Grandt Line Window Painting Question...

[Lighthorseman]

Perhaps you painting gurus out there might be able to help me here. I'm trying to acheive a certain effect with Grandt Line Window and door castings, and seem at a dead end.

Sure, it's a simple task to just paint their castings. These look like nicely maintained, freshly painted doors and windows. :thumb:

But, how do I go about simulating doors and windows that could stand a fresh coat of paint, say, within the next year or two? Not complete basket cases, but just a tad scruffy?

I tried using a little watered down acrylic paint, thinking that perhaps with some of the original Grandt Line gray plastic showing through, the effect might be acheived, but it just looks like watered down slopped-on paint.

Would dry-brushing be a better idea? Any recommendations?





....Pleeeeeeease?

 

[MasonJar]

Hi Steve,

I kind of did this by accident, but here it is anyway...

"Prime" plastic window or door with craft paint. Paint does not go on really well, but that is half the point.

Wash with India ink-alcohol wash to darken. The alcohol kind of attacks the craft paint. I am not sure exactly why, but it gives it a further aging.

Dry-brush the original colour sparingly, to simulate patches of "good" paint that remain.

Hope that helps...

Andrew

 

[Gary Pfeil]

Dry brushing will work if what you're looking for is worn weathered paint. If you want it to look like the paint is peeling, try painting the window a primer or wood color, when dry apply tiny bits of rubber cement, then paint over with your trim color. Dry brush the trim color on for that worn look, then use an erasure to remove the rubber cement. Some paints, don't remember which, but those that develop a "skin" like latex house paint, will start to lift then tear as you remove the rubber cement. This looks particularly good for peeling paint.

 

[MasonJar]

Hi again Steve,

Here is a link to the scale house that I painted using the technique I described above. Worked out pretty well, although you can only see results on the door in the picture.

http://www.the-gauge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9322

Andrew

 

[jon-monon]

Ive used three techniques, but not on winders:

Chipped paint - (similar to Gary's) paint it primer or alternate color, place little dabs of vasoline on then topcoat. Wipe off vasoline, leaving chips down to primer.

Faded paint - mix a little white paint with the original color (or anything close) and drybrush or airbrush on parts exposed to sun.

Dirty paint - indian ink/alcohol (inkahol ) or black and/or brown paint with water and a little dish soap. spray or brush on and let dry. It thins out a lot while drying. The latter is better on plastic and can be washed off. Seal with dullcoat.

 

[MasonJar]

Originally posted by jon-monon
inkahol

I like it! Is this another entry in the Gaugespeak dictionary?!

Andrew

 

[jon-monon]

I prefer to use inkahol on wood.

Another tip, if all your LPBs fall over and their lips are black, you left the inkahol open all night

 

[Woodie]

It may not work on something as narrow etc as window and door frames, but I've weathered (and found out by accident), that just pile on a whole heap of dusted chalk. (dry). (do not bry brush, but just "dust"). I then use a spray can of Testor's dullcoate to pretty well wet it all. The "wetting" of the chalks caused it to "clump", but when it dried out, they seem to flatten out, and it did look like rust spots where the paint had peeled.

When I say "heaps" of chalk, use, say, a tea strainer and grate the chalk dust on as you are doing it. Just enough to cover the surface of course, not great piles of it. But use chalk colours that match the surface colour under the peeling paint, of course.

Dunno. It might work.

I did it on this loco, but the pic might not be fine enough to see the actual detail, above the front bogie.

 

[Vic]

I use either grey or black pastel chalk and sort of "scrub" it in with a small stiff stencil brush.

 

[Lighthorseman]

Here's the first, really fake-looking try. It just does not present well at all...essentially, it's slopped on paint, and looks like it.

By golly, I'm going to figure this out. I have so many windows that need to be presented in all sorts of different conditions.

I will update with ideas.

 

[MasonJar]

I think it looks pretty good, although maybe somewhat "new" considering the look you were going for. I really like the warped and uneven siding though!

As you pointed out, it is good to have different windows in different states of (dis)repair. There are some interesting barns in my area that are weathered completely differently on each side simply because of prevailing weather. One side looks new, the other 100+ years old...

Andrew