Trying Weathering Chalks

[tompm]

After reading more about using the chalks I decided tonight to weather a car entirely with chalks. I selected an Athearn Gulf Mobile & Ohio 40-foot boxcar. I recently obtained the car off a certain auction site for $5. The kit was built and came with Kadee #5 couplers installed. It is proper weight. The only drawback was the plastic wheels. I will change them once I get more metal wheels.

I wiped the dust off the car and checked for any other dirt or stains. Once I was satisfied I gave the car a spray of Dullcoat. I let it dry for a few days. AKA other things came up.

I started with an off-white chalk to fade the car. It was then I discovered a problem. Apparently, whoever handled the car before did not have clean fingers. Fingerprints appeared in several locations. After a few under the breath comments. I decided to go over the car with a medium gray. This appeared to cover the fingerprints. I then used shades of umber and sienna along the bottom of the car to show splashes and dirt accumulation. I went over the roof with gray and black. Happy with the way the car looked I sealed it with Dullcoat.

After letting it dry for most of the day, I retrieved the car. To my horror several fingerprints were back but now in gray. I now went over them with shades of red oxide. This seemed to do the trick. I also added the red oxide to the roof.

I weathered the trucks using all the above-mentioned colors. I did not do the wheels. As I stated before they are plastic and will be replaced.

I was happy with the car until I took the following photos. You can see of the second one there is still a smudge. I will do some additional weathering there to blend something in at that spot.

The sides





The roof





The trucks