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I think weathering with chalks/pastels is rather easy, and it's also not really permanent if you don't want it to be. I prefer the Nupastel chalks, which are now offered under a different brand name (I think it's Prismacolor) but still labeled as Nupastel. Any brand will work, just look for media that is more chalk-like and not an oil-based crayon. What you do is scrape off a small collection of powder (enough for the job), then use a soft bru***o apply it. You'll want to use a variety of colors, and as you get better at it you'll be able to apply it to achieve varying effects, but even just a basic coating of dust-colored chalk goes a long way. While you're practicing, leave the chalk unfixed. It will wear off with handling, or can be washed away if you need to, so any finished weathering job should be sealed. But for the time being, dry chalk should be good enough. When you do want to fix the chalk in place, you'll see that almost any method (clear spray, or my preference for a dilute black wash) results in the weathering "disappearing" a bit. You'll need to apply more chalk and a second coat of fixative. With my method, a wash of black paint thinned out extremely with water, the black paint highlights details and makes up for the "lost chalk", plus once it dries it is very flat finish with a lot of tooth, which will readily hold another layer of chalk. The way I apply the wash, and I work in N-scale, is I load up a good-sized brush with water, touch it to the surface so that the droplet touches both brush and car body, but the brush itself doesn't touch. The brush is large enough to quickly maneuver the water into place over one entire panel, i.e. the area between the rivets or seams. In N-scale, one loaded brush per panel works out fine. In this way, I am able to get the entire car side wet at the same time. I then dip the brush into the black wash, and touch a bit of this into the pre-wetted panel. With care, you'll avoid disturbing any of the chalk you laid down, though there are times when you might want to disturb it; I create rain streaks by laying the brush bristles flat against the car side while it is drying, and then push it up and down, streaking not only the black wash but also the chalk. There are other tricks you can teach yourself, if you just have the confidence to try out new techniques.
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