Sophisticated Finishes Rust Kit

[chuck geiger]

I bought the surfacer and the rust solution at Michaels today. Gonna give it a whack tonight on some boxcar rooftops.

[chuck geiger]

http://patina.com/instructions.html

lots of reading on how it works

[tom mann]

I found this today, and it appears to be awesome so far.  After 5 hours, the "rust" is a little too orangey, but we'll see what tomorrow brings.  The instructions imply the reaction takes 24 hours.

It looks like you can seal this with Future, and then Dullcote on top should be fine.

[chuck geiger]

Tom watch this stuff, it looks like a bubbling vat of acid in high school chemistry class. It left some corrision like on a battery from the two materials used in the process. Wipe it off good. I used a small rag with alcohol. Repainted the corrisive area with rust paint.

[tom mann]

Chuck,

My Sophisticated Finishes Rust experiments are spreading - rust is everywhere in my work room - I'm hiding in my basement - but by lunch the spreading rust should make it's way downstairs...

[Chris333]

So it is like etching parts with ferric chloride all over the place 

I remember a while ago I stuck some steel wool in a jar with vinegar. About once a week a would stir it, eventually it was a pile of real rust in a dust form. You could use it like chalks, but it is real.

[chuck geiger]

I got the hang of it - This stuff works better if it's only used on roofs, everywhere else it looks like crap.

[Ian MacMillan]

Yes this is definitely a roof or inside the gon solution.....On the sides of cars it is too chunky, even to the point of thinning it.

Tom...I have decided not to seal mine. I have 2 test cars that have no sealing and after 16 days their rust did not change. The instructions also state that they would not change unless exposed to water or finger oils.

I found that giving coats about an hour apart produces a darker rust. I generally put 2-4 coats on.

[chuck geiger]

I posted this on the MR Forum and some a$$ clown comes on says "I don't know what the big deal is, I went to the LHS and bought a bottle of rust paint". I am resigning from that site. BTW - Those people remind of the locals here. I went to a planning meeting for the NMRA regional coming here next May and met some whacked up train people. These guys were like UFO abductees, just odd. Operational noids. I'm glad for the a$$ hats here.

[tom mann]

Chuck,

That sounds like the people who didn't like my Tunnel Motor because they thought models shouldn't be weathered... :

[chuck geiger]

Tom: Great story - I was the PIO and member of the Lehigh and Keystone Valley MRRC in Bethlehem, PA and this kid had all these great Conrail units. He said he wanted them weathered. I use a light coat of rust, then grimy black and then concrete airbrushed on a real fine setting. Kid comes back and says I love them, but my dad doesn't want his engines weathered. I said James it's Conrail, that color they are painted with his not blue it's purple, blue with black from all the grime and work. Remember they made money before NS bought the railroad.

[tom mann]

Ok, mine has sat since saturday and it still is a very yellowish-orangeish color.  What should I do?  A wash of burnt umber helped a little bit.  I'll try airbrushing some grimy black on it tonight.

[Ryan87]

Ok, mine has sat since saturday and it still is a very yellowish-orangeish color.  What should I do?  A wash of burnt umber helped a little bit.  I'll try airbrushing some grimy black on it tonight.

Thats the problem I find with this, It looks like what it is, fresh rust...

[SquirrelHollow]

Since this is a real iron oxide, I can only offer strange advice based on my own experiences.  Since I'm a mechanic, I see a lot of corrosion - of all types.  And... I've experimented quite a bit with making my own 'rust powders' our of steel wool.

After 'rusting' some #1 steel wool in vinegar for a week or so; I needed a couple batches to darken and stop oxidizing.  I tried baking it, washing it, throwing it in my spare fish tank, letting it dry on my desk... you name it.  The one thing that seems consistent, was the 'dumbest' of all.  After the desired amount of rust was created, I would rinse the contents of the jar in tap water.  (Remember, it was submerged in 10% acid vinegar, so I had to neutralize it) Then.... put it in the door of my fridge with a loose fitting plastic bag over the top, for 5-10 days.  The cool, moist environment produced darker colors every time.

As a side note, Vinegar is a much better method of creating rust than salt water.  Salt water takes too long, and deposits crystals on your medium.

[tom mann]

Ian, did you have any luck attempting to spray the Iron?