How I Weather a Freight Car

[Hobbytronics]

The Roof pt.1

I first clean the car with soap and water to get any dirt or oils off of it.
I start with the roof, I use white acrylic and add water to thin it out. I use this technique on silver topped roofs to give it a more aged look.
Next I use water mixable oil paint, I mix burnt umber and cadmium orange to get a light colored rust look. I then thin it out with a good bit of water and dab it on to get the pooling effect. I then will dab more on without thinning it as much to get the darker color.

 

[Hobbytronics]

The Roof pt.2

After I let the first layer sit over night I then mix raw umber and cadmium orange to get a dark rust color.
I then layer it over top of the lighter rust, just do it in a random pattern.
I will let this sit over night then I will cover the roof in a matte clear coat to seal it.

If you look closely you will notice a thin layer of weathering to the body, look at the ATSF number plate I left it the original color to give it a patcherd look. I will go into more detail on that part in step 3.

 

[Hobbytronics]

The Body

I mix burnt umber and cadmium orange and thin it with water then apply a thin layer to the body. The patched look on the number plate was wiped off with a q-tip, you can also use painters tape.
I will let this sit over night then I will cover it in a matte clear coat to seal it.
After it has dried over night I then add random rust spots and seal it with matte clear coat and let it dry over night.
At this point you can add random scratch marks where the door opens etc.
I use burnt umber to add the streaks, This is something you will have to experiment with to get your own look. I put on a little bit of paint on my brush and make small, medium and large streak marks then use a dry brush to blend them in.

Here is the finished car.

 

[Greg@mnrr]

Nice work! Are you using water soluble oil paints?

Greg

 

[Hobbytronics]

Nice work! Are you using water soluble oil paints?

Greg

Thank You, Yes.