Alcohol washes for fading and ink washes?

[Anonymous]

I just tried my first fade job with alcohol. I have some older Bachmann el-cheapos. I sprayed them with clear flat, put some 99% alcohol in an old BOD spray bottle (mist is very fine) and sprayed. Am I correct in assuming I can change the level of weathering by adding some water to the alcohol? So far, so good. After a little more practice I will start on the better stuff.

[Isambard]

Ray -thanks for that information on weathering steam. I've tucked it in a reference file until I become acquainted with air brushing. In the meantime the Grizzly Northern wiper crews will be kept very busy keeping those locomotives spotless, or almost so. Each 2-8-0 and 2-10-0 tender has received a generous pile of coal (secured with 50/50) and been fitted with a doghouse. Looking good!

[orsonroy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Isambard
Presumably weathering on freight cars in the 1920's- to early 40's era would be mainly consist of accumulation of soot and dirt rather than paint fading?

That's what I do: add soot, some rust, and general grime. Looking at old freight car photos from about 1940-1960, I'm amazed at just how dirty everything got. My own personal preferences lean towards adding more grunge to the majority of my fleet, since that's how my mind's eye perceives cars from that period. Look at color video of NKP reefer trains from the late 1950s and you'll see what I mean! (whole strings of orange cars that look BLACK).

QUOTE:
Ray, what techniques would you or others offer to lightly weather or at least dull down a bit the paint finish on locomotives such as the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0's and 2-10-0's? I've dull coated the tenders however spraying the locos looks tricky given the various surfaces and the working parts. Is there a suitable wa***hat can be brushed on?

I generally add washes to my rolling stock, but not my steam. Based on my collecting & studying steam photos from the IC, NKP, Alton and many other midwestern roads, and on my own crawling around all over living steamers, my steam weathering technique is still evolving. Some parts get horrifically dirty, some parts stay relatively clean, and some parts get cleaned off with oily rags, giving them a blueish sheen. Add kicked up road dirt and you've got a complex mix of filth that's not very easy to replicate.

In general, I use a mix of airbrush, drybrushing and washes to come close (for now). No disrespect to Paul Dolkos' great article on weathering HO scale steam, but his stuff came off as WAY too cartoonish for my tastes. In general, here's what I do (all paint is Polly Scaleat @ 15 PSI, with a fine tip on a Badger 250 single action):

1) airbrush scale deposits around the check valves, blowoffs, muffler, and anywhere else waste steam leaks from regularly (generally the backhead area). I generally use a thinned Milwaukee Grey, followed by a thinned white. I'll use an index card to shield areas from excess paint, but don't bother with stencils.

2) airbru***hinned PS grimy or slate black on the top of the engine. Generally evenly, but I add a bit more around the front third of the engine.

3) hand paint all oiling points on the engine with PS Oily Black (they're the only ones I've found who make this color). Add relatively heavily, and when in doubt, add more. Steamers are OILY beasts!

4) paint the running gear while moving. I'll add a slightly thinned PS dirt, followed by an airbrushed wash of PS grimy black.

5) drybrush rusty areas. There aren't many on actuve steam, mostly the couplers and other areas where unpainted metal doesn't get oiled. I use PS roof brown for old rust and PS oxide red for fresh rust.

6) airbrush PS dirt on the front face of the pilot and the front faces of the cylinders, and on the trailing truck. For high speed service engines, add a SLIGHT bow wave effect to the front of the tender.

7) drybrush PS grimy black streaks onto the smoke box front. Do this to taste and generally lightly, since not all engines had streaking.

8) control coat: add a general overspray of PS grimy black to the entire engine (over all other work), heavily thinned (1/4 paint, 3/4 water). Don't do too much at once, since it'll run. In general, keep the overspray away from the cylinders and cab sides, as they were often cleaned regularly.

9) add a thinned coat of PS black to the top 1/2 of the engine, heavier at the front.

10) add dullcoat.

Be sure to have photos of real steamers in front of you while you paint!

All this sounds like a lengthy process, but it's not. Using a paint cup, and having everything handy in front of me (including lots of distilled water), I can crank out an engine in about 20 minutes. Be sure to add a real coal load to the tender afetr painting!

My base engine color is either PS Steam Power Black of Krylon Satin Black. Both give a nice, rich black color that looks like a newly-applied base color. This color should be apparent on some areas of the engine when you're done.

Hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

To supplement Ray's exceptional recommendation here's Mike's site for fading some
freight cars.
www.mrhobby.com and scroll down to" Fading Freight Cars".

[Isambard]

QUOTE: Originally posted by orsonroy

At the 2003 Naperville clinic, I sat in on Mike Rose's weathering clinic, and many of us tried this weathering technique. It works great IF you do it right.

1) Add a light, even coat of Dullcoat, straight from a rattlecan. Let dry 15-60 minutes.
2) using a spray mister bottle, add a light, even coat of 91% isopropyl alcohol (undiluted). Don't touch the model for at least 2 hours.
3) once the car is dry, and the Dullcoat has stopped turning white (this time varies greatly, between 1-6 hours), add reathering to taste.

I really liked the effect the technique produces, but it is extreme weathering. I'm modelling 1949-1950, and can't really use this technique because railroads painted their freight cars (on average) every 7-9 years. This fading technique is most appropriate for post 1960's modelling, when cars were NEVER repainted (true today too). The fading/chalking effect is for cars that have 15+ year old paint jobs.

Presumably weathering on freight cars in the 1920's- to early 40's era would be mainly consist of accumulation of soot and dirt rather than paint fading?

Ray, what techniques would you or others offer to lightly weather or at least dull down a bit the paint finish on locomotives such as the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0's and 2-10-0's? I've dull coated the tenders however spraying the locos looks tricky given the various surfaces and the working parts. Is there a suitable wa***hat can be brushed on?

[orsonroy]

At the 2003 Naperville clinic, I sat in on Mike Rose's weathering clinic, and many of us tried this weathering technique. It works great IF you do it right.

1) Add a light, even coat of Dullcoat, straight from a rattlecan. Let dry 15-60 minutes.
2) using a spray mister bottle, add a light, even coat of 91% isopropyl alcohol (undiluted). Don't touch the model for at least 2 hours.
3) once the car is dry, and the Dullcoat has stopped turning white (this time varies greatly, between 1-6 hours), add reathering to taste.

I really liked the effect the technique produces, but it is extreme weathering. I'm modelling 1949-1950, and can't really use this technique because railroads painted their freight cars (on average) every 7-9 years. This fading technique is most appropriate for post 1960's modelling, when cars were NEVER repainted (true today too). The fading/chalking effect is for cars that have 15+ year old paint jobs.

[MAbruce]

As far as fading goes, dullcote first and then alcohol. You will see the bleaching effect pop out as the alcohol dries. If you don’t like the effect, you can completely undo it by spraying on another coat of dullcote. All other weathering/ink washes should be applied BEFORE the dullcote.

I’ve tried this fading method in N-scale with mixed results. My experiences have shown this to be unpredictable. I had only one boxcar that turned out halfway decent.

Maybe someone else has a way of doing this that may improve results?

[Anonymous]

What is the procedure for applying alcohol to fade paint and ink washes to weather? Do I need to dullcoat the project first so the weathering techniques work properly? I know that you aren't supposed to dullcote AFTER applying alcohol to obtain the faded look as it defeats the purpose, but should dullcote be used after an ink wash? Any recommendations for something in print that is worth buying for weathering help?
Tim