Some weathering projects

[chaz]

I thought I would start a topic here about some of my weathering techniques. 

 

The first model I will describe is #95, a Bachmann On30 hopper car, but the techniques could be used on any steel wagon - a BR 16 tonner for instance.

 

 

Above is a picture of #80 which I hope will get you interested.

 

 

First I set up my bench - I had to clear a space of clutter first!

 

Cardboard box cut so the top and front are open - this will contain any overspray from the airbrush.

Grey card liner - cereal box - can be thrown out when it get’s too mucky.

On the grey card is a stencil brush which I use to dust the model before I start weathering.

 

On the left an old palette containing...

5 acrylic colours for the first step - Humbrols - they stay wet longer than Tamiya.

 

RC401 dirty black 

RC402 or 113 rust (I think they are the same colour)

62 leather

RC426 orange

RC418 EWS maroon red - a browny red

 

A water pot for brush cleaning

And two round brushes - what I call “sploshy” brushes - they are not my best ones but they do need to hold a reasonable amount of paint.

 

I also have a paper towel or two or some kitchen roll to hand.

 

The next post will feature some action.

 

Chaz

 

Edited September 8, 2018 by chaz

[sb67]

Good start, looking forward to this Chaz. :-)

Steve.

[chaz]

Right, let’s get started….

 

I first remove the trucks and couplers from the hopper car (safely stashed with the screws!). The trucks and wheels will be weathered separately.

 

 

I dip my brush into one of the four colours (but not black) and splosh a patch onto the side of the car. Then I dip the brush into one of the other three and add another patch - by just dipping, not stirring I avoid contaminating one colour with another. I don’t wash the brush out in water, the effect will be to thin the next colour. I mix and blend the patches on the model.

 

 

I continue adding patches of colour until the side is done, checking around raised detail, especially the angle along the bottom edge where there may be a build up of paint. I remove this with the brush and use it on the next blank panel.

I am careful with black - what I do is just touch the brush to the surface of the paint in the pot so a very small amount is taken. 

 

 

Then I brush most of the black off onto the grey card box liner. It's then safe to dab traces of black to the colours and blend it in. I don’t want black patches, just mixtures.

I paint the other side of the car and the top rim then put the lids on the paint pots, clean the brush and walk away. I leave the model for a couple of hours for the paint to dry so that it can to be handled to do the ends and the underneath.

 

 

Once the paint on the sides is dry I can finish painting rust colours on the ends and underneath. 

 

 

I don’t bother too much about those parts that can hardly be seen when the car is on the track - I just get some paint on them. Any parts that are invisible when railed can be ignored - it would be like painting the inside of a tank car.

 

 

I make sure that all the detail parts - ladders, handrails etc get painted. I leave the model to dry again - it can be left upside down on the previously painted and dry top rim. I prefer to leave it overnight as it will get some harsh treatment later on...

 

Chaz

 

[chaz]

 

You can see that I haven’t been overly worried by the surface finish. Indeed a slightly uneven effect will help with what comes later. This doesn’t look very convincing yet does it? Don’t panic - I hope that later work will transform the model.

 

 

I have been more careful with the LH panel, making sure the paint on it is smooth. This is where I will add a decal for the car’s number so this panel will be treated differently.

 

 

I want to be able to handle the model whilst I airbrush fluid on to it so I put a foam rubber block inside it with card inserts against the model. The inserts can be replaced if they get too mucky.

 

 

There are lots of other ways of holding models while you paint - this one works well with these hopper cars.

 

 

I chose a jar of AK fluid, “Worn Effects” but I could have used “Heavy Chipping”. These are both thin, like water, and spray easily. 

 

I don’t know if they can be brush painted but if you put them in an airbrush to spray it’s very easy to saturate the surface. Three light coats are better than a soaking. If I happen to get the model too wet I turn the air pressure down on the airbrush and use it dry (no colour cup) to blow air gently across the surface.

 

 

I put a scrap of masking tape on the area where I will be putting the decal for the running number and gave the car three coats of “Worn Effects”, waiting for each coat to look dry before spraying the next. I find it best to hold the model at an angle to the light from time to time as I spray: the fluid is colourless and I need to see that I have covered the area but avoided soaking it. I do all the spraying in the box so any overspray is contained.

