint mist for the dirt and dust.
A third way is to use a rust colored wash on the bridge and apply it where it will run down the seams and cracks by touching individual parts of the bridge with the wet wash brush. Most rust seems to be where two or more steel pieces meet and are riveted together. When that dries, then add the dirt and dust. Or perhaps you could do the dirt and dust first, then add the rust.
The older the bridge, the more rust it will have.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
I weather steel bridges the same way I weather steel freight cars, with washes and powdered chalks.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
Be careful about over-weathering, and find a prototype example (one located in the area your modeling)
These two examples were built in 1913 and were abandoned in 1980, and are on the central Montana praire, which can be dry in the summer and harsh in the winter. They look pretty good for almost 101 years old, and with Milwaukee Roads deferred maintenance, it's safe to say they haven't been touched in the 44 years. Its safe to say paint was better in those days than today's lead free paint.
A light dusting of the trestle using Brangdon powders will do the trick, black powder on a black bridge.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
This is a scratch built bridge. I sprayed it with black and grey rattle cans and the rust is with weathering powder followed by dullcoat. It looks completely different depending on what lights I have on in the room.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I have to agree with Geared Steam, a lot of rust is an engineering no-no. Rusting away weakens the structure.
I weathered the bridge on my turntable using acrylic craft paints. I just make a wash with some tan paint, or I mix red, burnt umber, and a bit of yellow, and then create a heavy wash. I then lightly swipe a small artist's brush laden with the wash down the flanges of the sections of plate girder, but mostly I want more/most of it to pool and to dry on the bottom flange, as you can see.
Jim, any weathering technique will work, here's one: weathering powders applied with a stiff brush.
Docjmp I'm looking for information on ways to create an aged, weathered, rusted effect on steel bridges. I'm not finding anything when I search in MR. Any suggestions or references? Thanks. Jim
Joe C" />
I usually airbrush the entire bridge very thoroughly with a rust colour (not one commercially available, though, as they mostly represent "new" rust). Since all of my road's bridges are supposedly painted black, I mix a suitable version using black with various additions of grey, brown, orange, and/or red. This is applied less thoroughly than the initial coat of rust, leaving areas which represent the joints between the bridge components (where rust often forms) with a slight accumulation of surface rust still showing (although they seem to photograph more reddish-brown than black ). If you're modelling an older or out-of-service bridge, more severe rust effects can be added using paint or weathering powders, but most in-service bridges are well maintained.
Wayne
doctorwayne - That is a neat trick, painting the bridge dark rust first, then going over it with black just enough to let the rust show. I am going to put that in my bag of weathering tricks. Thanks.
I first gave this bridge a spray from a rattle can of ruddy-brown primer from Krylon. I like that better than "rust" colored primer. Then I used AIM weathering powders in rust and black to break up the uniformity of the spray paint, and finally I used Krylon clear flat spray to seal in the powders.
I did this some years ago. I originally used a "Moss Green" spray can, and then I attacked the bridge with a product called Instant Rust. It's an iron emulsion that you paint on and then add an oxidizer after it dries. This gives the heavy encrusted rust texture. The "newly painted" part of the bridge was originally done in silver and kept that way with masking.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
My weathering varies between locales.
This bridge received light weathering with pastel chalks.
This one was weathered more heavily, with a combination of airbushing much diluted enamel, followed by oil washes.
This one was also weathered with chalks.
Rob Spangler
doctorwayneI usually airbrush the entire bridge very thoroughly with a rust colour (not one commercially available, though, as they mostly represent "new" rust).
I use the same techinque except after spraying the bridge with rust I pat the bridge color on with wedge makeup sponges. This allows the paint to cover the flat areas and leave the rust in the corners and seams. You can vary the amount of 'paint' to suit your desired effect. I find this a much easier way to get the results I want.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
Here's a video showing numerous techniques. I am not the author of the video, kudos to my internet friend for posting this......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TKSYBGbfiQ&list=FLdGVpwwfUQgma1XgjxIAs1A&index=2
Inspired by Addiction
See more on my YouTube Channel
PC:
Thanks for posting the youtube clip. The salt technique is really ingenious and results in a very realistic rust effect. I've got to try it.
Joe
Geared Steam Be careful about over-weathering, and find a prototype example (one located in the area your modeling) These two examples were built in 1913 and were abandoned in 1980, and are on the central Montana praire, which can be dry in the summer and harsh in the winter. They look pretty good for almost 101 years old, and with Milwaukee Roads deferred maintenance, it's safe to say they haven't been touched in the 44 years. Its safe to say paint was better in those days than today's lead free paint. A light dusting of the trestle using Brangdon powders will do the trick, black powder on a black bridge.
Just as an aside (slightly OT), but if those are the bridges that were on the line from Kingston Jct to Geraldine, they aren't abandoned. There is a local shortline that runs on those tracks. It is the CMR (Central Montana Railroad). It has connections to the BNSF at Moccasin for one part of the line and at Sipple for the other section of track. They also run a dinner train during the summer called the "Charlie Russel Chew-Choo" that runs from Kingston Jct. to the yard at Denton and back.