Cheap fade base coat. Good or bad

[Packer]

I've been experimenting with a cheap fade coat. I got the combined the ideas from a couple of people on the MRR forum. One was using thinned flat white as a base coat before hitting the car with various rust and grime aspects. Another was using big jars of paint that cost less than the model paint.

I went out and bought a can of rustoleum flat white and a big can of paint thinner. I've used rustoleum on car parts, and occasionally on trains, before and had good results. So I figured this might come out alright:


Here's one of my better jobs (I'm still getting used to using an airbrush for weathering. So on some others the passes arent even, there are lines, etc.) when using this fade coat. I usually follow up with a coat of Valspar clear flat immediately after I am happy with the results.


This is a car after a wash of cheap acrylic paint and alcohol. I also did some rust on the roof, sides, and trucks using cheap acrylics and a foam brush. (still practicing with that one)

The pros of this cheaper fade coat is it costs less than 12 bucks, and can probably cover hundreds of HO scale cars. I figure I've done roughly 20 and have barely used 10%. Another plus is that after it fully dries and cures, it's very resilient. I can scratch it and it won't come off.

The cons are that it takes FOREVER to dry and cure thoroughly. Varying on the weather and humidity (painted outside and dries in a garage) it can take days. I've been giving cars 3-5 days before handling them and applying more weathering stuff to them (rust, dirt, etc). It can seem dry but if not fully cured it can come off by a brush just pressing down on it.

I'm hoping for a critique on this idea. IMO it works alright, but I'd like to know what others think and if they have any suggestions to further refine this idea.

[FP45Tony]

Packer,

Good job on both cars.     They appear naturally faded. 

The MNS boxcar looks like a unit that is in decent shape but has been on the road a few years with the blue-green paint fading lightly, but significantly noticeable.

The Northern Pacific boxcar looks aged and gives the impression that the time period is well into the Burlington Northern era. 

Your technique is solid.  As for curing more quickly you can, carefully, put your units on a tray and place in your oven at a low temperature (250 F) for 5 to 10 minutes. (Yes, I've done this before).  You'd have to keep an eye on them, of course, and allow them to cool off after removing them.

Would like to see photos of the other cars you've tried your fade coat method.

High Greens 

[pnolan48]

Packer,

My experience is that Rustoleum takes forever to dry on plastic because may actually melt the surface, which must then resolidify over many days. And this happens with even light mist coats, either with airbrush or rattle can.

I'm not sure of this thesis, as Rustoleum also takes days to dry on my cast resin hulls. I spray in my basement, where the relative humidity is high, but immediately remove the hulls to upstairs, where the humidity is not so high due to A/C or heating.

Rustoleum has a "Good-For-Plastic" formulation, which I found incredibly thick. I might as well have applied house paint with a five-inch brush. Just awful stuff that also takes a very long time to dry. I think I've read on the can that it takes seven days to fully cure. The print is so small that I've only read it once, with some pain, with magnifiers.

For rattle cans, I've found Krylon to be much faster and harder, although about twice as expensive. It too attacks styrenes, but is OK with mist coats, which can be applied every 15 minutes or so.

[Packer]

Tony and Pete; thanks for the input.

Tony: I suppose I could try baking the paint on the next batch, provided SHMBO allows it. I'm a bit apprehensive about sticking it in a 250 degree oven though, but I might try dropping it down to 150.

Pete, When it does come off over lettering it doesn't take any with it, so I doubt it's melting the surface. Provided the existing paint isn't acting like a barrier. I can't get krylon in a jar and the only other think that my local Lowes has that's flat white is a Valspar, but it's a latex enamel. It could be that I've been using laquer thinner for thinning the enamels. I'm going to try enamel thinner or medium reducer on the next batch.

[GaryHinshaw]

Packer, it looks like you took great care applying the fade, and the results look good, but I think they have a bit of the "gauzy" look that I struggled with when I started trying out fades.  I found a type of artist acrylic white paint that uses a "transparent" zinc-based pigment instead of a more typical opaque titanium base. The results were far more pleasing (to me), and I wrote some rambling notes about it in this thread:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=16573.0

and Bendtracker1 pulled them together into a PDF file, in case you're interested.

Cheers,
Gary

[HuskerN]

I have used Gary's method a lot, and find that it is about as fool proof as they come for effective fading, and minimal risk of splotchy or grainy results.  I have experimented with some variations, but Gary certainly found a winner that is worth trying.

I have posted a lot of weathering examples on my blog from projects I have worked on the past several months.

Here is a brief summary of the fade method that I use, closely following what Gary explained in his posting.

http://www.nscaleaddiction.blogspot.com/2012/04/fade-coat-weathering-how-to.html

I have also been using different color tinted fades, and having a lot of success with these too.  Again, following Gary's guidance.  Here is an example of a raw sienna fade coat:



HuskerN
www.nscaleaddiction.blogspot.com

[Scottl]

I can't wait to try the transparent paints for fading.  Gary's thread is a great tutorial and the pdf makes it a reference library classic!

[Bangorboy]

Gary,

Is your pdf available somewhere members can download the file and save it to their computers?  I can read it in Google Docs, but I can't save it.

Bill B
South Okaloosa N Scalers

and Bendtracker1 pulled them together into a PDF file, in case you're interested.

Cheers,
Gary

[GaryHinshaw]

Bill,

It looks like the easiest way to do this is to print it to a file.  In my browser window, there was a print icon in the upper left of the Google Docs page.  If I click on that I get a copy in a new browser window that I can save directly, or print to a pdf file using my standard printer dialog.  Hope this helps.

HuskerN, you're getting some awesome results these days!  That SP box is a great example.

-Gary