Friday 27 April 2018

My New Weathering Mix

My new rust weathering mix. Steel wool and vinegar.
 Back in a 2015 RMC article Tom Troughton explains how he made his weathering mix. This is a mix he regularly uses to apply a coating of rust. I thought I would give it a try also. I took an empty pickle jar added two steel wool pads and filled it with vinegar. I shaked it around every couple of weeks and began opening and looking into the jar after a couple of months. One could see the rust starting to form. It is now six months later and I am giving it a try. The mix is looking really good. The RMC author's jar is now three decades old...so looking forward to see what mine is like in another six months...George Dutka

This is the first application of the mix. Note the colouring on the lid.

Once dry the hopper lids are rubbed with my finger while damp removing a bit of the rust.
A pewter engine block by Crow River Products.
One coat of my rust mix. Some touch-ups are needed along the edge. I still need some practice applying this mix. I think if I pour a small amount into a small cup and just dropping the smaller items in might work the best.

The siren seen on my new fire hall has some rust mix applied.

4 comments:

  1. I made a jar of this stuff up years ago and it worked really good for aging stripwood. It didn't make the wood look rusted, but instead just old. Or different. Experiment first, but it has many uses.

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    1. Thanks will have to try that on some wood...George

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  2. George, I've used this technique to stain the ties on my layout. If you use clear vinegar on the ties you get a gray/weathered look on them. If you use Apple vinegar on the ties you get a brown/ dark brown look to them. I've only used this stain on the ties, I'm sure it would work strip wood as well.

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    1. Thanks Scott will have to give that a try also...George

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