Reverse weathering?

[wm3798]

So I let out the factory air.
I picked up these hoppers at N Scale Weekend in Altoona the other day, in hopes of adding to my steam era hopper fleet. 
I know there's an ongoing debate about whether the round herald cars ever wore black, and there are even color photos that suggest this might be the case. 
But I'm not buying it.
So why pray tell, did I buy these?  Well I got a good deal, first off.  Cheap is my favorite color!
But what to do about this errant paint scheme?
Well, I figured if one uses black washes to to make a shiny red car look grimy, would it work to apply a red wash to make a shiny black car look a bit rusty and weather beaten?  Maybe even make it look like it was red in the first place?
Dear readers I offer the the following photographs for your consideration.  Did it work?





At the recommendation of several modelers, I practiced on one of my old freight cars.  I used a very thin wash, which was too thin, but it gave me a good idea of what to adjust.  I also was able to wipe it clean and put it back in the Retro Fleet box.


On my first attempt, I used a heavier wash, which adjusted the color nicely, yet didn't leave the lettering looking too "pink".




So, what do you think?
Lee

[Philip H]

looks decent to me.  Three foot rule satisfied.

[Dave V]

Good to know, as I have some older Micro Trains PRR H31s that are too dark for PRR Freight Car Color, so I'll give this a shot.

[Tad_T]

Interesting, I never considered that. I might have to try that on a box car.

Tad

[Missaberoad]

Figure painters and armor modelers call this technique a filter.
Basically a slightly thicker wash built up in thin even layers. (Vs a wash which pools around details)

The predominantly flat surfaces we work with makes it a little bit more difficult to get a smooth application, and the big compromise on a pre decorated model is the lettering also gets affected.

I think you definitely are on the right track, it will blend into a line of weathered hoppers and hide the pre Technicolor painscheme! 

[wm3798]

Regarding the lettering, I'm thinking if I go lightly with a pencil eraser over it that should bring the white forward a bit.
There's a lot of experimenting to do.

The guy selling these said he'll be at Timonium with the other two 5 packs he had.  If I'm happy with the results, I might just hunt him down.

Lee

[Missaberoad]

Regarding the lettering, I'm thinking if I go lightly with a pencil eraser over it that should bring the white forward a bit.
There's a lot of experimenting to do.

The older Kadee tampo printing being slightly elevated and slightly more glossy then the base coat, might help you clean it up slightly without bothering the red/black. Another possibility would be weathering it "back the other way" slightly to darken up the lettering and improve the result.

You're definitely on the right track and this is an inspiration for some colour shifting among my own fleet! 

Gotta love dirty old coal cars...

[Kentuckian]

Looks reasonable to me.

[wm3798]

Ready for the next experiment.


I masked the lettered panels and sprayed the rest of the car with a bit of oxide red.  10372 is a fresh black car at the beginning of its weathering journey.



10259 is the car I applied the washes to last night.  I like the way giving the rest of the car the correct base color keeps the eye from seeing too much black.  The masking tape pulled some of the acrylics off.  Should give the next round of washes an interesting patina.

Next I'll apply the red wash to the lettered panels, then some black wash to the red painted areas.  Once that's in place, I'll go over the entire car with some grimy black and oxide to see how it blends and balances.

Stay tuned for further developments.
Lee

[Missaberoad]

Some inspiration.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[Rivet Miscounter]

I would paint the ribs and details like the grab irons and maybe even the top frame and sill red before you do anything. But especially the extreme vertical face of the rib.  It seems like the ribs somehow dodge a lot of weathering, at times anyway. (they tend to get beat to hell though)  You can see it a little in 11726.   At very least, as you move forward it should blend in.

[nkalanaga]

By the time WM 10259 gets that "dirty" it probably is due for a reweigh.  One could remove the "NEW (date),  mask off just the weight numbers and the space for the date, and, after weathering, add a new date.  Or, if you have decals with the right numbers, change the weight numbers as well.  The font doesn't have to match.  Nice, clean, black backgrounds are appropriate for newly reweighed and restenciled cars.

[wm3798]

So here's what I did.  I masked the lettered panels an sprayed the rest of the car with rusty metal primer.


Likewise the car I had already applied washes to.  It turned out to be time consuming and ineffective to try to tint all the end bits with a brush.



After a weekend away, I went back and applied the red washes over the lettered bits, using the same technique as before.  Then I went back over the whole car with a wash of grimy black to tie it all together.



The car on the right is a factory red car, to which I applied the same grimy black but with a lighter touch.  Overall I'm pretty pleased with the result.



For a more stark comparison, left to right, an unweathered red car, an unaltered black car, and the experimental reverse weathered car.

What do you think?
Lee

[Missaberoad]

I like it! It definitely looks good and passes as a dirty oxide red car for sure.

You could of course refine it more with more layers, but how much Rich Yourstone do you want to go!

It definitely passes the test in my eyes, a line of dirty coal cars is a beautiful thing 

[Scottl]

I would expect that a coal dust wash of dark gray or grimy black would stand out from the factory black.

My recent experiments with weathering a black bridge with MIG enamels suggest that the light tones you see in weathered black can be replicated with light application of light gray.