Concrete

[John]

What craft paint acrylic colors would make a good concrete shade?

[3rdrail]

What craft paint acrylic colors would make a good concrete shade?

Even better, if you find an aged concrete color in a spray bomb, please let me know. I've got several Walthers Cornerstone kits to paint with that. (Grain elevator, cement plant, flour mill, and parts of American Hardware, Brach's Candy, and Roberts Printing.)

[wendell camp]

John I have not tried it myself But railroad-line.com in there forum said that Ceramcoat  Sandstone was a good match for aged concrete HTH Wendell

[Norm P]

This is an old thread but I saw no point in starting a new one for the exact same topic.

I'm trying Rustoleum Multicolor Textured in a spray can, and the texture is good, but the color is too sandy for my liking. 



Any advice on how to get it more gray and aged looking?  I'm building the Walthers ADM grain elevator.
Thanks,

Norm

[Chris333]

I know I have used Sandstone before.

[DKS]

My choice for a concrete base color is Testors Flat Light Aircraft Gray, followed by some chalk dust to give the finish some natural variations. I've tried the texture sprays, but the texture is too coarse for N scale.

[bsoplinger]

At least here in the NE (PA and NY) all the concrete I've seen is considerably more grey in color than any of the concrete paint mixtures I've ever seen in a bottle/can/spray bomb.

I start with grey also as the base color for anything I want to be concrete then use artist pumice to get a texture (way over scale but its one of those needs to be big enough to have a visible effect sorta things) then follow with washes and powders.

[Norm P]

My choice for a concrete base color is Testors Flat Light Aircraft Gray, followed by some chalk dust to give the finish some natural variations. I've tried the texture sprays, but the texture is too coarse for N scale.

Just grind some up and sprinkle it on while the paint is wet?

Norm

[DKS]

My choice for a concrete base color is Testors Flat Light Aircraft Gray, followed by some chalk dust to give the finish some natural variations. I've tried the texture sprays, but the texture is too coarse for N scale.

Just grind some up and sprinkle it on while the paint is wet?

No, I lightly brush the powder on with a very soft brush (like a makeup brush) after the paint is dry. This way, you have more control over the distribution of color, and the brushing will highlight the subtle texture of the spray paint. Applying a few light coats of spray will build up a nice texture that's not overkill like the texture paint. Also, for heavily-weathered concrete, such as this bridge, I'll add an India ink wash.

[wm3798]

I like to use a big hardware store type spray bomb with "Taupe" or "Khaki" as the color. 


I'll mist some flat black toward the bottom, then dry brush on some rust, grime, and calcium leeching.

Lee

[asciibaron]

that leeching looks great - that pier needs to be in the Potomac at Bevan badly.

-steve

[tom mann]

David: Great concrete, very believable.  The raised 1929 is a little odd, since usually that would be inset, right?
Lee: nice calcium leeching.

[DKS]

David: Great concrete, very believable.  The raised 1929 is a little odd, since usually that would be inset, right?

Thanks, and you're right, the lettering should be inset. I could not think of a practical way of doing that back when I made the bridge, so I just applied styrene lettering. Depending on the angle of viewing, it sometimes looks inset.

Same bridge, different angle:



A different bridge, newer (less weathering):



The second bridge hides two front-surface mirrors to extend the street beyond the backdrop.

Lee, that leaching effect is great.

[Bob Bufkin]

Is that semi going to fit under that bridge?

[DKS]

Is that semi going to fit under that bridge?

Yes, believe it or not, it does fit. The road dips under the bridge more than it appears from the angle of the photo.