Your weather method

[wp8thsub]

Canadianknight

Rob, love your backgrounds, especially the farmland with distant hills! Did you do em, or is the a product? Looks awesome!

Thanks!  I paint them with acrylics.  

[kasskaboose]

Weathering is quite enjoyable for me.  I am nowhere near an expert so still have PLENTY to learn.  I often try to mimic photos. They are a great (and free) resource.  Since no two cars weather the same, I try to apply that to rolling stock.

I try for a thorough job weathering (e.g. wheels, roof, sides, etc.) expensive artist paint (in tubes), cheap paint, and artist chalk. 

Art paint: I squeeze out a tiny amount of burnt umber, burnt sienna, and brown together.  Using a toothpick, I often combine the colors together and use paint brushes to mimic rust spots.  I use round brushes for circles and flat ones for streaks.  This paint combo is invaluable for wheelsets, couplers, etc.  The paints are expensive but can last forever!

Hobby paint: Use browns or blacks for roofs or different colors for different panels on the tops of covered gons.  This mimics replaced panels.

Art chalk: I shave the chalk that is similar to the car into a small container.  I then spray the car w/ dull coat and then use a stiff (read expensive) art brush to brush the powder on the car.  I go in a downward motion since that's how weathering also appears in real life.

While thorough, my wife reminds me that less is more.  The trick is to just start weathering using pics as a guide.  Reading what others do helps but follow Nike's motto.

Cheers,

Lee

[Canadianknight]

Rob, love your backgrounds, especially the farmland with distant hills! Did you do em, or is the a product? Looks awesome!

[AntonioFP45]

Here's a LL HO P2K GP9.

I weathered the trucks only, with some light grime and rust washes.  I plan on weathering the rest of the underframe and body after DCC/Sound and additional detailing parts are installed. Inspite of the criticisms from some modelers, I like the "openable cab doors" feature. I remember seeing the prototype SCL units running with their cab doors open on hot summer days. Who could blame the crews?

[trolleyboy]

I used to always airbrush weather ,however once I tried the Bragdon powders about five years ago now ,I almost exclusively have gone that way. When I feel nostalgic I'll break out the grimy black and dust flo-quils and have at it in the spray booth , but really I find the powders to a much better job, especially along rivet lines on freight cars .I still hand dry brush freight car trucks and wheels though.

[chutton01]

I sold out to the way of Søeborg a year ago, and now most everything (rolling stock, locos, truck trailes, dumpsters, construction equipment - if it moves and operates in a "harsh environment", it gets weathered) gets a thin wash/airbrush of very thinned light grey, and then thinned dark skin tone along the bottom edges.  Sometimes a light spray of dark grey (aka weathered black) along the tops of rolling stock.
Appropiate applications of Bragdon powders as needed - say light rust on springs, heavy rust & dark grey inside the aforementioned dumpsters.  Sometimes I use the scrapings from artist chalks.
Everything gets dull-coated to one degree or another; road vehicles which are supposed to be shiny get semi-gloss.  In other words...nothing really spectacular or cutting edge in today's current environment.
I have yet to model anything totally decripit, so I haven't followed any super advanced techniques.

[AntonioFP45]

Ok.

For simple light weathering, I usually make washes with these 3 colors from Pollyscale. I use them separately and combined. Clear plastic egg trays or pill cartons are great tools for creating mixing washes in.

After applying light streaks of rust, I come back with my grime and then fresh dirt/dust color. To create grime, I simply mix Dirt and Conrete together. As I posted on another thread, to me, the slighlty yellowish concrete resembles light colored earth in Florida when it's saturated with pollen during the spring and fall seasons.The washes are applied on my passenger cars' underframe, trucks, and wheel faces.

Inexpensive brush sets can be used, but for just an extra few dollars you purchase a Taklon paint brush set, which are still affordable ($7-$15) but are a nice step above the lower grade brushes geared towards children at Walmart.  Taklon brush heads hold their shape well as long as you keep them clean.

This can be done with an airbrush as well. But for me, when I apply washes with a brush (forgive me for sounding goofy) I get a sort of "Pablo Picasso" feel that I enjoy as I slowly create my "art work".

yougottawanta

Thanks. I would appreciate it if some of the posters could give more detail such as showing photos of actual methaods on applying , chalk, pastels, oils , sprays etc...Nmae of the products they prefer etc... I really appreciate allof the feed back so far.

