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Before commencing on the next colour leave the spot to dry for a couple of minutes numerous spots, the first spots you did should be dry when you come back to your original spot with your second colour of burnt sienna. Repeat the process as per the initial raw sienna layer but this time make it sit inside the first spot. To blend the edges to use less thinners this time in order to keep the spot relatively clean.
Finally add the centre of the rust spot with a spot of raw umber. Again, this can be touched with a small amount of thinners to get it blend and bleed a little into the neighbouring paint colour, once dried.
Box Car Roofs
Modern day box cars seem to be very susceptible to rust and the differing levels and patterns can again be recreated using artists oil. Where the rust is likely to be more pronounced a larger brush can be used; in this case a 1⁄4 inch deer foot brush. Colours used are the same as creating spots.
For light rust a dry brushing technique is used with the brush lightly dipped in either raw sienna or burnt sienna oils, the excess wiped off on a paper towel and then very gently stippled onto the one of two spots on a one rood panel. Next take a flat brush, ideally abut the width of the roof panel. Get in moist with thinners and then gently draw it across the paint spots. If you have been gentle then, while a lot of the paint will liquify and create a wash down the panel lines, you should also get a few small dots left along with some streaking running from them. For maximum realism the streaks should be parallel to the roof panel ribbing. Excess wash can be removed by touching it with a clean, damp brush. Once dry is a more rusted appearance is required then more spots can be added using either burnt sienna or burnt umber gentle stippled onto the panel but left alone.
Fig 6: Rusty Roofs (L-R) Heavy decay with a thick coat burnt umber applied with the deer foot, intermediate rust with streaked oils and light stippling with burnt sienna, just light streaked oils, heavily stippled burnt sienna with a darker centre patch from burnt umber
For more heavily rusted panels the burnt sienna and burnt umber can be applied to cover more of a icular panel. Also, to give some variety of tone burnt umber can be stippled over the top of an initial layer of burnt sienna. Once again try to follow a prototype picture as the pattern of rust from panel to panel can often be rather random esp. when there is a clean replacement panel in the middle if varying levels of decay.
For those more comfortable with acrylics if the rules stated at the start of this section are followed then they can work well. If your airbrushing skills are up to feathering between colours then it can be very effective. Alternatively, the sponge technique covered under ‘Chipping’ can be employed using a selection of rust tones.
On a personal preference use of pigments is to enhance painted rust effects. Applied onto drying oils they can provide some additional texture. On dried acrylics they can still provide a finer texture but also help with blending the different colours with in the section of rust.
Chipping
While chipping is mostly associated with rust in real life it can the colour exposed can vary according to how deep the scratch that creating it was. Thus, a shallow scratch to the top paintwork may only go down to the primer / undercoat resulting in revealing a grey or yellow primer.
When creating chipping the ideal is for them to be angular in shape and random in pattern. They will also tend to occur in high traffic areas e.g. cab steps or walkways, where surfaces regularly rub together e.g. edges of panels / doors or accidental damage e.g. scratched on boxcar sides from forklift blades. Once again check reference photos if you are unsure.
Chips can be applied to your model using a number of methods. Using a paint brush offers the most flexibility as to where as to where you can add however it also quite easy to make chips that are too large or have soft curved edges rather than angular. The trick is to master the amount of paint on the brush as well as the pressure applied. Its also best to use the minimum of a No 1 brush as anything smaller tends not to have strong enough bristles. If using acrylic paint adding a retarder to keep paint from skinning is advisable as well as regular cleaning of your brush during the process.
A more user-friendly method is using the fine-grained foam sponge that comes in electronic component packaging or Athearn ‘Blue Box’ locos kits. Make-up sponges won’t work here as they are way to fine to be able to create the close spaced dots of point to represent paint chips. It is advisable to decant a small amount of your chipping colour into a palette/dish etc so as to control the amount of paint going onto the sponge. Ideally the foam applicator should be quite angular and random is shape so make need a few corners trimmed or ripped out. In the end it should around 10mm. Using a pair of tweezers to hold the foam and dip into your chipping colour. Next blot out the sponge on some kitchen towel until it no longer marks the towel. Now the foam can be gently pressed onto the model where chipping is required. It is advisable to start slowly, access the first pass of chipping and revisit it is required – less is more.
Another alternative method that can used on decorated models with a bit of forethought is chipping fluids. This is a development on an older technique known as the ‘hairspray’ weathering. Here the chipping fluid is coated on between a primer or rust base coat and the intended top coat. Once all the layers are dry the chipping fluid is reactivated by brushing with water and them distressing with points or a small stiff brush e.g. an old toothbrush.
Fig 7. Stages of using chipping fluid (L-R): Bottom coat of hull brown to represent rust, a thin top coat of blue applied over several light coats of chipping fluid, chipping and scratches created by applying a little water and rubbing with an old toothbrush and cocktail stick
Streaking
As the name implies this is where water has interacted with either rust or accumulated dirt and gravity has caused it to run down the side of a