Fogging up car windows...... how ?

[cobraman]

As title suggests I am looking for a way to simulate the inside of a car windows being fogged up. It is for a diorama I have in the planning stage. My first thought was maybe shooting the inside of the windows with some Dullcote but not sure it will give the results I am looking for. Anybody have a better idea ? Thanks

[JTalmage]

I sprayed a matte clear on the outside of my windows on my '55 chevy gasser to simulate dust... and it kinda looks foggy if looked at from the inside.. same effect may work the other way around?

Since moisture on windows sometimes has a different pattern/effect on real glass... try spraying the windows and touching them with reynolds plastic wrap for a second.

plastic wrap also works great for making marblized high metallic paint jobs.

[randx0]

How about that glass "etching" paint ,comes in a spray can . It doesn't actually etch anything just supposed to look like it. Just spit ballin'.

[Snake45]

My first reaction is to paint the inside of the windows with Dullcote or something similar, too. Make sure the inside of the glass is very polished, because any scratches would really show up doing this, I'd think.

If you have an airbrush, you could also experiment with misting on light coats of something that will craze the plastic--lacquer thinner, acetone, liquid cement (MEK), something like that. Dunno if this would work better or worse than Dullcote.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Try thinning elmers glue and brush it on the inside . I think it will do the trick. If not its easy to remove by soaking ih water.

[Matt T.]

Put the windows in a sealed container with some super glue? I know it happens by accident, maybe you can make it work in your favor!

[crazyjim]

Better practice on some spare glass, Ray.

[slusher]

Super glue..

[cobraman]

Thanks for the ideas guys. Luckily I have spare glass to work with.

[Snake45]

Lotta good ideas here, at least one of which should produce satisfactory results!

Just thought of another one: Place Scotch "invisible" tape on the inside. (Most of their tape these days is "invisible." You have to make some real effort to get the old original shiny kind.)

Edited October 9, 2014 by Snake45

[1930fordpickup]

Why not try on a piece of two liter bottle first Ray? You could cut it up in small strips and try four of five different options placed side by side.

[cobraman]

More good ideas. The tape sounds interesting. I will have to try that one.

[GMCMAN52]

Try some super glue kicker. I was gluing a rear bumper in place and sprayed the kicker and the rear glass got all fogged upped. I had to replace the rear glass to finish the model.

[Snake45]

Try some super glue kicker. I was gluing a rear bumper in place and sprayed the kicker and the rear glass got all fogged upped. I had to replace the rear glass to finish the model.

That might work! That stuff is some kind of solvent, maybe akin to acetone, and I've had it frost plastic. It's hell on paint, too, which is why I almost never use it anymore.

[LDO]

What's the diorama? I saw one a long time ago that had a car with fogged up windows. The only thing visible inside the car was a bra on the rear package shelf and a guy looking out of a cleared off spot on a back window. A policeman was standing at that window. The diorama was called "Debbie-it's your daddy"

[cobraman]

My idea is similar but car would be at a drive in movie with the speaker stand next to it.

[LDO]

Maybe airbrush a solvent onto the "glass". Something like acetone or Testors paint thinner. I've gotten paint thinner on kit windows and it looked foggy, but that was a spill, not a precise application.

[deuces wild]

My idea is similar but car would be at a drive in movie with the speaker stand next to it.

Absolutely!

[Snake45]

Johnny Carson had a term for this: Scorefog. I am not making this up.

[southpier]

Mary-jane Beolophsky used to do a good job fogging up the windows. you may know her as Audrey Farber ....

[D. Battista]

I used Zippo lighter fluid ....with good results ...but a good idea to test on scrap first...good luck

[Snake45]

I used Zippo lighter fluid ....with good results ...but a good idea to test on scrap first...good luck

I learned the hard way that naphtha (lighter fluid) doesn't melt or craze styrene like other solvents, but it does something even weirder: It seems to soak into the plastic and make it very brittle. Put the slightest pressure or twist on it and it will crumble like a peanut butter cookie. After it dries out, the plastic seems to be okay again.

I often use the stuff as a paint thinner for airbrushing gloss paint, because it flows the paint out very smooth, but still dries fairly quickly. But here again, one strange side effect: You can't leave paint thinned with naphtha, because it will turn into Jello in a few days, so don't thin more than you'll be airbrushing in a day or two. (On the other hand, I've thinned enamels with lacquer thinner, left it for years, shook it up and airbrushed it some more.)

[cobraman]

Lots of different ideas to try. Good thing I have a bunch of windows to test with. : )