wood weathering

[lincoln64]

This probably isn't the right place for this question, but I couldn't figure out where else to ask.
I remember seeing in a MicroMark catalog that there was a liquid that turned scale lumber grey to give it a weathered appearence. I can't find it in any of their new catalogs and I was wondering if anyone knew where I could get some, or an alternative?

Thanks,

lincoln64

 

[doctorwayne]

Welcome to the Gauge, lincoln64. I'm not sure how to give you a link, but if you go to the "scratchin' and bashin'" forum and check out the threads about making styrene look like aged wood, you'll probably find what you need to know. If not in that particular thread, check for other threads in the same forum by hminky. Harold is a real fountain of information and he's got lots of neat ideas for doing all sorts of things.

Wayne

 

[lincoln64]

Thanks Wayne!!

 

[Gary Pfeil]

A-West makes a product called Weather -it which may be what you are thinking of. Whether MicroMark sold this or renamed it something else I don't know. My lhs stocks it.

 

[spitfire]

Or you can just add some black ink (NOT waterbased) to rubbing alcohol. That's what I use and it works great!

Val

 

[lincoln64]

Great!! Thanks to all for your help

lincoln64

 

[jetrock]

Weather-It is okay in that it doesn't make the wood warp like a water-based paint sometimes does, but it is an awfully light sort of weathering--repeated coatings are usually needed to make lumber look any darker than "fairly recently new" level. If I'm not worried about warping, I often use the left-over water from cleaning my brushes to smear over wood to be aged--that and the India ink/rubbing alcohol (ink wash) trick, just don't overdo the ink unless you want to simulate freshly creosoted ties!

 

[hminky]

Since I mix styrene and wood I developed a technique of painting everything with white primer and staining the white primer.

Styrene and wood finished to look like weathered wood

I have a "what I did" at:

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/weathered_wood/

Thank you if you visit
Harold

 

[Gary Pfeil]

Regarding the Weather-It, it is capable of staining wood to a fairly deep grey if you ignore the instructions. I cut all the pieces for an abandoned trestle I wanted to build and put them all in a ziplock freezer bag with the Weather It. I left it overnight, maybe 12 hours. Here is a pic of a section of the bridge. The rust from where the rails were is painted on.

 

[NCMRailroad]

right ink...

This might be a little off the conversation but I think that one mans misfortune should be someone elses lesson... I attempted to weather a wooden water tower today using plain old shaffer pen ink. It DOES not work! India ink MUST be used for this application. I also read somewhere that RIT clothes dye also works well. Anything BUT regular liquid ink. it turns what ever you are "weathering" - Blue.
Fortunatly however I always test before I actually apply.
Rgd's
NCMRailroad:thumb:

 

[EngineerKyle]

Here are a couple samples of my weathered wood.

In this first shot, all the wood you see (except for the cheapo plastic gate I bashed from a Tyco stockyard kit) is from discarded Japanese bamboo woven together. Look around at the decorations you find at an oriental diner. The material is quite common. You can cut it to size with heavy scissors.

​

I weathered the walls of the shack above using Harold's technique. I spray painted the whole structure flat auto primer white. Then, after it dryed, I gave it a wash of flat black oil paint thinned with mineral spirits.



This one is also made of blinds, with wider slats, and some balsa... No black wash here... I just sprayed the bridge with various auto primers including light grey, dark grey, brown and white, from different angles and distances.

​

​

 

[MadModeler]

Regarding the Weather-It, it is capable of staining wood to a fairly deep grey if you ignore the instructions. I cut all the pieces for an abandoned trestle I wanted to build and put them all in a ziplock freezer bag with the Weather It. I left it overnight, maybe 12 hours. Here is a pic of a section of the bridge. The rust from where the rails were is painted on.

WOW!jawdrop

That looks amazing! Very well done!:thumb:

 

[2-8-2]

I've used Weather-It, and it isn't all that great.

 

[Jim Krause]

I've heard of black shoe dye and alcohol being used for weathering wood. Unfourtunately, I don't remember the ratio.