Weathering Freight Cars - Techniques and Examples

my frist weathering :embarassed::angel:

 

Powersteamguy1790: good subtle weathering work, I like the carload too.
OC Engineer JD: I didn't know there was some boxcar wooden kits in N scale.
HarryII: Don't be ashamed, here is a picture of my 1st attempt at weathering:
Maybe we should start a thread about "My 1st weathering attempt" . This should be funny lol.



Here is a picture of my tankcar:


Jacques

 

Thanks BiasedTurkey. [Can I call you Biased? ] The wash on those box cars was done with acrylic tube paints thinned with windshield washer fluid (as described in Rich Yourstone's weathering article in NSR magazine a few years ago). However, prior to the washes, I apply a fade coat (actually several thin ones) with an airbrush using Microscale Flat finish with a bit of zinc-based white acrylic paint added, all thinned with WW fluid. The zinc-based paint is semi-transparent and I'm finding it to be an excellent fading medium. Your paint/alcohol mix probably plays a similarly important role in your nice results.

Best,
Gary

P.S. Nice coil car Jerry! Is this the beginning of a coil train for Pittsburg? If so, runby film please.

 

Great thread! Some nice work here, guys. ConrailDan, I love the use of that real-world scrap load, that looks fantastic!

I like seeing the various ways of using heat to cause distress. It's a fun way to weather, but you have to be careful. These hoppers were distressed with a warm soldering iron. Not too hot, not too cold...

 

I like to ding up the top edges pretty good. These type of cars are usually far from pristine.



I still need to beat up the exteriors some more!

 

One more:

 

Great job everyone!
I especially like Robert's boxcars as well as Dan's FGE reefer, great washing effect. Here is a couple of boxcars I weathered last summer:

 

JD: Did you add the air brake line on that one? I have done that on some of my covered hoppers. Nice touch on the truck springs being a slightly different color.

My weathering is usually heavy and I am trying to lighten up a little. One of the things that Tom Mann does is to work from a prototype photo instead of just doing general weathering.

Here is Mike Rose on fading freight cars. He is using the Dullcote-alcohol technique. Also, I suggest using "Dust" paint color to fade. It seems to work and gives a slightly different look.

Mike Rose - modeling rust.

 

heres a couple of mine.

 

Nice job on the NP box Andrew, especially the peeling door paint. Just out of curiosity, do you have access to decent photos of period cars to use as a guide? I always like to have 1 or 2 samples photos on hand for reference, but it's a lot easier for us contemporary modelers.

 

Duplicate post deleted.

 

Of course you can, I won't be upset.
Thank you for detailing your weathering technique.
I use acrylic paints, except for the rust where I use artist's oil paint.
Artist's oil paint take a long time to dry , so striking a brush damp with mineral spirits down the side accentuates the streaked effects of the rust colors.
A negative point for oil paints is that they are thicker than acrylics and on N scale rolling stock that paint thickness is more obvious. That's why after the oil paint is dry ( it can take several days ) I slightly sand it with a #600 sanding paper.

May I suggest that you apply more dust/grim on the trucks and the bottom of the car.

Jacques

 

Tudor, I like the weatherd boxcar.
About the gondola and the tankcar, may I suggest that you use darker shades for the rust, such as burnt umber, burnt sienna or raw umber.

Jacques

 

Yes you may suggest that, because in a nutshell, I agree.. Those were a few of my first weathering jobs. And I had a new bottle of rust orange, lol....