# Asphalt is not my fault!



## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

Like my play on the subject title?
Just having a little fun!
I am actually looking for ideas and suggestions.
What do you do to mimic Alphalt?
I found some of this stuff at Modellbahn Ott Hobbies on Ebay, they are out of Boyertown, Pennsylvania, United States.
Diorama Series: Terrains Asphalt Texture Acrylic 250ml Bottle









AK Terrians makes a lot of cool stuff but at $27 USD a bottle, I am afraid my Walters "Cornerstone" Gas Station, I am building, will not be getting the asphalt look it deserves.
So I am still looking and hope you have a less expensive suggestion.
The hardboard/pressboard and a black marker isn't close to the texture look of asphalt.
And, the joint in the board I would like to make disappear.









So I would like to see what you have done and if you have pictures to share, all the better!!!!
Got a "goto" product, a cheap sand and paint recipe, or a contact paper hack, I wanna know! 🚗🚕🚙🚌🚓🚐...


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

since asphalt is attacked by gasoline, you might want a concrete apron the width of the pump island that goes from the bldg. to the sidewalk part. The concrete would probably be quite dirty as they use to also add oil to cars while they were at the pump.


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## Conductorkev (Nov 5, 2021)

SF Gal said:


> Like my play on the subject title?
> Just having a little fun!
> I am actually looking for ideas and suggestions.
> What do you do to mimic Alphalt?
> ...



Gas stations almost always use concrete not asphalt. There are plenty of reasons why two of the biggest would be the gas like what was just said above me and the sinking that would occur with asphalt. Basically you would have tire indents by the pumps. And we won't even get into what would happen during hot days.........

Not to rain on your parade but I'd I was you I would strip off the black and just use woodland scenics concrete to paint. If u are going for super realistic you coukd add a very thin layer of either woodland scenic smooth it or just use joint compound. When almost dried carve out your lines. Then paint and of course with concrete it will be dirty around the pumps and probably right by the service bay doors.


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## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

To answer your question, I have some black non-slip tape I was going to use for N scale roads - if I ever get around to it.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

I agree, gas stations are always concrete unless the building has been repurposed.

but to the general nature of the question:
I too have struggled with black top. My best results (not to say I liked the result) was layering black spray paint over gray spray paint. Then using gray & black chalks to muddle the appearance up.
In the future I plan to use gray dyed plaster. My main reason for this choice is in order to model pot holes, depressed patches, and broken/cracked areas. It also enables more variety in aging via the dye (acrylic paint).
But I’ve not yet done this so it’s all theoretical.


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## kilowatt62 (Aug 18, 2019)

I’m in agreement concerning petroleum products attacking asphalt. Ends up leaving pits and ruts. The Concrete looking format is the way to go.


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## Conductorkev (Nov 5, 2021)

OilValleyRy said:


> I agree, gas stations are always concrete unless the building has been repurposed.
> 
> but to the general nature of the question:
> I too have struggled with black top. My best results (not to say I liked the result) was layering black spray paint over gray spray paint. Then using gray & black chalks to muddle the appearance up.
> ...



Even repurposed buildings would change it considering they have to dig everything up anyways for the tanks and gas lines and then what's the purpose of sticking with asphalt when over time it costs more.


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

Lemonhawk said:


> since asphalt is attacked by gasoline, you might want a concrete apron the width of the pump island that goes from the bldg. to the sidewalk part. The concrete would probably be quite dirty as they use to also add oil to cars while they were at the pump.


Duh! So glad I asked and you are all right, oil stained concrete it will be, at least around the pumps but will probable do it all in concrete, depending on future suggestions....I have been to a few gas stations with concrete "pads" along the pump island and other areas are asphalt, so your suggestion makes me think I could have a concrete and asphalt....very interesting.


Conductorkev said:


> .... but if I was you, I would strip off the black and just use woodland scenics concrete to paint. If u are going for super realistic you coukd add a very thin layer of either woodland scenic smooth it or just use joint compound. When almost dried carve out your lines. Then paint and of course with concrete it will be dirty around the pumps and probably right by the service bay doors.


.....great advice! I like the joint compound suggestion for the seam issue too. You guys are good!