 

Chaz

 

[chaz]

Once the third coat of "Worn effects" chipping fluid was touch dry I removed the small bits of masking tape and sprayed on a coat of Vallejo Model-Air black (71.057). I am very impressed with this product. It comes in a small squeezy-style bottle so is easy to dispense into the airbrush colour cup. It sprays beautifully and has excellent coverage. 

 

 

I looked at the car from all angles to check for any areas I might have missed with the black. Those missed patches under the hopper chutes (IMO) are not worth painting - they are quite invisible when the car is on the track.

 

 

The one potential problem spraying the Vallejo black is that, like most acrylics, it dries fast and this can cause a build up of paint in the airbrush. When this started to happened I sprayed some water but this did not dislodge a crusty blob on the end of the needle. A quick disassembly and a squirt of airbrush cleaner did the trick. You can see the cleaned parts lying on the card drying off.

 

Tomorrow we get to the good bit!

 

Chaz

[sb67]

Enjoying the thread Chaz, do you thin the Model air paint at all, I know they say they are made for airbrush use but wondered how that was in practice?

Steve.

[chaz]

Enjoying the thread Chaz, do you thin the Model air paint at all, I know they say they are made for airbrush use but wondered how that was in practice?

Steve.

 

 

Well Steve, the first time I sprayed Vallejo black it sprayed beautifully but later when I was touching in some areas missed the first time it clogged and needed thinning. I suspect that on the first use I hadn't shaken it quite as thoroughly as I should. If you have done much airbrushing you get a "feel"for how thin/thick the paint should be. I will admit that on the second occasion it did look thicker - I could have saved time by trusting my instincts! My very limited experience of Vallejo acrylics (this was the first time I had used them) makes me hesitate to say more.

 

The matte varnish definitely needed thinning. I found a 50:50 mix suggested on the internet and when I tried it this seemed spot on.

 

HTH

 

Chaz

[chaz]

The instructions on the jar of “Worn Effects” suggest that you should attack the top coat as soon as it is dry but I have found that the process works fine if you wait longer. Even overnight is OK although the process is a bit slower to activate.

 

 

I wetted the first two panels and worked at the first one mostly with an old toothbrush. The soapy look on the second panel is the “Worn Effects” fluid being activated by the water. As I work down the car on each panel the next panel will be wetted and be softening.

 

 

Here’s the whole side - done, or is it? One of the problems with this process is knowing when to stop. I had decided to leave more of the black paint on this car than on #80 (at top of this post). Of course if you keep going it might be possible to remove all the black - but that would defeat the object of the exercise.  However the great strength of this process is the random way that the top coat breaks up to reveal the rust beneath - very difficult to achieve that look just by painting.

 

I paint on a patch of Johnson’s Clear to get a gloss surface for the decal of the car’s number decal. The whole car will get a coat of matte varnish to protect the black paint and the transfer so the shiny patch should vanish.

 

 

Here are the three brushes I use to get the worn effect. The soft one with the green handle I use only to wet the surface, stirring it around until the soapy effect is showing well. The old toothbrush has had its head narrowed and shortened on a disc sander and I use it to break up the topcoat.  The brush at the bottom of the picture has stiffish bristles which I have cut shorter. 

 

 

It’s useful for getting into corners where the toothbrush won’t go. I also use a cocktail stick to help start things off by breaking through the top coat here and there and for putting scratches in the paint.

 

 

I find the modified toothbrush the most effective with just the right abrasive quality.

 

You will recall that I took the trouble to vary the colours of the rust undercoat?

 

 

The resultant colour variations are quite subtle once they are seen through the worn black over the top. You could  decide to use just a single rust colour. This would be quicker to apply but I think that with weathering subtle is good.

 

Chaz

Edited September 15, 2018 by chaz

[sb67]

That looks good Chaz, it's making me want to re-paint my Sealion/Seacow ballast hoppers! 

Steve.

[chaz]

That looks good Chaz, it's making me want to re-paint my Sealion/Seacow ballast hoppers! 

Steve.

 

 

Have a go, do one to get the feel and then......away you go!

[chaz]

Once I am satisfied with the wearing/chipping process I wash the model under a gently running tap to remove any traces of the black that has been worn away, keeping the stream of water away from the transfers. I shake the model to get rid of most of the water and then leave it to dry. It’s best to let it dry on its own - the black paint that remains is a bit fragile while it is wet.

