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Bragdon weathering powders

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  • Member since
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  • From: Winnipeg Canada
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Bragdon weathering powders
Posted by Blind Bruce on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 2:54 PM

Hi folks,

I can see no email address for Bragdon. They also do not appear to have a toll free number. So, I pose a question to you.

Will the powders do a decent job of weathering shiny wheel rims and side rods? Are the powders electrically conductive?

Thanks,

73

Bruce in the Peg

  • Member since
    July 2003
  • From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
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Posted by cacole on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 3:08 PM

Bragdon Enterprises has a web site that Google found immediately, and an e-mail address is listed on it:

http://www.bragdonent.com/

Weathering powders are nearly all nothing more than chalk, so whatever electrical properties chalk exhibits will apply to the powders; i.e., they should be electrically non-conductive.

I have never tried applying weathering chalk to shiny metal such as wheels, so I'm not sure if it would adhere very well without some type of adhesive.

  • Member since
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  • From: Winnipeg Canada
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Posted by Blind Bruce on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 3:16 PM
I have been on their website and I found no answer to my questions.

73

Bruce in the Peg

  • Member since
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Posted by egmurphy on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 3:29 PM

Try emailing them to the addess on their website.  I had a question that I emailed them about and they responded pretty fast.  But I suspect that cacole's answer is right.  Don't expect them to be conductive.

Regards

Ed

The Rail Images Page of Ed Murphy "If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home." - James Michener
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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 3:43 PM

I would not do it. The Bragdon has it's own adhesive mixed in the powder. The more you rub, the more it sticks. I imagine the stuff will turn to sludge and get into the gear tower of the locomtive.

I would prefer to use an air brush to weather running gear and steam loco type models.

I usually use a small brush and paint a dallop of Floquil weathered black on the outside faces of the wheel, leaving the flange and tread alone.

Now for objects like houses, buildings, car sides etc.. the powders do an outstanding job. I keep a box of the stuff in a certain mix and shake windows inside it with the lid on. Presto! Weathered windows such as used in Grain Elevators.

  • Member since
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Posted by Railphotog on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 5:11 PM
Bragdon and other weathering powders are not chalk.  They are paint pigments ground extremely fine.  They are not suitable for shiny metal such as wheels and side rods.

Bob Boudreau

CANADA

Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/

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  • From: Connecticut
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Posted by mondotrains on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 5:31 PM

Hi Bruce,

I use the Bragdon weathering powders to weather my engines and freight cars and it works great.  I don't waste the Bragdon weathering powders on trucks and wheels.  For the sides of wheels and trucks, I paint them with acrylic paint and then apply powdered chalk mixed with isopropyl alcohol, NOT the Bragdon weathering powders.  The alcohol reacts with the acrylic paint and causes the chalk to stick to the trucks and wheel sides.  The extra cost associated with the Bragdon powders is somewhat a function of them containing dry adhesive, which I've found really doesn't work well on wheels and trucks.

Hope this helps.

Mondo

 

 

Mondo
  • Member since
    March 2011
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Posted by ProtoWeathering on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 8:03 PM

 Railphotog wrote:
Bragdon and other weathering powders are not chalk.  They are paint pigments ground extremely fine.  They are not suitable for shiny metal such as wheels and side rods.

You would want to Dull*Cote anything before you use the powders on wheels or truck side frames. (I wouldn't recommend it for locomotive rods.) It will stick just fine with something to hold on to, Even the slippery engineering plastic that is used for trucks. It also gives a nice texture when mixed with a clear flat bottled paint and applied with a brush too. I've never used Bragdon Powders, I use AIM Weathering Powders. Available through Walthers or direct from them.

 

                  http://www.aimprodx.com/index.php?page=powders

 

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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 8:11 PM

Paint Pigmants huh? Hmm...

Chef [C=:-)]

What will it take to turn them into paints that we understand?

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