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With cars I think that the most important step is to weather the trucks and wheels to kill the shine. The rest is gravy. I use lots of techniques. I have used powders from Bragdon that have an adhesive in them so you don't have to fix them. They work very well. I use box lids from copy paper boxes as catch basins, one for each color. This way you can save the extra and re-use it. I still paint trucks and wheels by hand with polly scale. I have also moved to hand painting techniques for weathering cars as well. Mixing colors is the ticket here. Black, brown, rust, white and a shade of the car color can all be combined in various ways. Mix em on foil, and then apply to the car when you like the color. With the water based paints, I have found that it helps to build up enough moisture on the car to get a wet on wet technique. This allows for adjustment of the colors by adding and blending them while still wet. If you let them dry, they are very hard to remove. For weatherbeaten roofs I use paint that is a shade lighter than the color of the roof and then sprinkle a similar colored powder on it after it dries for a chalky paint look. For severe rust, I like rust-all over a yellow base coat. I have weathered a couple of locos and have found powders and hand painting to be less than satisfactory. I think the airbrush is the secret here. I have one friend who uses Floquil Railroad colors spray paint to weather locos. He gets good results, but he is an expert with the spray cans....Everyone else I know uses airbrushes for motive power. I think the secret is to keep trying until you get something you like. You may get some cars that you don't like. Everyone has a few cars that didn't turn out hidden some where on the layout.... My two cents, Guy
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