 

 

When the model has dried I spray it with a matte varnish. I have used rattle-can Testor’s Dullcote to good effect on other models but on this one I decided to give Vallejo matt varnish in the airbrush a try. A quick Google came up with the suggestion that this needs thinning 50:50 with acrylic thinners. I count drops into the colour cup. I put the thinners in first - 5 drops - followed by 5 of the varnish - about the right amount for one hopper car. I give the mixture a good stir. I have a second colour cup ready containing water. If the airbrush starts to clog I swap colour cups and give it a quick blast through onto the back of the box (note the dribbles!) before resuming.

Once the model has a good coat of matte varnish (don’t forget the underneath) I put it aside again to dry thoroughly - I leave it overnight. 

 

The matte finish from the Vallejo varnish looks really good and it should provide a key for the weathering powders that will come next.

 

 

From some angles the transfers are too obvious but this can be sorted out at the next stage. In any case the panel with the transfers will need some further work to blend in.

 

Chaz

Edited September 12, 2018 by chaz

[chaz]

 

An unkind close-up of the the left-hand panel - brushwork around the transfer to disguise the transfer (decal) edges doesn’t quite match the quality of the wear effects. Even using my finest paint brush I can’t do it. However when the powders are added this will help.

 

 

I am using these three weathering powders on this car. A limited palette is a good idea - especially when carried through a number of cars it will ensure that they will look OK when coupled together.

 

 

Making a start on the left hand end. I am very careful with weathering powders, adding small amounts and building up the effect slowly. It’s potent stuff and too much is not good. Note the yellow of the “dry rust” which too my eye is too obvious but…

 

 

I mix the powders on the model adding small traces in the corners and using a soft brush to spread traces across the panels. The key provided by the worn effect and the matte varnish does hold the powders well so care is needed! Too much powder is not so easy to dislodge. The rich rust works well, the dry rust is very yellow and needs to be used with care. The black is very useful in toning down and adding smokey dirt. It has certainly helped to deal with the bright white numbers. 

 

I do not spray any sort of varnish over the powders - testing them by vigorous brushing shows them to be bound very well to the surface. Varnish will change the look and can make the result very disappointing.

 

 

#94, #95 & #80 coupled together with newly fitted Kadees. I am reluctant to weather the couplings  as any paint might well interfere with their operation. Any thoughts? I suppose the very obvious curved tail can be dealt with without any problems resulting.

 

 

A helicopter shot of the three cars. The inside of #95, in the middle, has yet to be painted. #94, on the left has been painted only on the top as it will be modelled loaded. #80, on the right, will be run empty and so I have painted the entire inside.

My next posting will look at painting the hopper’s insides.

 

Chaz

Edited September 16, 2018 by chaz

[chaz]

Apropos the last posting. If you are in doubt about any model, and not just the weathering, take some photos. Looking at the results will show up any defects and will certainly help you to answer the frequent question "Is that OK?".

 

Chaz

[2996 Victor]

Amazing work!

 

I do not spray any sort of varnish over the powders - testing them by vigorous brushing shows them to be bound very well to the surface. Varnish will change the look and can make the result very disappointing.

 

Although I'm fairly new to using weathering powders, I'm pleased with their versatility, even when starting with a fairly limited palette. I do tend to waft a light coat of matt acrylic lacquer over my subjects to fix the powder, and yes, it definitely subdues the effect of the powders. However, I just add a little more weathering powder and re-coat with lacquer until I'm happy with the overall effect as I'd rather know that the weathering is fixed and won't be affected through handling. It's just personal preference, of course.

 

Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

 

Best regards,

 

Mark

[chaz]

Amazing work!

 

 

Although I'm fairly new to using weathering powders, I'm pleased with their versatility, even when starting with a fairly limited palette. I do tend to waft a light coat of matt acrylic lacquer over my subjects to fix the powder, and yes, it definitely subdues the effect of the powders. However, I just add a little more weathering powder and re-coat with lacquer until I'm happy with the overall effect as I'd rather know that the weathering is fixed and won't be affected through handling. It's just personal preference, of course.

