How to represent stucco

[craigolio1]

I live the look of the Tamiya putty and I happen to have some.

Craig

[OldEastRR]

I used fine (high number) sandpaper- easy to cut, uniform look, no problem gluing it to styrene(superglue). These are the walls of my NH interlocking tower kit by N scale Architect.



If that looks too rough, there are finer grades of sandpaper.

[craigolio1]

I used fine (high number) sandpaper- easy to cut, uniform look, no problem gluing it to styrene(superglue). These are the walls of my NH interlocking tower kit by N scale Architect.



If that looks too rough, there are finer grades of sandpaper.

That does look good. Sandpaper is something I had considered. Do you recall what grit that is?

[peteski]

That sandpaper to me look too coarse for N scale stucco.

[CRL]

That sandpaper to me look too coarse for N scale stucco.

Agreed. But this could be a case where the photo is more critical than viewing directly. Maybe using a finer Emory cloth would work better. I would think only the rougher stucco finishes would be viewable at typical n-scale modeling distance. A flat paint finish would be a likely scale texture of a smooth stucco finish.

[OldEastRR]

Don't remember the grit of sandpaper -- probably over 600-800. And it does depend on how far the viewing distance is.  My model is about 6" from the front of the layout. The impression of stucco is clear from that close. Here's an right up there photo of it:



Painting the sandpaper does smooth out the surface as the paint fills in between the grit. Using too-fine sandpaper on a structure far from the edge may just look like a smooth surface. Sandpaper is cheap; you can buy several grades in the range that looks good to you and test them in place to get the results you want.
Also, adding a light dusting of black chalk (very light!) will bring out the texture of the "stucco."

[craigolio1]

Don't remember the grit of sandpaper -- probably over 600-800. And it does depend on how far the viewing distance is.  My model is about 6" from the front of the layout. The impression of stucco is clear from that close. Here's an right up there photo of it:



Painting the sandpaper does smooth out the surface as the paint fills in between the grit. Using too-fine sandpaper on a structure far from the edge may just look like a smooth surface. Sandpaper is cheap; you can buy several grades in the range that looks good to you and test them in place to get the results you want.
Also, adding a light dusting of black chalk (very light!) will bring out the texture of the "stucco."

Great tips.

Thank you.

Craig

[peteski]

To me 600 or 800 grit would be much smoother. That to me looks more like maybe 330 or 400.

[dem34]

That sandpaper to me look too coarse for N scale stucco.

Depends on the quality and the intention. You do see really lathered on and rough Stucco when somebody wants you to go "This building is stucco" like for an overly stereotypical Mexican place that'll close in a year and become a fugly lawyer's office.