Rust my bridge.

[central.vermont]

Well I could use some help here. I want to weather and rust this up but leave the slogan looking shinny new. I have already painted the bridge with a blend of black maroon and grey to give it a rusty hue to start with. The back side of this bridge will not be seen so I though I would try some of your ideas and techniques there to try and perfect it. I have several other bridges to do as well so I thought this would be a good starting point. So any advise here would be greatly appreciated. 

Jon

[Cajonpassfan]

Jon, for stuff like this I've had good luck with cheap water based acrylic craft paints from (Michaels and such). Start with a wash of rust or reddish brown, nice and wet and let it flow down the sides. It should accumulate around rivets, ribs, seams and the bottom flange, just like the real thing, and dry flat quickly. Repeat if not enough, wash off if too much; that's the beauty of water based washes. Clean sign with Q tips or paper towel to absorb wash in unwanted area. Sometimes I add a black wash to tone things down and bring out texture. You can also add highlights or streaks with lighter color using a dry brush. Good proto pics help, but you already know that...
Otto K.

[loyalton]

Yup, and don't forget some rust on the underside of the bridge, just because somebody can peek under there.

[wcfn100]

Way back in the day on TRW, there were some experiments with Sophisticated Finishes rust solution.



It's actual iron particles and real rust.  Don't pay attention to all the swirly brush marks, I did it way too hastily.

You used to be able to get it as Michaels and similar but it's been a while since I've looked.


Jason

[central.vermont]

Well I went to Michaels today and picked up some paints and started to try my hand at it. I wanted a really heavy rusting and varied shades and I think it is close. I used the wash method as suggested by Otto first and then used chalks for the varying hues. Also did the underside as suggested by Loyalton. So whatcha think. 

Jon

[Cajonpassfan]

Well, I don't know the proto bridge look, but this feels like a bit much?
Otto

[central.vermont]

Well I don't have any color photo's from the fifties of the non slogan side but this is what most of the bridges look like now so I might have too tone it back a little but before I do I need to find some shots from back then.

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.3408129,-72.7590834,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s8egIjr9Y3rDxWqs8fHVn7w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Jon

[Santa Fe Guy]

When starting another project like this try RUST-ALL it is a great product that gets overlooked a lot these days. I have used it for lots of weathering projects.
Rod.

[loyalton]

I would say the heavy rust in front is possible but more than I would expect to see on an active bridge. I think it’s pretty extreme since the RR repainted one side and left the rest of the bridge alone. There’s always exceptions, you know. But I really like the look of the plates started on the inside of the bridge.

Taking a look at some proto photos:
http://www.living-in-the-past.com/bridge.html
https://bridgehunterofindiana.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/old-railroad-bridges-gallery-2/   24th photo
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/88593495
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/57633329

First off, long-term weathering results in more weathering colors than one. Rust gets darker as it gets older. The more orange, the more recent it is. If the bridge is that old with overall rust, then in all likelihood it’s going to have a lot of dark red. If the overall bridge paint isn’t that old, there will likely be less rust and that will be more orange.

Note the rust following where water collects along seams and towards the bottom of the plates. Also note that sometimes, prominent surfaces like rivet heads and outer edges (including the top chord) have less rust – so the details “pop”. Sheltered areas like under the top chord also have less rust. If you care to do so, you can just use washes of original bridge color to accomplish this effect, with the bridge held upside down until dry so the lower parts still carry the rust color.

And washes should be really thin. The first pass may look heavy enough or even too heavy with acrylics, but when it looks dry (but not cured) it may not show much. It will usually take more than one wash and more than one color or shade. Weathering builds up over years on the prototype so we shouldn’t expect one coat to imitate that. Powders are more for the most subtle effects and are usually used sparingly.

[Chris333]

Well I don't have any color photo's from the fifties of the non slogan side but this is what most of the bridges look like now so I might have too tone it back a little but before I do I need to find some shots from back then.

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.3408129,-72.7590834,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s8egIjr9Y3rDxWqs8fHVn7w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Jon

You forgot the lettering that says 2014 Google