Trying to get everyone's best ideas on how to weather HO scale plastic windows. Can't seem to perfect the hair spray technique or dry brushing with a sponge.
Any others ideas?
That's a tough one.........
I think my best efforts have been to air brush a base color of choice on the entire window and then dry brush randomly a second rather faded color for effect.
The truth is in HO it is really tough to see paint flakes on such small items..... Recall the nail hole conversation of about a week ago.
see ya
Bob
Please... no more nail holes talk...I'll go postal (no offense, Karl) if one more person opens that can of worms.
I use dry-dabbing of the windows with one of those little stippling sponges on a stick, found among the stencling supplies at your big-box craft store. I trim one down to get into the tight spots. Then I do a little dry-brushing and finish with some powders. All of this is prior to glazing, of course.
I'm sure someone will poo-poo this approach because such weathering "would never be seen from a distance." Blah-blah-blah.
I would urge you to revisit your attempts with the sponge. The sponge should have almost no paint on it for the technique to work. Have a piece of paper towel handy. Lightly dip the sponge in the paint. I use a makeup sponge. Dab the sponge on the paper towel to remove most of the paint. Dab, do not wipe the dry sponge onto the window. Stop before you think you should. You can always add more. The effect is not seen as individual paint flakes, bu more as a faded, worn, not bright color. See pics below.
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.modelersforum.com%2Fgallery%2F303-121016055117-17007277.jpeg&hash=aef1037740acdc9d9c37246b24331b450d854ccf)
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.modelersforum.com%2Fgallery%2F303-121016055156-17011253.jpeg&hash=824fe39f13cefe261bf773d87b22a7130bffe170)
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.modelersforum.com%2Fgallery%2F303-121016055156-170122300.jpeg&hash=f323b58bf4601100cf07bea224706028c9fc5e08)
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.modelersforum.com%2Fgallery%2F303-121016055300-170131327.jpeg&hash=4e684cb08975e0677f5dca716e52948e4240d68c)
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.modelersforum.com%2Fgallery%2F303-290117115458-195141201.jpeg&hash=27a4d37119f359e7b8f8609b9fa4db18eb7bcd28)
Matt
Exactly...almost no paint left on the applicator after you dab it off onto paper towel. Thus my snarky comment about "not seen from a scale distance."
Excellent work Mark..... 8)
Many thanks, I guess I will have to try the sponge again!
Matt, great finishing effects. Thx.
I also bought a $2 pack of cosmetic sponges and tried to get some peeling/fading effect. Didn't work and I have resorted to terry cloth and paint brushes. Based on your post, I'll go back and try again and do a better job of wiping the paint off first.
I agree with the sponge techniques, it's all I ever do for wood and windows
I use a torn off piece of sponge so the edge is irregular. I then put a small amount of paint on a card and tap the card to remove some of the paint. Then tap the piece you're painting. Lightly at first so you don't put too much paint on. Move the item or the sponge at different angles so the splotches don't all line up. Keep going until you get the amount of color/paint you want on the item.
Jeff
Quote from: restocarp on October 16, 2018, 05:58:42 AM
Stop before you think you should.
Matt
Matt, I really like your results. If I could boil weathering down to one statement, it would be what Matt said, above. My best results have come from the less-is-more lesson.
--George
Quote from: vinceg on October 16, 2018, 12:56:55 PM
Matt, great finishing effects. Thx.
I also bought a $2 pack of cosmetic sponges and tried to get some peeling/fading effect. Didn't work and I have resorted to terry cloth and paint brushes. Based on your post, I'll go back and try again and do a better job of wiping the paint off first.
Vince,
I use scissors and /or tear the sponges to get a slightly rougher and much smaller surface area when I use the cosmetic sponges. I find them too smooth as purchased to get an uneven paint application.
Really nice results.
This pretty much sums up the methods I use as well. The only thing I'll add is that I like the cheap craft store acrylics for the sponge technique because I can go back, after the fact, and scrub off any unsightly blotches (where I may have gotten a little too heavy handed or the sponge wasn't quite dry enough) using a micro brush dipped in rubbing alcohol. I usually do this right after I apply the A&I wash which causes the paint to softened up a bit.
Quote from: jerryrbeach on October 17, 2018, 07:21:11 AM
Quote from: vinceg on October 16, 2018, 12:56:55 PM
Matt, great finishing effects. Thx.
I also bought a $2 pack of cosmetic sponges and tried to get some peeling/fading effect. Didn't work and I have resorted to terry cloth and paint brushes. Based on your post, I'll go back and try again and do a better job of wiping the paint off first.
Thanks - I think that's the ticket. I just used them in their pristine, triangular state. Didn't splotch very well. Maybe I'll give the bag to my dog for an evening. Anything he doesn't eat should work nicely. (The ones he does eat would probably also work nicely, but the cleanup.....ugh)
Vince,
I use scissors and /or tear the sponges to get a slightly rougher and much smaller surface area when I use the cosmetic sponges. I find them too smooth as purchased to get an uneven paint application.
Hello,
I've tried pretty much all the methods that have been mentioned but the one I like best is using typewriter correction paper burnished on with a dull pencil. It takes about 10 seconds to do a window or door and if you don't like the look lift it off with a piece of scotch tape and do it again. Here's a Tichy window I did a few minutes ago. Keep in mind this window is 9/16"(.5625)x11/16" (.6875). I like the look but that's just my opinion...
Karl O.
Berkley, MI
Looks great!
That's pretty clever, Karl. I like it a lot. Does anybody know if the correction tape comes in colors other than white? White is good, but other colors would be interesting, too. I did a quick search and found quite a few multi-colored dispensers, but I am not sure from the descriptions whether the tape is colored.