OilValleyRy said:


> .....I too have struggled with black top. My best results (not to say I liked the result) was layering black spray paint over gray spray paint. Then using gray & black chalks to muddle the appearance up.
> In the future I plan to use gray dyed plaster. My main reason for this choice is in order to model pot holes, depressed patches, and broken/cracked areas. It also enables more variety in aging via the dye (acrylic paint).
> But I’ve not yet done this so it’s all theoretical.


Thanks for your thoughts OVR. I have used plaster of paris for roads before but I don't have good control over thickness and or I overwork it and well, you almost need forms to make it look good. For roads, I current am using thin sheets of balsa wood from a flea market find over 30 years ago. I paint it concrete and stain it verying degrees as I never have been able to make believeable asphalt. I suppose concrete or asphalt, nothing has been great.
Please keep the suggestions coming!


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## Conductorkev (Nov 5, 2021)

SF Gal said:


> Duh! So glad I asked and you are all right, oil stained concrete it will be, at least around the pumps but will probable do it all in concrete, depending on future suggestions....I have been to a few gas stations with concrete "pads" along the pump island and other areas are asphalt, so your suggestion makes me think I could have a concrete and asphalt....very interesting.
> 
> .....great advice! I like the joint compound suggestion for the seam issue too. You guys are good!
> 
> ...



Well you coukd always put the plaster down just like they pour concrete. Use small thin pieces of some kind of wood maybe cut up stir sticks but make them the hight u want it and create sections pour in plaster use something to level it off like a scrapper. 
I would also suggest using something on the wood so plaster won't stick to it.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

I’ve used roofing felt and black craft sheets for asphalt. Both are somewhat lacking in texture, but that doesn’t bother me. I’ve also used non-slid stair treads (80 grit) in both black and gray. That works for O scale, but for HO, you might want to try a finer grit sandpaper painted flat black or gray.

To hide joints, I have used Elmers glue and flat black latex paint (3:1 ratio) to simulate tar.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

400 grit works well for HO roads. Cheaper than foam road too.


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## scenicsRme (Aug 19, 2020)

If you want a fine textured coating, I would use artist's gesso. It is usually used by artists to seal and smooth canvas for oil painting while providing a fine tooth that allows the paint to be brushed and spread over the surface. It is fairly inexpensive dries pretty quickly, has a very light odor, can be tinted, and for asphalt it is available in black! The black though would not look right for anything except freshly laid asphalt paving or fresh patches, so you might try mixing the white and black 50-50 as the base color and texturecoat, then tint from there with airbrushed acrylics or weathering powders. If you want realistic looking roads, remember they are not bowling alley flat, but have an appreciable crown from the center to the edges for water drainage. Note when out driving around or look at a google street view and notice the color patterns in the lanes and at cross streets as well as at traffic lights. Give your roads some age!


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## Conductorkev (Nov 5, 2021)

scenicsRme said:


> If you want a fine textured coating, I would use artist's gesso. It is usually used by artists to seal and smooth canvas for oil painting while providing a fine tooth that allows the paint to be brushed and spread over the surface. It is fairly inexpensive dries pretty quickly, has a very light odor, can be tinted, and for asphalt it is available in black! The black though would not look right for anything except freshly laid asphalt paving or fresh patches, so you might try mixing the white and black 50-50 as the base color and texturecoat, then tint from there with airbrushed acrylics or weathering powders. If you want realistic looking roads, remember they are not bowling alley flat, but have an appreciable crown from the center to the edges for water drainage. Note when out driving around or look at a google street view and notice the color patterns in the lanes and at cross streets as well as at traffic lights. Give your roads some age!



But in ho scale the pitch would be less than a strand of hair.


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

artist's gesso...had to look it up as I never heard abiut the stuff.
Black Artist Gesso...cheapest I found is $10 on Amazon...might go to a local artist store.
I see, interesting, thanks for the tip.
Looks like I am leaning towards all concrete for the gas station.
Great thing about forums, you can get so many right answers....love the input!!


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## TimmyD (Dec 6, 2021)

I didn't read the whole thread, but I add texture under paint for raft frames all the time. Some people use sugar, some sand, and some buy the actual texture beads at the paint store. I would try a couple of test coupons of fine grain material sifted onto a base surface, maybe a layer of spray glue, and the right sheen of black spray paint? Seems like you should be able to cover 50 sf for $20 or so, far less than the modeling compound and far more detail than the marker solution!


