I began weathering three locomotives the other night. The first thing I did was give them a coating of Dullcoat to cut down on the shine and slickness. After the Dullcoat dried I hit them with a wash made from 1 part Folk Art Charcoal Gray, 5 parts blue windshield washer fluid, and a couple of drops of dish detergent. Here is how they look: Bachmann Spectrum Reading SD45 P2K Reading GP7 P2K Chessie SD9 Next I will be airbrushing the trucks and the bottoms of the locomotives with various dirt and grime colors.
Tom, that's the way I've weathered my engines. Here're two examples with the next step: chalk. The engine in the background has to get it's weathering. . For scrap? Happy tooot Wolfgang
Nice stuff guys!!! Tom, why windshield fluid? I mentioned this practice to my club, and no one had every heard of it? Wolfgang, nice chalk work! Any tips for using the stuff? Tony
The short answer is it works! When I first started airbrushing I was having difficulties with thinning the paint. The airbrush would clog, the paint would be spotty, etc. At the time I was using Polly Scale paint and the Polly Scale airbrush thinner. It just didn’t work. I later found out that many people I know were also having problems with the Polly Scale paint. I knew I could not use our tap water due to its hardness. I can’t use it for decals because if I do the decals will silver. I tried distilled water but the paint looked too chalky. Finally after asking around I was told about blue windshield washer fluid. I tried it and it worked. I don’t know the scientific reasons why it works. Not long after I start using bwsf I also switched to acrylic craft paints such as Folk Art, Apple Barrel, and Creamcoat. The bwsf worked even better with them. I made the switch because I was frustrated with Polly Scale and my LHS did not keep up with his inventory. He would be out of colors for months on end. Also I had an incident with the shop owner and his poor customer service attitude once too often and as a result I have not stepped foot in his shop in over two years. My next closest LHS that stocks Polly Scale is about an hour drive one way. I can get the craft paints at about 5 different stores all within a 10 minute drive, the color selection is far superior, and the price of the craft paint is better.
Alcohol may be the reason for it's working as I know many people who use alcohol as part of their washes, perhaps it has something in it similar to photoflow to make the surface tension break down so that it permeates better on detail parts. Just a hunch of course since I do not know the reason either.
I used a brush to spread the chalk. You must overdo it a little bit. When you spray dullcote most of the chalk will go away. You need some experience. The smokestack is painted with airbrush and glossy black after the last dullcote layer. Happy tooot Wolfgang
Thanks Wolfgang! I have tried chalk several times and I just can't seem to get the hang of it. I think I darn near used a can of Dullcoat on a boxcar once before I could see anything. I finished weathering the locos last night. I plan on sealing them over the weekend. Pictures coming!
What about saving Dullcoat and spraying clean air with the airbrush. You see the chalk layer become thinner. Then you can do another layer of chalk. If you're satisfied with the result after the empty airbrush test, take Dullcote. If you start the Dullcote-layer with a more distant airbrush the pressure will be lower and blow away not so much chalk. Wolfgang [ September 16, 2005, 11:20 AM: Message edited by: Wolfgang Dudler ]
Tony: Blue windshield wiper solution acts as a thinner for the paint. It also ages the model by dulling the paint finish with a whitish film. When I weather cars I mix a solution of 85% blue windshield wiper solution and the paint I'm using to weather a car or loco. Try it... it works nicely. Stay cool and run steam.....
Thanks for all the info on blue washer fluid guys! I'll be sure to take a whack at using the stuff! Tony
