Beginners Weatherring

[Anonymous]

Hello,
I am just beginning, the weathering process on my layout and im using pastell chalks, they work good, untill...... One falls of the track and i have to pick it up and put it back one, after about 2 derailments, they look brand new again, does anyone know what to do to keep them looking old and ruggid? I heard clear mount but that stuf leaves a shiny gloss over everything

Hope to hear from everyone,

Tim

[Anonymous]

I've you have to seal it with something.......

[Anonymous]

i cleared mine will a dull coat

[Anonymous]

Testors Dullcote is the way to go.
Reed

[PennsyHoosier]

Dullcote is what you need to use.

[AggroJones]

Dullcote or Lusterless. And you will need to build up layers of chalk n flat fini***o make the effect visable.

[bogp40]

Tim,
Sounds like sealing the weathering as mentioned is the least of your troubles- you need to work the bugs out of your trackwork. Shouldn't have to be handling your engines or rolling stock from derailments. Check out the trouble spots or equipment.
Bob K.

[Anonymous]

A cheap way I learned from art in high school is cheap hairspray like aquanet or whatever you can find. It seals in the chalk, is cheap and smells good. It will be shiny if you put to much on cause all you need is a small bit. Remember when using any koind of spray do it in a well ventilated area.
Andrew

[Anonymous]

Reply, to weathering is least of your troubles,
IM talking about when i have to uncouple cars off a uncoupling section cauz they dont come apart by themselves, but they do unoculple if u give em a little nudge, and since im still working on my layout, cars are on and off, thats about it, also george? About how much hairspray should i use, that it wont look shiny should i put it on a cloth then rub it in?

[mikebonellisr]

You are going to have to experiment.Spray on a very LIGHT coat from a short distance away,Too great a distance,and the hairspray or dullcoat will be almost dry when it hits the model,causing a rough finish, Too close and it will puddle. Try it out on old rolling stock or structures first. Or on a dark piece of cover stock,construction paper or flat[not glossy] cardboard. Don't worry,you'll get the hang of it...IT's not rocket surgery.

[AggroJones]

I don't use hairspray for sealer because the moisture from your hands may leave imprints on the surface, messing up your weather job. Dullcote isn't nearly as sensitive.

[jwar]

nscaleboy

There is two methods of applying pastels, wet and dry. The dry method does not work well as its to easy to wipe or even blow off.

This method, from MR Practical Guide to Model Railroading Pg 76, have handled my cars possbley thirty times or so. so far so good.

Scrape various pastels with a blade on a hard slick surface into individual piles about the area of a tea spoon. Next experment with different combinations to get colors dry mixed to suit your needs.

Several brushes of various sizes from approx 1/16 to 5/8. Another the size and softness of an old fashoned shaving brush, keep this one dry to blend chalks. by brushing it on a dry bath towel.

fine spray water mister bottle with wet water. Approx a tea spoon of liquid detergent to a pint.

Mist box car with wet water and blow it so that theres no water standing and start applying chalks with a damp (not wet brush) from the bottom up. clean brush in clean water before going to different shades or colors and wipe it off on a rag between your fingers. Perhaps with a wide flat brush apply wheel streaks on the end of the car body in line with the wheels to rep wheel spray.

Sliding car doors damage the body sides paint. The damp edge of a bussiness card gives good straight slide marks, then rust it out a bit with a smaller brush.

As the car drys, lightly mist it as you work and use the big bru***o feather the damp chalks out (car must be silghtly damp, be carefull not to flood the chalks off.) between working different colors and before its dry. If you dont like it just wash it off and start over. However after compleating it set it aside and dont admire it till tomorrow.

This is so quick and looks so good that I dont dull coat them anymore, to me a dull rusted or dirty appearence is what I personaly like and the dull coat, for me any how, doestnt get it. However on some cars I only weather one side, instantly changing the looks of my trains heading in the other direction. If I tire of looking at them I re-weather without the problems of being locked into a painted car.

On oil tank cars you can streak the dome leaks so much your railroad inspector will place a bad order tag on it to pull it out of service.

I personaly wont use my air bru***o weather cars, for me this works great.

Hope this helps...John

[sailor38]

I'm using soft pastels too. Here's how I do it. I simply rub the pastel chalk onto the model (pretty generously) then brush if off with a stiff (aka "cheap") paint brush. After that, I use my fingertip to blend and smooth it all out. It seems that the plastic has just enough porosity to absorb the color fairly well. At first, I tried using artists fixative but found it too shiny. Now I don't use anything at all and the color seems to stay on pretty well. I haven't handled the rolling stock that much so it may not stand the test of time but it's looking pretty good so far. I would think structures will hold up for a long time since they are not handled much at all after they've been placed. Anyway, it's worth a try. You can always wa***hem off and start over if you aren't pleased with durability. Good luck![:D]

[PennsyHoosier]

You can't go wrong with Dullcote

[sailor38]

Just to amplify on my response, I rub the ENTIRE model with my finger. You can get some pretty good blending that way. It may be that the oil from skin serves as a bonding agent to keep the color from falling/blowing off. Get that layout finished and start hauling some freight on your dirty old cars!