Some Examples of Weathered Freight Cars and "How To Do It"

[mondotrains]

Hi Guys,
I wrote the article below in response to another post on "couplers". I decided to start another post so others who didn't read the previous post on couplers could share in this information and I've added additional detail.

I've read a lot of articles on weathering rolling stock and engines and this past spring and summer, I tried them ALL. What I'm about to describe below is what I've found to be a very good method where the results are pleasing to me. I should tell you that I spent over $500.00 on an airbrush, compressor and supplies and have used them to weather also but I like the chalk method below better, especially for "lightly" weathering. I do use the airbrush for heavier weathering and other painting projects. Weathering with chalk is very quick and easy to apply and looks very "real". I think it's also easier to control....in other words, a little at a time until the overall effect is produced.


For rolling stock, I first remove the wheelsets and place a small drop of Alene's Tacky Glue in the journals (it's a thick white glue available in craft stores). The glue will keep spray paint from getting into the journals (the cone-shaped place where the ends of the axles go into the side of the truck). Then I spray the whole car with Krylon's clear matte finish which I bought at Wal-Mart for around a $1.50 for a 12 ounce can (personally, I like it better than other matte finishes). By the way, you don't have to wait for the Alene's Tacky Glue to dry before you spray the cars with the matte finish. Be sure to hold the can away from the car as the directions on the can state and spray left and right beyond the car so you don't stop on any one section and get too much in one spot...it will accumulate and run down the car if you do.

I let the car dry for a couple of days. Then I use Bragdon Enterprises' weathering chalk, which is great. Go to www.bragdonent.com.

I use a large soft flat brush for large areas of the cars and short stiff brushes to work the chalk into the sills, edges, ladders and rivet detail. I bru***he chalk on the ends of the car where the wheels would kick up dirt. I lightly dust some chalk on the sides of the cars, close to the bottom and sometimes all the way from the roof on down. The trick is to look at pictures of real freight cars from the period you're modeling to get an idea how a car built in 1940, for instance, looked in 1959, which is the year I'm modeling. Also, you don't want all your cars to look the same....some should be weathered only slightly.....others more heavily. I also brush some chalk on the tops of the cars but only a little bit. I use different color chalks on different cars so that cars don't all look like they came from the same area of the country (in other words, all dirt isn't the same color).

Let me mention couplers, wheels and trucks. After the Tacky Glue has dried in the journals, it pops right out with a pair of needle-nosed tweezers. The great thing about Tacky Glue is that it doesn't attack any plastic. It is a great masking agent, like in this case. Before reinstalling the wheels in the trucks, I paint both the sides of the wheels and trucks with dark gray acryllic paint. When that is dry, I use some of the Bragdon chalks to weather the sides of the wheels and trucks. I combine some of the chalk with several drops of 70% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol so it will stick to the paint. Trust me, it looks great and adds to the realism. I also paint the couplers but be careful not to clog up the mechanism. Just bru***he trip pin and a little of the sides of the coupler. Then add a little chalk/alcohol to the coupler as was done on the wheels and trucks.

Some people then spray the whole car again after it is weathered but I've found that that isn't necessary. Just handle the cars from the bottom, as you should anyway, so as not to get fingerprints all over. If you do spray the car after weathering, it will change the appearance and I don't like that. I'd rather be careful when I handle the cars. It seems that once the chalks have had a chance to "dry" on the car, they are less susceptible to coming off on your hands anyway.

Trust me guys....it isn't that difficult to weather cars and have them look great. Obviously, I spray a whole bunch of cars with the matte finish at one time and then go about weathering them with the chalk....like a little assembly line. Same thing with adding the Tacky Glue to the journals, painting wheels etc. With the assembly line approach too, I can be sure that I'm varying the amount and color of weathering as I go along. If you do one at a time, it's too easy to develop a single approach and have them all end up looking the same. That was the problem I had with the airbrush. All the cars began to look the same.


You'd be surprised how good the cars can look. I've posted a couple below for your review.
[img.nr] http://members.cox.net/ajd48/NHBLACK.JPG [/img.nr]
[img.nr] http://members.cox.net/ajd48/vermont.jpg [/img.nr]
[img.nr] http://members.cox.net/ajd48/NHHOPPER.JPG[/img.nr]