# Need suggestion for weathering wood floor



## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

I need a suggestion on which stain or "wash" I can put on my AMS flats when using the wood overlay kit. It seems too "light" to me in its natural wood "color" now. Any help is appreciated. BTW, I seem to have "worked out" the photo attachment problem. Yeah!!!


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## Chrisp (Jan 3, 2008)

Try india ink/rubbing alcohol washes - will give it a weathered, silvery look.


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

agreed 
but heres something i like 
   first go to the drug store and get 90 % alcohol-not the typical 70%-advantage is it evaporates more quickly and is less likely to warp-the wetter version is good if you want 'pooling' and layered striation from slower evaporation say on an flat area- i dont use 70% at all anymore-even in dry Colorado  



 secondly be aware that some blacks are not -they will rainbow or turn blue when diluted-this looks really bad almost always


you will want permanent india ink-and it is permanent- 

 water solubles and washables will give the 'rainbow' effect 

i like higgins black or magic black for dilution- 
its better to start light and build coats-or at least until you know how dark you want things 

 go the direction of planks and try to keep some individual in color and varying lightness and darkness -ie like a replaced newer board or three if you go extremely weathered

you might also make inquiry at an art supply store-get the finest grain particles you can get in an ink-this will avoid the gritty spots that can occur 



 chalks are really nice too--controllable--but must be over sprayed-and when this is done the chalks tend to fade away dramatically  






after the ink and alcohol is *entirely* dry-you can then go over with light grey or white chalks-fingers work as do stiff brushes -or skip the ink entirely and use varying greys and even browns and dark rusts


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Thank you for the suggestions Chris and Steve. I have a Western Scale Models stationary engine to mount on one of these cars as a load.


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## R.W. Marty (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Gary,
Another option is Kiwi black leather dye (available at most markets where shoe polish is sold) and the 90 proof alcohol. I usually keep several batches on hand of different strengths for a quick and easy variation in colors. Other options are brown leather dye and alcohol but have to be careful with this at it tends toward the reds. Yet another option is steelwool disolved in vinegar, it can give a nice variation to the gray tones.


Car looks good.
Rick


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Rick. I have two more flats to cover and thought I would start to experiment with some weathering.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

You've got suggestions for the color. But don't forget to beat up the wood first and put some cuts and knot holes in it. These imperfections will then take the ink differently and give the car a more realistic appearance.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Great idea Todd. Thank you.


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## steam5 (Jun 22, 2008)

Gary, 

Where can I get one of these overlay kits? 

thanks 
Alan


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Alan, 

Jonathan Bliese at EMW here in SoCal. He is a sponsor here on the RC/Battery section.


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## steam5 (Jun 22, 2008)

Thanks for that, just sent of a mail to him right then


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

You can use a product called A-West Weather-It which "weathers" real wood decks for model trains.

I used it on the wood decks I added to some HO military flats and they turned out looking great. Couldn't be any easier. Just paint it on and it weathers the wood. 


Here's what the decks look like (they were originally bright raw wood):






















This is where I found out about different ways to weather real wood model decks:


Weathering Laser-Cut Wood Decks


http://www.createforless.com/Plaid+...221.aspx?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=csehttp://www.testors.com/products/137429http://www.testors.com/products/137411

It was a little different procedure for the Hartland flat shown below. It is all plastic and it came without any wood grain detail. I had to hand scribe each plank with an X-Acto to give some grain. Then I painted the "deck" with artists paint (Plaid FolkArt Barnwood). After that dried I applied super thin washes of Poly Scale Grimy Black and Steam Power Black:


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Thank you Matt and to EVERYONE for the help.


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## K27_463 (Jan 2, 2008)

Gary: one of the best ways is to use the real thing. So you have real wood, now use real methods. You know Mac I think. I know he uses used motor oil, and real dirt rubbed in. I have tried this method too and i like it. The motor oil trashes things up in a real uneven way....especially if you scrape the wood longitudinally and sideways as if equipment has been dragged off and on. 

Jonathan/EMW


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

THX Jonathan. Great idea about scraping the wood. You know I was concerned about not having enough time to position the slats when using CA. But Zap-a-Gap worked pretty well. Gave me a few seconds to get it down right.


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