Quote from: Karl O on October 18, 2018, 05:08:45 PM
Hello,
I've tried pretty much all the methods that have been mentioned but the one I like best is using typewriter correction paper burnished on with a dull pencil. It takes about 10 seconds to do a window or door and if you don't like the look lift it off with a piece of scotch tape and do it again. Here's a Tichy window I did a few minutes ago. Keep in mind this window is 9/16"(.5625)x11/16" (.6875). I like the look but that's just my opinion...
Karl O.
Berkley, MI
Ever since I saw this technique by Karl on "the other site", I have been searching the stationary stores of every small town I visit. I have never found the sheets that you have, but did find the correction tape and buy out what ever I can when I see it. Any body have a source of the stuff in sheets?
Karl, your work is always awesome and inspires me to model things!!!
Quote from: vinceg on October 18, 2018, 06:50:54 PM
That's pretty clever, Karl. I like it a lot. Does anybody know if the correction tape comes in colors other than white? White is good, but other colors would be interesting, too. I did a quick search and found quite a few multi-colored dispensers, but I am not sure from the descriptions whether the tape is colored.
Hello,
Save your money, the new stuff just doesn't work the same as what I'm using. I think I've tried most all of them and none of them give the same results as the old Ko-Rec-Type I'm using. The colored correction tape dispensers are just that - a colored holder with white
tape in them. That's just it - it's tape not a correction filler like Ko-Rec-Type (or Copy, almost the same stuff as Type).
As for your question about colors, Ko-Rec-Type was available in several colors. I have 8 different colors including a nice pewter, dark grey and olive. You can see the olive color on a building (Choppers Barber Shop) on my recent build. It's more like a yellow than an olive green??? Old maybe? Also, I've had some success dyeing the sheets with shoe dyes and drawing inks.
Keep in mind the product I'm using hasn't been made for many years - most of my stash is from the 1970's when people actually used typewriters. It is getting harder to find the old stuff.
There is also a product called transfer paper (loew-Cornell) but save your dough on that one, too. It works like Ko-Rec-Type but has no where near the density of Ko-Rec-Type. It does work OK for small graffiti scribbles on a fence or something but that's about all I've done with it.
That's about it,
Karl O.
Berkley, MI
Great ideas !
I once managed to get a faded look by lightly mixing acrylic paints. I used more of the trim color and little of the "wood" color. When I mixed the two I didn't do a good job so as to still see the "wood" color swirled in. When you brush the mixture you get a faded look for the trim color. I stumbled upon this by accident. The "wood" color can also be a different color of the layer under the trim color.
One other method is to use paper windows (not the glass part of course) and in your favorite photo manipulation program fade in the "wood" color on the printed window. I read how some modelers use this technique on painted paper brick wall.
Jaime
Good grief Karl.....I thought White-Out went out with typewriters. :o
Quote from: GPdemayo on October 20, 2018, 12:28:31 PM
Good grief Karl.....I thought White-Out went out with typewriters. :o
There's a joke about how you know "group you want to insult" has been using your computer? There's white-out on the screen!
dave
🤣🤣🤣
Quote from: deemery on October 21, 2018, 06:17:50 PM
Quote from: GPdemayo on October 20, 2018, 12:28:31 PM
Good grief Karl.....I thought White-Out went out with typewriters. :o
There's a joke about how you know "group you want to insult" has been using your computer? There's white-out on the screen!
dave
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Hello,
I'm working on a new project and doing the windows and doors using pewter colored Ko-Rec-Type.
I brush painted the windows with craft paint diluted with blue windshield fluid and have never had a problem with brush marks...here's a painted window and the window after applying the colored Ko-Rec-Type. I still have to do the inside edge of the sill on this window.
Karl O.
Berkley, MI
Lots of great ideas.
Quote from: Karl O on October 20, 2018, 11:21:15 AM
Quote from: vinceg on October 18, 2018, 06:50:54 PM
That's pretty clever, Karl. I like it a lot. Does anybody know if the correction tape comes in colors other than white? White is good, but other colors would be interesting, too. I did a quick search and found quite a few multi-colored dispensers, but I am not sure from the descriptions whether the tape is colored.
Hello,
Save your money, the new stuff just doesn't work the same as what I'm using. I think I've tried most all of them and none of them give the same results as the old Ko-Rec-Type I'm using. The colored correction tape dispensers are just that - a colored holder with white tape in them. That's just it - it's tape not a correction filler like Ko-Rec-Type (or Copy, almost the same stuff as Type).
As for your question about colors, Ko-Rec-Type was available in several colors. I have 8 different colors including a nice pewter, dark grey and olive. You can see the olive color on a building (Choppers Barber Shop) on my recent build. It's more like a yellow than an olive green??? Old maybe? Also, I've had some success dyeing the sheets with shoe dyes and drawing inks.
Keep in mind the product I'm using hasn't been made for many years - most of my stash is from the 1970's when people actually used typewriters. It is getting harder to find the old stuff.
There is also a product called transfer paper (loew-Cornell) but save your dough on that one, too. It works like Ko-Rec-Type but has no where near the density of Ko-Rec-Type. It does work OK for small graffiti scribbles on a fence or something but that's about all I've done with it.
That's about it,
Karl O.
Berkley, MI
Karl
You have got me started on a mission. Last summer when my mother's basement flooded I discovered that she still had my typewriter from college. I didn't open the case (it didn't get wet), so maybe, I have a stash. I used to go through that white correction tape by the case. I could type fast but not accurate. I believe, my thesis in Grad. school was the first one produced at Michigan Tech. using a word processor in 1982.