great job on the Suburban - or whatever the Chevrolet suv was called then. the steps outlined prove helpful. thanks

A discussion was started in another thread about weathering techniques and philosophies and their application to our Auto builds. Rather than hijack that thread we will create a dedicated ongoing thread to use as a forum for discussion as well as a reference "library" that will hopefully evolve over time into a valuable resource for us all.

Weathering is a very personal choice and has created much debate on many forums. How much weathering, choice of colours, location and direction of streaks and chipping, oil and rust leaks and stains, but in my experience the discussion has been in the fields of Armour, Ships and Aircraft for the vast majority.

In our Auto word I see only two main schools, the showroom high gloss at one end, and the barn find or junkyard dog wreck at the opposite. Both of these schools are perfectly valid and there are thousands of examples of amazing builds, absolute works of art, for each, but what I rarely see are builds showing subtle weathering and the "wear and tear" present on all of our "daily driver" vehicles.

This thread is an open forum for all of us to discuss, explore, demonstrate, and share here are any and all thoughts, references, products, methods, tricks and examples of all levels of weathering relevant to our art. This is the finishing touch that can elevate a build to the next level, whether it is some subtle pin washes on the interior or engine, or half a ton of mud on a rally car or excavator.

The door is open, come on in and put your ideas on the table.

Cheers, D

As opposed to other model subjects, I don’t like to weather my automotive models much if at all. I prefer to view them as “showroom ready”. However there is one area on car models I always “weather”— the tires around the tread. Even showroom ready cars have some form of wear “where the rubber meets the road” so to speak. My favorite technique for vinyl or rubber is to use a bit of sandpaper or a sanding stick around the tread surface. If it’s a plastic tire, I like to use a slightly darker or lighter shade of “brown rubber”, “charcoal gray” or “dark gray” airbrushed around the tread portion of the tire, with a black wash in the treads. This really makes the tires “pop”. An alternative method is to carefully “dry brush” these colors on. I’ve tried pigments as well, but find they are more difficult to control.
VR, Russ

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A full blown rally car with dirt and such would look ok, but I would still be tempted to model it on a base with whatever you covered the car in underneath it, just to tie it all together.

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Perfect scenario to play with a few different techniques there Andy, a crossover into the Armour techniques for muddying up the tanks.

Cheers, D

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Now just to throw a swerve ball in there, what about your fully mud covered rally car returning to the service area on tarmac roads. Very dirty car on a clean road.

Some useful stuff on here. One question I have, is it common for people to do panel lines on cars they way they do for planes. I haven't really noticed it on cars.

cheers
Michael

Hi Gents,

I just finished a build log here that features a rusty old truck. I'm sure there are lots of ways to recreate the look of rust, for what it's worth, I'm posting a few steps I follow. Something I like about this approach is that you can create numerous variations on what the "rust" looks like, as your project requires. But first, a couple of images of the results using this method, starting with construction equipment:









Next, the old Chevy:





and even on dioramas:







The basic steps behind each of these is as follows.

I start with a base of dark gray, that I paint over the vehicle's base color - it's supposed to look like a primer coat, or, whatever is under the base color of the vehicle, it also provides a nice base for the rust you'll be adding, allowing the rust to show in contrast to the base color of the model, and not appear to be painted onto it.

I apply it with a beat up, old stiff bristle brush - maybe 1/4" in diameter - it took me some practice to get the consistency how I like it. I stipple the paint on, and generally don't directly brush it, but do quickly drybrush:



Next, I make my own rust color:


The paint combo here is Burnt Umber, Orange, White and Sand Yellow. I blend, add, etc until I find a mix that I like - as long as you stick with the basic palette, you can come back and add/modify later or as needed. I only use acrylics. You need some patience, but not the same you need when adding Aber PE to a T-55...that is real patience. In this case, you just need to take it easy and pay attention to what you've painted, and watch out for puddles of washes.

It's not the end if you find general mistakes, as you can generally go back over them later to get a different result.

You can buy rust color paints and "weathering systems" from the suppliers we all know - which work pretty well. I use this method so that I can control the outcome of the color. Sometimes I want really "old" dark, almost black rust (like on the diorama), and other times lighter. Making the color myself allows me to do that. Depending on your goals you can paint in other colors too, like variations of silver as seen on the dozer and blade and part of the roller.

And as with the gray, stipple it on - but vary the color density, and include various washes of the same. For this method, the trick is to "stay loose" with the layers - I don't want my results to look like rust color painted on:



You can see the difference between the left and right sides of the roof. And when you're done:



I make it a point to run several light washes of this color over and beyond the main rust area. Next - I keep the dirty brush water and use it throughout the process for washes etc. Once this is done, I add a dust wash:



That's Life color Dust 1 - the cap is in my tray, I dip the brush in it, then the water, which makes a wash - I use this on all of my tires and on any vehicle I don't want to shine and to have dirty windows, and as before - start light and build up to what you want. The result below:



Ok hope this might be of some use to somebody - just another way to get that lived in look out of your project -

Happy model building,

Nick

Sorry guys. I seem to have brought the conversation to a halt.