 

Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

 

Best regards,

 

Mark

 

 

OK Mark, we all have our own ways of working. As I said above if you have a good key - and matte varnish provides that, then weathering powder clings to it fairly stubbornly, to the extent that if you use too much it can be quite difficult to dislodge! This will, however, depend to some degree on how fine the powder is - the finer it is the better it will cling.

 

There will be a small pause in my weathering posts as I am working on the water tank for the FVRR today (follow the link below?).

 

Chaz

[SouthernBlue80s]

Nice how to guide.

Cheers

Steve

[StrathpefferJunction]

This is an excellent thread. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and skills. 

[chaz]

Before I move on to painting the interior of a hopper car, or its trucks and wheels, I thought I would look at another approach to weathering the outside, not involving the chipping fluids.

 

 

Two of my hoppers were black straight out of the box.

 

I decided to finish these two as cars that were lettered as the property of the Furness Valley Mining Company (FVMCo).

This was an accountant’s ruse, temporarily dividing the ownership of the fleet of hopper cars between the mine and the railroad. #402 was one of the few cars that were relettered and renumbered before the idea was abandoned by the company.

 

After I had applied the transfers (decals) I gave the car a coat of Vallejo flat varnish to provide a key for weathering powders.

 

 

The next step was done with the three “Crusted Rust Deposits”. These are enamel based and need a good shake before use - the pigments settle out.  

 

 

Using the light colour first I use a finely pointed brush to put on spots and patches of rust. I don’t know what the solvent is in which the pigment is suspended but it evaporates quite quickly leaving some flat gritty looking patches.

 

 

Adding patches and blobs of the other two colours gives a most unconvincing, mottled look - but no need to panic yet.

 

 

Adding DCC Concepts weathering powders, black and rich rust, toned the effect down and gave me the realistic look I wanted. 

 

A little more soft brushing removes some of the powder allowing the colour of the rust patches and the number to show a bit more clearly.

 

 

Some of those vertical streaks, where the pigment of the “Crusted Rust” has run along edges might need a bit more work and I certainly need to put this car next to the others to see if they work together.

 

Chaz

Edited October 2, 2018 by chaz

[chaz]

A comparison shot. 

 

 

#94 was done with chipping fluid and #402 with the Crusted Rust Deposits. Both have had weathering powders added. I will leave you to decide which one you prefer. The use of different techniques and materials has resulted  in cars with differing looks but as they share the same restricted range of colours I can couple them together without either looking out of place.

 

Chaz

 

Memo to self - don't forget to fit and weather the brake wheels.

Edited October 2, 2018 by chaz

[HeatonLodge40]

Really enjoyed that thanks. Superb results

[chaz]

A couple of Bachmann On30 trucks. These do not belong to a hopper car but they do illustrate a problem. 

 

 

The wheels are unrealistically bright and shiny and will not “hold” weathering powders and the trucks are a shiny black nylon-type plastic which will similarly offer no “key” for powders.

 

 

I paint the truck bodies with Tamiya flat black. To allow this one to be painted in one go I have mounted it on a tapered paint brush handle. No need to jam it on tight - just snug enough so that it doesn’t move.

 

 

I paint the wheels with a rust colour. One wheel and the axle (but not the pointed ends) are painted first. I pop them into a pre-drilled wooden block to dry. You can handle the unpainted end with tweezers or snipe-nosed pliers.

 

 

Once the paint is dry the other wheel can be painted. I don't paint the inside faces or the underneath of the trucks - these are completely out of sight when railed. I do paint the sides of the cross beam which is quite prominent in an end view.

 

 

I take the dried paint off the wheel treads with the end of a six-inch rule with a chiselling action. This is easier than trying to keep the paint off them.

 

Both the wheels and trucks have had weathering powders added. Don’t bother to do too much of a job on these - remember that once the cars are on the rails the trucks and wheels are tucked away under the body and are not very visible. You just don’t want to glimpse those bright wheels and clean black trucks - in reality they might well be the dirtiest part of the car.

 

Chaz

Edited October 3, 2018 by chaz

[sb67]

Great stuff Chaz, it's always good to see another method of weathering and those trucks look fantastic, were they sprayed or brush painted?. I'm really enjoying this thread.

Steve.

