# Weathered containers & wellcars



## LateStarter (Mar 12, 2016)

*From mild to moderate*_
Your tastes may vary._

Some highway transport prototypes are virtually decrepit and riddled with rust... but I didn't go there yet.

Athearn & Walthers.
Airbrush, handbrush, drybrush.
Vallejo acrylics.
Sealed with DullCote.


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## Railhead001 (Feb 12, 2020)

Very nice, I was just pondering how to weather a couple of containers on trailers that I recently acquired. Rust really makes them "pop".


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

I like the idea of dust/pigments. I found vallejo has a whole line. (of course!) I view the above as both and additive and subtractive process -- maybe. those though are very realistic. if you stuck them again a real background one might well say "oh those are real..."


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## SantaFeJim (Sep 8, 2015)

All I used was chalk. Here are some before & after pic's of my well cars.
































I also used chalk to weather all my containers. Sorry that I did not take any "Before" pic's.





























Video of the end result.


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

Looks great but when you say chalk, you don't mean the sidewalk kind do you?


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## SantaFeJim (Sep 8, 2015)

No, not the sidewalk variety. There are “pigment powders” commonly referred to as chalk. It actually bind to plastic and metal. Package below available on amazon and most hobby shops.


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

Is that the same as this?



Tamiya Weathering Master & Stick



I have several of them but not completely sold on it. The pigment is in some kind of binder...

I was literally thinking dry pigment dust but only for certain applications.( In other comments )

I happened to notice vallejo sells it by the bottle.

Your results far exceed mine. I was thinking of trying to wipe it all off with alcohol or something...


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## SantaFeJim (Sep 8, 2015)

*Is that the same as this?*

*Tamiya Weathering Master & Stick*

*No, not at all. The Tamiya is more of paste texture. The stuff I use is very very fine powder and does not require any dulcote before or after application. It is truly a one-step process. I will post pictures of the containers later.*


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## SantaFeJim (Sep 8, 2015)

Here is a picture of the 4 chalk containers. I have included an HO car to give you a object reference, to gauge the size of the containers.










As you can see, I can easily weather 100 cars these powders.


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## LateStarter (Mar 12, 2016)

Guess I wasted my time with this one.
Oh well.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

I didn't find the "Weather System" at the link on the label in Jim's pic, but I did find it here... Bragdon Enterprises - Weather System

So, without a sealer that stuff won't fingerprint?


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

Seems really interesting ... "this weathering powder will adhere to any non-glossy surface. It is NOT chalk. One quick step gives a very realistic rusty, dusty or sooty surface - instantly. No drying or curing is necessary. Use sparingly; a little goes a long way. This product is made from real rust and other weathering agents that have been ball milled to a particle size over 100 times finer than chalk and blended with a pressure sensitive, dry adhesive. Self adhesive to most surfaces. Nonmagnetic and Nontoxic. " [their rubbery rocks looks great too!]


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## LateStarter (Mar 12, 2016)

Good grief...
I'm sorry I started this thread.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

LateStarter said:


> Good grief...
> I'm sorry I started this thread.


I'm not. I like seeing your weathering effects. I've saved a lot of your pics and will use them for reference when I start weathering my RS.

And I might be learning about yet another method/product.


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

Not sure what anyone is unhappy about -- I see 3 possible ways to weather, one not shown (Tamiya). Results are clearly favorable in two cases, but like any art -- subjective. Since i have my weathered walthers fire station sitting right next to me where I smeared, I mean brushed on this Tamiya stuff -- I can verify that it sucks relatively speaking to the two efforts shown above. Still I just got a pile of other colors in the mail and I should try a little harder. I fear though it's not a great system.


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## LateStarter (Mar 12, 2016)

I've been through a decade or more of the chalk, powder, and applique-type weathering methods, including the highly touted AK Interactive stuff.

None of them... not one... is as sure, as permanent, as easily learned, or as reliable as acrylic airbrushing or drybrushing.
Yep, an airbrush and compressor setup is a bold new adventure and expense, and it takes time to get comfy with it. And drybrushing takes a lot of practice.
But I promise you, that _nothing_ will satisfy better.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

See... that's good to know.


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

It looks a winner but some will not want to mess with it. Not knowing anything I picked up a few of Tamiya items as they were in a retail store (Hobby Lobby) some weeks back But all I got out of it is a building that looks like someone smudged with grease. Then I figured I just had the wrong color (black) -- and should have used a closer shade to the building so I purchased the remaining kits. But even though I found two or three palettes int he kits ("sand") that matches it better -- I can't seem to undo the black grease look -- it's just too over powering.

Maybe what would work for these is a very tiny application in small areas. And what I did just doesn't make sense.

As for the so called dust or chalk -- my original idea or comment related to pigment really was that you put a bit of glue on the item, very thin very light here and there, and blow or sprinkle a tiny bit of colored pigment onto that of the desired color. The idea being to create a 3d surface.

Then once dry, you over paint that. That might make rust for example look "bubbly" which it often does etc.

But this particular product above looks like you could use as a overall background and then one could paint over that. Or just leave it as it is if that satisfies. Even so I bet in a glue matrix it would gum up and produce bumpier surface. I read the website and the pigment is mixed with several items including adhesive -- and is ground very fine. It's not really intended to be used as I was thinking about it.

Before that though -- I even thought of just using flour... or maybe corn starch. Didn't try it though. I haven't even gotten to trying paint based weathering cars! But I'll get there eventually.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

So... questions for you @LateStarter. When weathering do you remove the car shell from the floor/frame and do them separately? What about the trucks? Surely trucks & wheels don't get hit with the DullCote? I've tried acrylic spray matte finishes (Krylon and some craft brand from Hobby Lobby) and they've melted decals. I figure DullCote, an enamel, would be worse.


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## LateStarter (Mar 12, 2016)

Stumpy said:


> So... questions for you @LateStarter.


1.) I just remove the trucks & couplers, and go from there. No need to disassemble any part of the body or shell.
2.) If the trucks are sprung Kadees, I only drybrush them lightly. Otherwise, I might rust unsprung trucks up a little with an airbrush dusting, and drybrush for hi/lo-lights. Remove wheelsets, and do them separately.
3.) Wheels & axles can be handbrushed, as long as you're careful to keep paint off treads and axle points. Don't DullCote wheelsets.
4.) I DullCote unsprung truckframes but not couplers.
5.) Couplers can be risky. I'll weather them sometimes, but I've had to replace them, when they've locked up because I got careless.
6.) DullCote won't harm decals, and in fact is recommended to kill their gloss.
7.) DullCote comes in rattle cans, as do Tamiya acrylics.


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

OK, here's a train of containers on my empire. Lots of em with a DPU pusher set of locos on the back end.


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