Weathered Look

[Whitman80]

Ok, I am thinking about making my next model look weathered and beat up. I know the best way to do this is will chalk or charcoal. What is the best product to spray on the chalk to adhear it to the model?

[Harry P.]

If you use chalks and pastels, you can seal it with a flat clearcoat spray. There are flat clear acrylic sprays sold in crafts stores like Hobby Lobby.

Here's what I found at Hobby Lobby.

11 ounce spray can was $5.49.

[Harry P.]

Also, check out the October 2008 Model Cars Mag for a great article on weathering and creating a rusty looking surface using plain old salt!

[James W]

Usually when I use pastel chalks, it is over flat paint which the chalk adheres to very well. I frequently do not seal the pastels after they are applied, personal preference I guess.

If you do seal it, use a setting agent found for that purpose at a craft store, paints will make all your chalk work disappear.

Harry, you have obviously used the product you show, is it made for setting pastel chalks?

[Ryan Quantz]

I'm new to actually building models, but I have been experimenting with pastels for weathering. be sure they are chalk pastels... What I found that works best is to grind a little chalk of the stick with some sandpaper, mix it with some rubbing alcohol, and paint it on. you can get it really wet, or sort of dry as in dry-brushing paint. But be sure to work fast, the alcohol will evaporate quickly, but you can wet the surface and still move color around after it dries. As far as sealing, I haven't gotten that far yet... experiment with different methods of applying the pastels and i'm sure you will come up with some desirable results.

[VW Dave]

I used chalk pastels on this one, and sealed it with very light 'misty' coats of Testors DullCote. The first shot of DullCote almost always washes the pastels out, but I have gotten good results after a second(or third) application:

I apply the pastels dry, directly from the sticks, with a makeup brush kit I got at one of our local dollar stores. I even dusted and sealed the Charger's tires using the same method, after drybrushing the white letters with FloQuil acrylic paint:

My other favorite - and cheap as free - weathering media is my dirty brush cleaner(Ronsonol lighter fluid). Stir it up really good and brush it on, and after the solvent evaporates the grime is left behind. The grit can be rubbed off easily, so re-doing it is a snap before sealing it in for good - I use my old friend DullCote for that task. I have also mixed up special batches of 'grime' for other folks using lighter fluid and a few drops of Testors' flat black enamel.

You can see here how the grime mix actually accents the body's character lines; it looks better in person, as the macro setting on my camera seems to pick up every little grain of grit:

[Terry Jessee]

Here's some ideas....

Weathering should be a subtle process, applied in layers just as nature would do it.

The rear apron on this '32 Ford was treated with a base coat of red primer and light dusting of black primer. Then I dabbed some rubber cement on it randomly. Once that was done, I painted over it with a light pea green. Let that dry and peel up the rubber cement to reveal the rusty primer look underneath. I also gave this a wash with Rustall (model railroad product) rust and black, then scrubbed some dirt into it with my fingers.

Similar finish on the hood and radiator, just painted over with black (to give the look of a car cobbled together with parts from several cars). The body is left rusty. Again, I rubbed some finely sifted dirt into the surface.

See the rust stains down the sides? That's pastel chalk. You have to be careful with chalks and clear flat coats because the chalk can disappear. You may have to apply more color than you think to get the final finish you want. It's all experimentation.

Drybrushing brings up the edges and other surface features on this Jeep.

Here's an AMT '50 Chevy snap kit.

Same model--this was painted with red oxide primer, then sanded until the molded color showed through. It provides the effect of badly faded paint.

This is airbrushed with a little Floquil "Dirt" and brushed with pastels to get a dusty, lightly muddy look.

This Dodge Ram is the molded color--no paint. Just some paint details and some subtle airbrushing. I also "spit" a little paint on forward surfaces to simulate mud splatter. That's done by dipping the bristles of a toothbrush into some paint, then running your finger through the bristles, which causes the paint to splatter the surface.

Rustall, mud splatter, washes, and dry brushing.....

Terry

[Terry Jessee]

And a few more....

These are all done with washes, dry brushing, and carefully applied pastels. Much of it is airbrushed because that gives you much better control, and allows you to spray coats of paint on in a more subtle fashion.

Terry

[Dr. Cranky]

Great work, Mr. T!

[Terry Jessee]

I just took a look at your "Painkiller." THAT'S amazing!

(The rest of you'd best go to the link)

http://public.fotki.com/vsuarez666/voodoo-...er/dsc0017.html

Terry

[imatt88]

Terry,

Great work!

[Jon Carr]

Wow,some great ideas brewing. And that 32 ford sedan just looks AWESOME! Any finished pics?