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I'm N scale, so this may not work for HO.

I found 2" gaffers tape to be good for paved roads... just about the perfect width for a 2-lane road. SO maybe 2 strips side by side would work for HO.

Gaffers tape is kind of like Duct Tape, but is flat black so it will disappear when used on a movie set.


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## BobT (Mar 27, 2021)

SF Gal said:


> artist's gesso...had to look it up as I never heard abiut the stuff.
> Black Artist Gesso...cheapest I found is $10 on Amazon...might go to a local artist store.
> I see, interesting, thanks for the tip.
> Looks like I am leaning towards all concrete for the gas station.
> Great thing about forums, you can get so many right answers....love the input!!


Places like Hobby Lobby generally carry gesso in stock.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

I use fine grit wet-dry sandpaper


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

Lee Willis said:


> I use fine grit wet-dry sandpaper


Can you upload a picture of your asphalt, Please!?


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## Homeless by Choice (Apr 15, 2016)

Lee Willis said:


> I use fine grit wet-dry sandpaper


I stopped at Harbor Freight this morning and noticed that they have 1000 Grit wet dry sandpaper in black and gray colors. I think they would work real well. The price was a $1.98 for three sheets.
LeRoy


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Drywall mud painted black.

If you prefer a commercial diorama product, Vallejo Acrylics makes a ton of them. I can't make out how be the AK Terrains bottle is; Vallejo's is $10 for 200ml (about 6.75 oz). I have never used this color, but I do use several of their other colors and I like them a lot.






Scalehobbyist.com: Dark Lava Earth (Asphalt) Earth Effect by Vallejo Acrylics







www.scalehobbyist.com


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## Steve Rothstein (Jan 1, 2021)

@SF Gal, I think you posted the best answer to this in your post with the comics. A pepper grinder with a mixture of black and white peppers would probably produce a really nice asphalt surface with a clear glue to hold it down (like is done for ballast).


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

You guys are too fun!
Love all the advice! So based on your advice, I went to America's Best Hobby Shop about 30 minutes south of me for some concrete (paint).
I might have some fine grit wet-dry sandpaper sheets in the garage, I'll have to check in the morning.
I am still undecided if I should do "concrete" pump island pads and asphalt everywhere else or do it all in concrete.
Knowing my time is money, I may just do concrete...will start on the surface sometime tomarrow but I do have homemaker stuff to do first.


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## scenicsRme (Aug 19, 2020)

Dick Blick art supplies has something they call "sludge gesso" heavier and with more texture than typical artist's gesso @ about 8.00 for 17 oz bottle, and it is a grey color, may be good for worn asphalt paving base, or a waterproof hard coat for foam terrain. I like just premixed lightweight joint compound for concrete surfaces as it can have potholes, slab scribbling etc cut in while still wet, is very convincing as concrete especially if precolored. Note that concrete is not grey or white, but a very light desert tan with a hint of avocado green added. To me solid black or dark grey roads are very toy like, not at all realistic, like unpainted plastic buildings.
Uniform building code requires concrete pads where vehicles are fueled at the pumps, but asphalt can and is often used for the driveway paving. Don't forget to add color coded caps in the lot where the tanker trucks fill the underground tanks. Take note of your surroundings when out and about, it's the everyday details that add realism, not the large unique details.


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

I wanted to thank everyone again for the input.
Funny you mentioned Sludge gesso as I found some old testors flat black paint that was the texture of sludge.
It took 15 years to get that way but there it was!
So I decided to give both cement and asphalt on the property.
This first picture is the haul from the hobby store I went to, including concrete...









The store buys up peoples layouts and stuff and resells it at a bargain so I got the Enzo and A&P lighted sign, some people for a song. Also couplers and metal wheel sets....on to painting!!!
So I forgot to take pictures of me actually taping the outline of the island pad and "painting" concrete, asphalt, grime and dirt...all I have is pictures of the finished concrete and asphalt after it all dried.
I put the gas station on the layout to see where the curb I ruffed in a week ago needs to be cut and painted.
I also wanted to see how my perception of concrete streets matched up to the painted concrete in a bottle,
I might now have to repaint my streets....









As you can see, I grimed up the station and added oil and dirt spots on the pad, fixed the angle of the new price per gallon sign, opened up the garage door, and added a few vehicles. Still have to wire in the lights, add people, fan belts in the garage, and the air hose and hanger by the garage door.









