Brick Paint

[Anonymous]

Greetings,

What paint do you use for painting brick for model kits?

Curious, I know there are many shades of brick to choose from.

What worked out best for you?

Mark in Texas

[Anonymous]

I finished a DPM kit the other day. My base coat was boxcar red, followd by dry-brushing craft paint from the dollar store - burnt umber and burnt sienna. I then washed with thinned light antique white to get the mortar in place, then finished up with an alcohol/india ink wa***o tone everything down. I brush paint because it like the variation in colour over the walls. Airbrush/spraying comes out too uniform.

Andrew

[BruceJob]

Hey, Tx...

I use several Floquil colors. I got these from my "bible"...John Pryke's 'Building City Scenery For Your Model Railroad', published by Kalmbach.

Tuscan Red (I don't really like this color myself, but you might)

Boxcar Red (mix in a little Roof Brown if you like a more red-brown shade)
(This works especially well on the brick portion of factory buildings with curtain-wall construction when paired with Aged Concrete on the frame.)

Roof Brown (mix in some white if you like a lighter shade of brown)

Foundation (mix in a little Roof Brown if you like a darker shade)

After painting with a darker color, allow to dry and then apply a wash of Poly Scale "Aged Concrete" mixed with water, alcohol, and a couple drops of dish detergent to fade the brick surface and color in mortar lines. When using Foundation as the base color, allow to dry and apply an India ink and alcohol wa***o bring out the mortar lines.

Here's another tip: Whatever color you choose, mix in about 25% white to fade the color. This simulates the effect of distance between the viewer and the building.

Bruce J.

[Anonymous]

Greetings,

Thanks for the tips. I will give it a try.

Have several new building kits I need to start on.

Happy Holidays,

Mark in Texas

[cp1057]

I have a much simpler system for painting brick that to my eyes (and those of many visitors) looks right:

Simply get a spray can of oxide red automobile primer paint from any of a variety of stores. Apply the paint in light enough coats that it doesn't run. Once the brick material is painted and dry apply a diluted wash of light grey paint with a brush. The diluted paint will tend to collect in the spaces in the brickwork and give the appearance of mortar. Wipe any excess off the brick faces with a tissue or paper towel.

I also have brush painted brickwork with a rust-colour paint to get different brick colours.

That's all there is to it! I learned this technique at an NMRA clinic held in my area some years back.

Charles
Hillsburgh Ontario

[Jetrock]

Brick comes in many different colors, so in order to avoid having one's brick buildings look too alike, use different colors of brick! Boxcar Red is a classic favorite, but Polly S Rust also works well--different reds and browns and beiges can be used for different effects. I brush on the paint with a foam brush (leaves fewer brushstrokes) when faced with relatively flat bricks but an airbrush might work better for something with exceptionally fine detail. I'll have to try that auto primer trick sometime, though, as I have some large brick structures on my "build sometime soon" list.

After the paint dries thoroughly, I apply a mortar wash--7 parts water, 9 parts rubbing alcohol, 1 part Polly S Aged Concrete, and 2-3 drops detergent. I use the foam bru***o spla***his over the brick and it settles in the cracks very nicely, especially if the building isn't built yet and the walls can lay flat (you can use this technique on an already-constructed building, it just looks a bit less neat--which can be better for an old building.)

After the mortar wash dries, you can add an ink wash (60:1 water:india ink) to add some dingy black to things and make it look a bit more scuffed up.

[bruce22]

after spraying with grey auto primer I use craft store latex paints ( @ 1.50 - 1.75 per ) and just mix up a colour that look's good. From 2 ft away it is acceptable to my needs.

[Anonymous]

I recently finished a DPM kit also. For the "red" brick I used Milwaukee Road Maroon. I model in N Scale, so the cost of the Polly-S paint isn't too bad (and I already had it available). In a larger scale, I would think any of the craft shop paints in a suitable color would work.