 

[wjstix]

If weathering is done right, it should almost be unnoticed, but enhance the 'realism' of the engine, car, building etc. It's kinda like make-up. If you see a gal and just think "wow, that's a pretty girl", then the make-up was done correctly. She's highlighted what should be highlighted, and covered what should be covered, but made it all look natural. If you think "wow, she did a great job applying that make-up", then the make-up was over-done.

[MisterBeasley]

AIM powders.  They're the ones my LHS stocks, so they're the ones I bought.  First I give the model a coat of Krylon flat spray to give the surface some "tooth," then the powder and then another coat of spray to seal it.  I used to use Testor's Dull Coat, but it's not as good since they changed the formula and way more expensive than Krylon.

[dehusman]

Many methods.  Powders, airbrushed oversprays, colored pencils, washes.

When I was modeling steel cars of the 1950's my favorite weathering was airbrushing oversprays.  I used three colors, black, a medium grey and a boxcar or primer red.  Grey for dust.  Black for grime, soot and coal dust.  Boxcar red for rusty dust (brake shoes).  Pretty much every car got some combination of one or all three colors.

I have found that consistency is important.  Having every car with a little weathering, just to take the new off, without making the car a wreck, is very effective for an overall feel.  Also making the buildings and scenery weathered to the same degree gives an overall unity of look.  For example when I glued ballast down I put a bit of the generic "dirt" color latex paint I used for a base coat of the scenery in the water-glue mix.  That made the ballast look a bit dusty and tied it into the ground forms.

[yougottawanta]

Thanks. I would appreciate it if some of the posters could give more detail such as showing photos of actual methaods on applying , chalk, pastels, oils , sprays etc...Nmae of the products they prefer etc... I really appreciate allof the feed back so far.

[AntonioFP45]

For years, I kept my rolling stock clean but wanted to make them look more realistic.  I wasn't satisfied with my early weathering ventures. However, sometime in the early 90s (I think) I was fascinated by an article in a Model Railroader issue that described "Weathering Washes". 

In a nutshell:

1. Overthin the paint.

2. Apply with quality brushes  

3. Let gravity and capillary action to the rest of the work.

Although I'm an airbrush nut, I now prefer to weather with paint brushes and find it to be relaxing and enjoyable. I weather my passenger cars lightly, to provide a "regulary on the road, but well taken care of" appearance.  

(sorry for the blurred shots) Here are two identical cars. The one on the bottom is stock, the top unit I stripped and metalized. Notice how the stock details on the metalized unit's underframe stand out.

I've often respectfully suggested to modelers that are hesitant about weathering to, at least, try their hand at lightly "wash-weathering" the trucks and couplers on a scrap or expendable car. The results can be quite pleasing.

 

[wp8thsub]

I use different methods, sometimes on the same car.

This Airslide hopper was mostly weathered with washes of artists' oils.

Here's an ExactRail flatcar with the laser taskboard deck.  I painted the deck seprately with gray primer out of a spray can, and weathered it with chalks and water color pencils prior to installation.  The rest of the car was weathered with chalks.

This car received acrylic washes for fading and rust on the sides, and full-strength acrylic for rust on the roof (working mostly from light to dark).  I also "drew" areas of remaining paint on the roof with more chalk, applying directly from the pastel stick (i.e. not powdering it first).  The running board was removed while weathering the roof.

I started this project with oil washes for the rust and grime, then finished with airbrushing with lighter colors.  Patches were done with colored decal film.

These cars received chalk dust that was then scrubbed on with a damp paper towel to push the weathering around rivet seams and ribs while leaving to top surfaces of the ribs cleaner.

This car was airbrushed multiple times.  A brush with a small amount of thinner was used to streak the weathering, then more airbrushing blended the streaks.  The tops of the ribs were cleaned with a very small brush and more thinner.

The NP hopper got rust from oil washes.  Cement residue on all these cars was added with an airbrush.

[IRONROOSTER]

richhotrain

 

 

yougottawanta

What weathering method/product do you use and how ?

 

 

 

I got this problem solved.  I don't weather anything.

 

Rich

 

Age and dust.

Paul

[Jimmy_Braum]

Doc's weathering powders from micromark. Plus cheap former makeup brushes. For example: I rusted her, faded the blue paint,etc

[doctorwayne]

ricktrains4824

Wow. 

Must be nobody else does any weathering....

Or, they are guarding their secrets really well!

 

I doubt there's much in the way of secrets nowadays, although I recall a time when many modellers were loath to share their techniques on anything.

