07-31-2010, 02:06 PM
Okay, over in my Summer 2010 Structure Contest thread, I promised to do tutorials on a couple of rust techniques. I'm putting this particular technique here in the weathering thread, and the other I will include in the contest thread = http://www.the-gauge.net/forum/viewtopic...=37&t=3191
The technique shown here is not my idea, I saw it somewhere else, and gave it a try. It isn't the "be all end all" technique of weathering, but it is certainly a weapon to add to your repertoire.
I used this on some of the pipes for the bridge project, but the small diameter of the pipes wasn't conducive to this tutorial, so I grabbed a box car roof and hastily weathered it for use here. Of course, the technique isn't necessarily for boxcar roofs, it is really for modeling scraped up painted surfaces with rust showing through.
First, give two coats of an appropriate rust colored paint to the object - or better yet, put on three different colors of rust, different colors in different places, preferably small blotches - but do cover the entire surface with paint. It is best to use an oil based paint for the base coat. Even two coats won't hurt. Since I typically use only brushed on water-based paints, for this technique I use regular old spray paint such as a brown rustoleum primer, or anything like that, preferably flat or satin, not gloss. And I only used one solid color.
After letting the spray paint dry for a couple of hours, get some cheap hair spray and spray the object with that. Give it a good solid coat, you don't want to leave it too thin.
Let the hair spray dry for 10 minutes or so, then put on the "paint" color for the object. In this case, I am using a light gray-silver roof to represent the galvanized roof. I used two coats to get it to cover. This is brushed on water-based craft paint.
Now, let that dry for awhile. Then, using a stiff brass bristle brush or a nylon brush, or a finger nail scrubber brush, some kind of stiff brush, start rubbing on the top coat. Various strokes will get different types of scrapes, and it is even okay to just beat down on the paint and let the bristles gouge into it. What all this does is remove some of the silver paint, letting the rust paint show through. You'll have to experiment with technique here to get a feel for how it works. Also, if the top coat isn't coming off with your efforts, put a bit of water on the surface to soften the paint, and then try some more. But be careful now, once the paint starts to soften, it comes off pretty easily. I found that the "beat down" technique looks best to me. Also be aware that the high spots on the model will lose their paint faster than the low spots. And the purpose of the hair spray becomes apparent here, it is a buffer between the paint you want to take off and the paint you want to leave on.
And here it is after scraping. It looks okay, maybe even good enough, but the "sameness" of the rust leaves a bit to be desired. This is why I said to put different colors in different places if possible when originally putting on the rust paint.
Now, we can make it look a bit better by adding some alternate rust color to it by hand. Since the original spray paint was in the middle range of rust, I added a dark rust on the big blotches and then some lighter rust on the edges of scraped areas.
And then the obligatory black wash and a dry-brushing with light tan to finish up. I'm not sure that the last step was an improvement!?
And last I would spray it with dullcote just to protect the finish.
There ya go! have fun.
The technique shown here is not my idea, I saw it somewhere else, and gave it a try. It isn't the "be all end all" technique of weathering, but it is certainly a weapon to add to your repertoire.
I used this on some of the pipes for the bridge project, but the small diameter of the pipes wasn't conducive to this tutorial, so I grabbed a box car roof and hastily weathered it for use here. Of course, the technique isn't necessarily for boxcar roofs, it is really for modeling scraped up painted surfaces with rust showing through.
First, give two coats of an appropriate rust colored paint to the object - or better yet, put on three different colors of rust, different colors in different places, preferably small blotches - but do cover the entire surface with paint. It is best to use an oil based paint for the base coat. Even two coats won't hurt. Since I typically use only brushed on water-based paints, for this technique I use regular old spray paint such as a brown rustoleum primer, or anything like that, preferably flat or satin, not gloss. And I only used one solid color.
After letting the spray paint dry for a couple of hours, get some cheap hair spray and spray the object with that. Give it a good solid coat, you don't want to leave it too thin.
Let the hair spray dry for 10 minutes or so, then put on the "paint" color for the object. In this case, I am using a light gray-silver roof to represent the galvanized roof. I used two coats to get it to cover. This is brushed on water-based craft paint.
Now, let that dry for awhile. Then, using a stiff brass bristle brush or a nylon brush, or a finger nail scrubber brush, some kind of stiff brush, start rubbing on the top coat. Various strokes will get different types of scrapes, and it is even okay to just beat down on the paint and let the bristles gouge into it. What all this does is remove some of the silver paint, letting the rust paint show through. You'll have to experiment with technique here to get a feel for how it works. Also, if the top coat isn't coming off with your efforts, put a bit of water on the surface to soften the paint, and then try some more. But be careful now, once the paint starts to soften, it comes off pretty easily. I found that the "beat down" technique looks best to me. Also be aware that the high spots on the model will lose their paint faster than the low spots. And the purpose of the hair spray becomes apparent here, it is a buffer between the paint you want to take off and the paint you want to leave on.
And here it is after scraping. It looks okay, maybe even good enough, but the "sameness" of the rust leaves a bit to be desired. This is why I said to put different colors in different places if possible when originally putting on the rust paint.
Now, we can make it look a bit better by adding some alternate rust color to it by hand. Since the original spray paint was in the middle range of rust, I added a dark rust on the big blotches and then some lighter rust on the edges of scraped areas.
And then the obligatory black wash and a dry-brushing with light tan to finish up. I'm not sure that the last step was an improvement!?
And last I would spray it with dullcote just to protect the finish.
There ya go! have fun.
Three Foot Rule In Effect At All Times