detail painting

For what? If you're coloring the bare plaster before you put down ground cover you can use anything you want as long as it's not glossy. I use "Ceramcoat" acrylics from any craft store, home supply or even Wal-Mart. I squirt half a dozen different browns and greens on a palette (actually an AOL CD), Take a cup of water and a soft brush, dip the brush in a color, spread it on the layout, dip it in water, spread the color around some, dip it in another color, spread it out, more water etc. etc.

I weather my freight cars the same way, with the addition of using a hair dryer afterwards to even it out and prevent water spots.

Others weather with chalks, paints, whatever. There's no ONE way to do almost anything in Model Railroading.

Well, to contradict my last statement about "one way", if you're talking traditional solvent based Floquil, your choices are Floquil Diosol, Floquil Diosol or Floquil Diosol. (or whatever they call it now that it's more "environnmentally friendly")

For what purpose? For ballasting I use a 1:1 mix dribbled on, not sprayed (after wetting the ballast down first with a spray of straight water and a few drops of "wetting agent", detergent or alcohol)

For putting down ground cover (grass, dirt, etc, )I just use white glue full strength, brushed out with a good wet brush (similar to my painting technique described above) and sprinkle on the cover material.

You're welcome

Don

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Finally someone found a use for those free AOL CDs. Another good use for them is small "frisbees"

Depends on the era as to wether or not you weather your locomotives. I would say don't weather steam locos as during the days of Steam all railroads employed "Engine Wipers". An Engine Wiper's job was just that. When the locomotive came in after it's days run, they wiped it down and removed all the road grim. Some RR still did that with early deisel. Now no one seems to care, as long as the loco runs.

I would concur here, do not spray and glue around the tracks, it would take you much longer to remove the glue from the tracks.

For ground cover etc. if it is away from the tracks, our club uses the following method.

1. Paint the plaster surface with a color similar to the ground covering.
2. Sprinkle the ground cover on the wet paint.
3. Spray the watery white glue (sometimes 1:1 sometimes 2/3 water) over the ground cover until it is well soaked.
4. While glue is still wet, add some ground cover to any areas you think need it.

Hey, Thanks Don & Will

Your help is much appreciated. I like the idea of dabbing the paint with the water, I will try that out. As well as the ground cover idea.

I have done my landscape with foam & filled in areas with plaster of paris. I plan to paint over all with a flat white latex, as I have some areas from my first attempt colored in weird browns & greens. Trial & error, eh?,,, One of the best things I enjoy about this hobby is you can always change it & improve it. I was planning using the hobby paints too, they are inexpensive & easy to clean up.

I was saving my floquil paints for weathering my rolling stock. But not sure yet if I can get away with the hobby paints sprayed on the tracks & ties... mostly concerned here if the track cleaner will eventually remove the paint. I know the floquil will stand up.

I have some artists chalk too, I was saving for weathering buildings. What can I put overtop once I apply the chalk to keep it on?

Some interesting knowledge about the train wipers I did not know. I have my era kinda mixed around, as I have a few diesels and a couple of steam I will be running.

AOL CD's.... great ideas,,, I took two & glued them together with shinny side out, drilled a little hole in them & hung them up outside for 'wind-spinners'. My "burnt coasters made it there as well,,, after I got bored of using them for Frisbees.. (LOL).

Thanks again, I'm open for any more ideas.

Cheers Jim

I would say check out some photos of a prototype railroad similar in style/era/location to what you're modelling, and let them be your guide for weathering. Even during the heyday of steam locomotives, some of them were quite heavily weathered. Even allowing for the efforts of engine wipers, locos in service have subtle weathering, and deterioration of their finish.

I wouldn't paint it white, I'd stick with some brown or green. If fact, it's too late once the plaster is down, but I like to squirt some "ceramcoat" into the plaster itself when I mix it so IT has some color right in it. That way, if there's any chips or wear (and eventually there WILL be), you don'[t have ugly "white spots" showing through your scenery.

Dullcoat or any flat spray. However, be forewarned that the flat topcoat tends to 'wash out" your weathering efforts with chalk, so you may have to apply several layers, or weather much more heavily than you think you should before spraying the finish coat. That's one reason why I like weathering with the acrylics, as it's more "what you see is what you get".

They also make great "scarecrows" in the garden to keep the pests away from your vegetables.

Don

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JC, I would rethink your idea of painting with flat white. If it were me, I would put a touch of brown in there. Paint it with flat pale brown, closer to earth tones than white.

As Mark pointed out, Steam Engines did get a slick weathering. Mine I leave flat black with just the lettering weathered.

On Sun, 4 Apr 2004 22:43:18 UTC, Mark Newton wrote: 2000

Good advice from Mark. Passenger locos tended to be treated better (much better) than freight locos. Even with well tended locos paint tends to oxidize and get duller, especially in sunny climes. They also collect dings and bumps which start to rust. The kind of water they used and the country they ran in had a large effect.