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Weathering I learned this by Mistake

2K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  downunda 
#1 ·
I'm about to undertake my second weathering attempt of a dull red Accurail Boxcar.

Before commencing on the body I thought that I'd give the shell a clean of any fingerprints or residue from the molding process and proceeded to give the body a light scrub with a soft toothbrush dipped in denatured alcohol.

As was drying the alcohol off the body with a paper towel I saw that the paper towel was now discolored red. I thought that I'd really blown it but after the boxcar was dry I saw that the semi-gloss of the original finish was now gone and that the boxcar had indeed taken on an aged appearance.

Now I'm quite pleased with the result as my first step with my weathering would have been to perhaps give the body a really light spray with a faint grey to get the same effect. Now that may not be required.

Clearly one wouldn't want to overdo this effect but I thought it was worth passing on to others who may not know what can be done with a little careful alcohol treatment.
 
#3 ·
Phew.... When i was reading your post I thought the conclusion was going to be BAAAAD! Some of the most innocuous cleaning agents can do a NUMBER on certain paint finishes and even plastics. For example, most acrylic paints don't respond well to any type of alcohol... denatured or isopropyl. Some decal setting solutions can attack acrylic paints... even when the paint is fully cured (days, weeks and months). On the flip side, as you discovered, sometimes they provide an unexpected bonus!!!!
I work with old American Flyer pieces. Most are real "roaches". Often their 60-70 year old wheel sets look completely ruined. Their axles are covered in rust, horrible debris/gunk build up on the wheels. The running surfaces of the plastic wheels are often in terrible shape, covered with lots of scratches and gouges which accelerate future gunk build up. I've found that soaking them in Evaporust for a day or two has no negative effect on the plastic or metal wheels. It throughly removes the rust from the axles and....BONUS TIME... softens the gunk quite nicely. Then a quick wipe on the plastic wheels removes the softened gunk....and BONUS TIME #2... it slightly softens a very thin layer of the plastic wheels and when the alcohol dries off, the plastic is shiny and smooth like they were brand new.... all the little scratches.... GONE!
 
#6 ·
Yep.... a rust REMOVER. Some have said you can't remove rust chemically.... only physically (chipping/scraping). I'm no chemist, and I don't know how this stuff works but its amazing. And it does REMOVE rust. It is a thin liquid in which you soak your rusty parts...then serve up a dose of patience. Usually a day will do it but for really heavy rust maybe a second or even third application is necessary. But it WORKS.
I got mine from TSC (Tractor Supply Company). Down-Under... I don't know where. Evaporust says that its a "chelating agent". I have NO IDEA what that means, but maybe it will help you in your search.
Warning...it WILL remove "blueing" from steel, but that's not an issue for me as most of my projects will NEVER make it back to original!
 
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