The photo below is mean't to show how prominant the gas station will actually be on the layout. I am working from the back to the front of this area of the layout and just this section has a long way to go. Missing trees and shrubs closer to the camera and need lots of people, lights, etc.
Future plans include removing the HUGE first gen 60" Sony flatscreen for a 36", allowing viewing of the back of the circle track.
I also have to keep the trap door access in the middle of the layout for any derailments in the back of the TV.
All the buildings except the garage will actually lift out on the removable hatch. It was the only think I can come up with for access. All the building on the hatch are not set in stone yet. I might put a diner next to the garage...








All the buildings you see were built by someone else _(flea market finds on the cheap!)_ and all I am doing is enhancing them. The gas station is my the only one bought.
As always, a work in progress. When the garage is finished, I'll post the finished product on my thread called "*The Santa Fe Big "L"*.


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

Is the gas station open for business yet?
I need some of that $3.75/gal gas  instead of Reno's $5.10 

Magic


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## tiger (Dec 16, 2015)

GNfan said:


> I have some black non-slip tape


That's what I used, but it's peeling up.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

scenicsRme said:


> Note that concrete is not grey or white, but a very light desert tan with a hint of avocado green added. To me solid black or dark grey roads are very toy like, not at all realistic, like unpainted plastic buildings.


The color of concrete varies widely in the gray and tan spectrum. It depends on the source of the limestone used to create it, the size and composition of the aggregates, the color of sand in the mixture, and the age of the pour.


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## Steve on Cattail Creek (11 mo ago)

Sorry, late to the thread, but you ended up with a really nice result! I just wanted to endorse the earlier building felt suggestion, as a quick and dirty (and cheap, if you have some pieces lying around!) asphalt simulation, for small areas or large. Even without weathering applied, it's pretty clear at a glance what the surface is supposed to be.



















SF Gal said:


> I wanted to thank everyone again for the input.
> Funny you mentioned Sludge gesso as I found some old testors flat black paint that was the texture of sludge.
> It took 15 years to get that way but there it was!
> So I decided to give both cement and asphalt on the property.
> ...


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## Madman (Aug 22, 2020)

Joannes fabrics sell a 1/8" thick sheet of foam in black. It's maybe 24" x 30". Don't quote me on the size as it's been awhile since I bought some. It looks great as asphalt.


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## vpchianese (Dec 31, 2018)

My family owned several gas stations when I was a kid. That was in the 60's. I all three of them The area around the gas pump islands were concrete as was the area around the filling hook ups for the different octane gas tanks. Those were the hook ups that the gas truck hooked up to. So around both Islands and a square next to the building was concrete. The rest of the station was all blacktop. Which btw had grayed over the years as the black, tar, wore off to show the gravel mixed in to make asphalt.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Sand paper is always good. I liked black craft foam for road bed.

Building felt sound good too.


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## jta552 (Jan 20, 2015)

I have used 15 lb felt paper pretty successfully. See attached pics. It looks pretty realistic and the cost is almost nothing. So far I have not added lines but that can be done with adhesive backed vinyl or automotive pinstripe tape.


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## Demonskull (10 mo ago)

Try some very fine sand mixed with black nail polish. It will give you the look and texture you're looking for.


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## Rockcity (Oct 4, 2021)

I like the AK asphalt. But at that price, I thin it a little with water, then paint it over styrene, drywall patch, or Sculptamold. It goes quite a long ways. After it dries, I fade the dark black color out with some Pan Pastels.


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

Sandpaper, the black wet kind would be a choice....black foam was a bit thick for my scale application.
The felt paper looks amazingly good...nice idea. 
I thought about black nail polish but you never see it in a matte finish....and nail polish ain't cheap!
Nice to hear someone using AK Asphalt...love to see how you used it on your layout or diaorama.
I really love this idea.....









...very cool idea ...the porta potie is a stinky touch! _*giggle_*


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

400 grit sandpaper asphalt:




























With fresh cut grass:










Busch foam road/parking lot and cobblestone:


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## Rockcity (Oct 4, 2021)

SF Gal said:


> Nice to hear someone using AK Asphalt...love to see how you used it on your layout or diaorama.


The 6:30 mark in this video 



 shows me applying the AK product to a grade crossing.


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