What did you use as colors for weathering the trucks and wheel faces?
I’ve got some of my early weathering attempts (some wood and steel boxcars) that are begging for a do-over.
Here is the wheel and truck process:
WHEELS
1. drop wheels into a jar with Isopropyl Alcohol 70% solution for a minute or 2
2. pick wheels out of the jar and wipe entirely with IPA damp paper towel
3. let air dry
4. apply with a brush Panzer Aces by Vallejo #301 light rust
5. let air dry
6. apply with a brush but with a dabbing motion Panzer Aces by Vallejo #302 dark rust
7. let air dry
TRUCKS
1. ream journal holes with truck turner, mine is from Micro-Mark #82838
2. drop trucks into a jar of 70% IPA for a minute or 2
3. dry with a hair dryer set to the low heat setting
4. apply with a brush Panzer Aces by Vallejo #301 light rust
5. let air dry
6. With a brush apply Pan Pastel # 340.1 permanent Red extra dark
7. with a dry brush blend the Pan Pastel to your liking
8. Optional, since I do not handle my cars too often once on the layout I skip this. Spray Testors DullCote
lightly as too much MAY dissolve the Pan Pastel. If the cars are to be sold or a commission they are always lightly clear coated
Put the wheels into the trucks and the wheelsets are almost complete. But there is almost always paint on the thread, I dip a paper towel with 70% IPA and run the wheels through the wet portion of the towel. Then run the wheels through the dry portion of the paper towel. The wheel should be clean and the process is completed.
THAT IS MY BASIC METHOD
I have found that sometimes to clean the wheel thread requires a light grit sanding twig or stick, usually 1000grit is enough to remove the paint and not damage the wheel. I also do the sanding stick or twig for the outer edge of the wheel faces. I was told even cars that are noted not to be humped generally get humped, so I now also remove the paint from that wheel face edge. The retarders on the hump breaking system knock that rust off. Your choice
when I have a single client with multiple cars to do I will use an airbrush with Tamiya paint instead of Vallejo hand brushing. The cleaning is still the same process and every truck set get the reaming…
Hope this helps