 

DGX GP 38

I think that weathering tends to be a subjective endeavor. The final product is often acceptable to the individual and not necessarily the masses. The look you are trying to achieve may be great for your prototype, but not mine.

 

I certainly can agree with that.  While I appreciate the realism and the skill it takes to weather some of the clapped-out looking, graffiti-covered equipment seen nowadays, it's not the look I want for my late-'30s era rolling stock and locomotives.

Since most prototype railroads see cars from all over the continent, it's probably a good idea to use various weathering techniques to replicate those varied appearances when trying to model those cars on our layouts. 
I use airbrushed weathering as my primary method, but often start that process when applying the initial colours, then add to the effect with multiple applications of heavily-thinned colours - 90% or more thinners.  This allows very subtle effects, as they're built up gradually.  Using temporary masking devices (a piece of paper or cardstock, either plain or with cut-outs) can add three-dimensional effects, and shadowing to individual panels on car sides.

Also useful are artists' oil pastels, artists' oil paints, acrylic washes, India ink washes, dry brushing, brush painting of details, and the use of pencil crayons to create highlights or, using a white or yellow pencil, to create chalk markings.  A Rapidograph, with white ink, also works well for the latter.
In many cases, weathering is one of those "less is more" situations, but it usually takes some practice before we're able to recognise when that point is reached.

 

Wayne

[richhotrain]

yougottawanta

What weathering method/product do you use and how ?

I got this problem solved.  I don't weather anything.

Rich

[DGX GP 38]

YGW,

I think that weathering tends to be a subjective endeavor. The final product is often acceptable to the individual and not necessarily the masses. The look you are trying to achieve may be great for your prototype, but not mine. That being said, I think that there are some basic commonality to weathering.

First, fading is something we are accustomed to seeing. Some cars are shiny and new, but many are discolored to varying degree. I prefer to fade with an airbrush. I tend to use acrylics in white, and light grey to fade the original paint. You can also use a color slightly lighter than the original to fade.

Second, road grime is something that all rolling stock is subjected. I use different acrylic blacks, brownish greys to add some gunk to the finish. Sometimes concentrating more color on various areas of a car. Like more around the ends or lower areas of the car. Lately, I have been experimenting with using oil paints diluted to a wash for adding a grime layer to a car. Still learning more about this, but I like the results thus far.

Third, rust. Even relatively clean looking rolling stock can have some very small areas of rusting. Things like door handles, hinges and wheels often are discolored with rust. A waffle side box car could have some faint rusting on the raised edges of the panels. Outside bracing on boxcars is another area for such. For rust spots, I like to use artist oil paints. Acrylics will work too, but my preference is oil. They tend to have longer working times, and can be manipulated using a brush wet with mineral spirits to feather out a rust spot or to create vertical streaking. How much rust is up to you. I think that the "less is more" line of thought is good. I tend to go too heavy sometimes with the rust. Again, this is where the individual preference comes in. You may want a rust bucket, and that is great! It's your railroad!

Dirt and dust, I prefer powders for this layer. I use Bragdon powders.

Best of luck with your weathering projects!

[Lake]

ricktrains4824

Wow. 

Must be nobody else does any weathering....

Or, they are guarding their secrets really well!

 

 

I use chalk powders.
I do not seal them unless one car or engine turns out, in spite me, really, really good.

Other wise, if over time the chalk wears I can do a touch up, or wash and just redo the weathering, like Ricky W, does.
 

 

[Geared Steam]

Bragdon powders

[ricktrains4824]

Wow. 

Must be nobody else does any weathering....

Or, they are guarding their secrets really well!

[ricktrains4824]

PanPastels. Love them.

They go on smooth, and do everything from paint fade to dirt to rust to grime. Favorite applicator is cheap makeup sponges. You get a pack of the foam sponges really cheap at the dollar store.

I usually do the paint fade first, then rust and grime, then dirt/dust last. Work from oldest/longest to occur in real life, to newest. Fade occurs over the longest time, then rust and grime, while dirt/mud/dust is newest. 

I work it this way, as the newest weathering on the railcar or locomotive will be on top of the oldest, thereby covering up the oldest. 

Results are a weathered railcar in a very short amount of time. And, if I don't like it, it is easy to wash off and redo the weathering. 

[yougottawanta]

This weekend I attended an NMRA meet where we were shown how to model with Hunter line weather mix and weather system powders. One interesting tid bit is using this product when doing rust you work from dark to light where other products and methods you work from light to dark. What weathering method/product do you use and how ?

YGW