Months ago, before I had any rolling stock, while lurking around the forum I stumbled upon a post that described a very simple way to weather cars.
I wasn't looking to turn the cars into works of art, only to get rid of the glossy finish, and add some age and character.Now none of this is going to be a great revelation to the old hands, but if you're still looking to turn new cars into old ones, it might be worth a try.
The car in question is an Accurail 55 ton open hopper. The finish out of the box is dull black.
I used these 3 acrylic paints.
Mix together until you get the color that you like
Thin this mixture with a little water to create the wash, then it brush on. You do not have to be neat, just slosh it on. I try to avoid wetting the couplers. It will dry in about 30 minutes. If you don't like the way it looks, a wet paper towel will remove it. Start over. You can also add additional coats. Practice on an old test car.
The result. This works for me. A tip of the hat to the forum.
Looks like a heavily used car to me. Maybe you want to fade the lettering a little more as it looks too clean and crisp for the state of repair the car is in.
Personally, I´d like my locos and rolling stock a little less weathered, as I model a region and time when railroad staff took pride in keeping their equipment in excellent condition. I call that the "used, but not abused"-look.
If I told my yard crew once, I told them a hundred times. " Please take better care of the rolling stock "
They never listen.
I will have to try that sometime. Looks great.
where did you get the paint?
sfb
I learned from an article in MRR that water colors, those paints that kids use for watercolor painting works quite well. What I like about the watercolors is that you can get a subtle look of weathering with them. I tried it on some gray covered hoppers, that would have more of a "dusty" look than an "industrial grime" look. They suit me fine; took away the "clean toy-like" finish, dulled it down and added some subtle weathering as well. What's nice about these watercolors is that you can take a damp cloth and wipe them off if you don't like the effect.
steamfreightboy I will have to try that sometime. Looks great. where did you get the paint? sfb
I got this paint at Jo-Ann's. It's also available at almost every on-line art supply store I've been to. Each brand also has it own web site. Mike.
Another easy way is when you put thinner in your airbrush cup to clean it out use it as a wash to weather stuff rather then just blow it into the air.
steamfreightboy I will have to try that sometime.
I will have to try that sometime.
Well, I tried it, only forgot to water it down. The results still looked really good. I'll have pictures as soon as I figure out how. Thanks for the idea, Tashtego.
You use a similar technique I use. The only difference is I paint it on and then take a paper towel and get the excess off and build up the layers as it also lets the paint get more heavy around the rivets and seams and in the end I get the lightly dirty rolling stock look. Yours looks good !
Nice work! I'll have to give that a whirl when I get around to tackling the rolling stock. I was planning on the chalk method, but this is certainly worth a try as well.
Thanks for the pics!
Jim
Eric97123 You use a similar technique I use. The only difference is I paint it on and then take a paper towel and get the excess off and build up the layers as it also lets the paint get more heavy around the rivets and seams and in the end I get the lightly dirty rolling stock look. Yours looks good !
I tried that too, it also looks very good. Thanks all.
Sir Madog Personally, I´d like my locos and rolling stock a little less weathered, as I model a region and time when railroad staff took pride in keeping their equipment in excellent condition. I call that the "used, but not abused"-look.
I'm with Ulrich on this one. A light dusting if you will.
Those paints are available in The Great White North at Walmart for $2.00 each. I grab a few every time I go in.I may give your method a go, but with a much more diluted brew
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."