04-04-2009, 11:19 AM
Sumpter250 Wrote:Quote:One thing I intend to do when the house remodel is done (almost finished!!!) is to try some of the bright metal foils that the car modelers use to simulate chrome on the inside of a gravel hopper to simulate the inside being freshly scrubbed off by all of gravel dumped into and emptied out of the cars over the years.
I would highly recommend looking around and finding steel in a similar condition (if not a hopper interior) before going with bright metal foils. Steel, polished, isn't as bright as chrome, and considering "scale" would be better modeled with slightly less shine. We're talking steel that has been scraped clean of paint, and rust, not "polished" to a smooth bright finish. Also consider, as the load flows in, and out of the hopper, it will be the surfaces that bear the weight, and against which the load moves, that will be bare. the rest will be some paint, and mostly rust.
Right on about the shine. I quit typing before going into that much detail. The company that makes the metal foil, offers it in a number of finishes. I think that the "stainless steel" is probably the best choice for showing scrapped steel, but I need to examine the various choices before I start on open hoppers.