Edited October 4, 2018 by sb67

[chaz]

Great stuff Chaz, it's always good to see another method of weathering and those trucks look fantastic, were they sprayed or brush painted?. I'm really enjoying this thread.

Steve.

 

 

Thanks Steve. The trucks were brush painted with Tamiya flat black and once this had dried I added DCC Concepts weathering powders, rich rust (a dark red-brown) and black and traces of dry rust (yellow-ochre). I don't see much need to airbrush the black paint.

 

Chaz

 

Edit - I should have said that I keep both paint and powder well away from the moulded bearing insets - one reason why I prefer to brush paint - no risk of overspray.

Edited October 4, 2018 by chaz

[chaz]

More on weathering the hopper cars: this post covers how I deal with the insides (but I ought to say that other methods are as good). All the paints I used for this are matte acrylics - I think you would get as good an effect with matte enamels but you would need to stir them really thoroughly to ensure they dry matte.

 

 

The first thing I do is to give the whole of the inside of the hopper a quick coat of rust colour. This one was done with Humbrol 113. I don’t worry too much  about getting perfect coverage as this first paint layer is an undercoat - I just keep all the brush strokes (no need for an airbrush) vertical down the sides or parallel down the slope of the inclines.

 

 

Once that rust undercoat is dry I paint streaks of all four rust colours - 113, 62 leather, 426 orange & 418 maroon red. Again all the streaks should be downward but they can blend together.

 

 

Once that has dried (overnight) I use Vallejo Metal Colour 77.712 steel. This is an acrylic colour that contains metallic particles. As these settle out quite quickly the pot contains a ball, like a rattle can. I give it a really good shake and then dispense a small amount on to a scrap of plastic. I dry-brush it onto some of the edges of the car and, here and there, to the streaked surfaces. It shows up well in the photo on the inside edges of the top rim. I have also added streaks of weathering powder.

 

 

Car #83 is nearly finished. The camera again reveals a fault, some of the rivets are a bit too yellow and need toning down but apart from that I think it looks good. 

 

I was more thorough with the decal “83” on this car. I applied it over two coats of Vallejo gloss varnish brushed on to just that panel. After leaving the transfer overnight to allow the glue to dry off I gave it two coats of Vallejo matte varnish. The transfer film is almost invisible. Once the varnish was dry I toned down the white figures with a light brush-over of Humbrol “Smoke” weathering powder.

 

 

I will repeat, there is no need to varnish the powders provided they are applied to a matte surface - which by its nature has a rough surface. The Vallejo matte varnish seems to give a particularly good key. On the occasions when I have put on too much and the colour is too obvious it has proved difficult to remove - in that case I just go over it with small amounts of black powder which will tone down rather than cover it completely.

 

Chaz

Edited October 16, 2018 by chaz

[chaz]

More work on the hopper cars…

 

 

I have found the “Crusted Rust” enamels on their own less than convincing. It may be the way I am applying them but they make the cars look afflicted with some strange disease.

 

 

However adding weathering powders to the surface does the trick.

 

 

Brushes - the two small ones on the left are very useful for picking up small amounts or powder and applying it just where it’s needed. The third, larger one is a soft mop and is good at spreading the powder over an area.  The brush on the right has had a hard life. Having been demoted from the front line it was used to spread dilute PVA when I was doing scenic effects. This has left the hairs a bit stiff and it now has a new role. Working it over a powdered surface with a scrubbing action it will blend and tone down patches of powder whose colour is too obvious.

 

 

#402 has powders applied over “Crusted Rust” daubs. Before I put the powders on I used some Vallejo matte black to obliterate some of the daubs, which I thought I had overdone. This has resulted in this mottled surface effect that looks so good I may well use it again.

 

​Great fun this weathering lark - as the effects develop I have to remind myself that it's bedtime and I can't do all twelve cars in one session. In any case it's good to leave the work and return to it the following day, to be appraised with a fresh eye.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

OOPS!

 

 

Not the best of pictures but it illustrates a problem I had.

 

I used some Humbrol weathering powders on #403 because I thought their rust colour a good one. However brushing this over “Crusted Rust” daubs had the effect of polishing them and making them glossy. I suspect the Humbrol product is coarser and a bit more abrasive and might have an effect akin to T-Cut.

 

Chaz

Edited October 18, 2018 by chaz