Jim Rowson said:
That diagonal floor looks pretty swanky!
My thoughts exactly. Nice touch.
Thanks Jon. I thought about running the porch boards diagonally, but I wanted to keep the knots together to add some character so I did it the easy way.
Have I ever mentioned I am not a painter? Well, I’m no painter. There, I said it. I have spent the last 2 evenings dabbling with inks and paints trying to come up with something that gives a little hint of color but still shows the grain of the wood. I really like using ink and alcohol but I can’t come up with a combination that I like that gives a color other than shades of grays, browns and blacks. I am shooting for maybe a faded green or red and the inks I have just don’t give me the look I want … like I really know what I want. So, I tried some acrylic paint. I thinned them down to essentially washes and applied them in layers. Below are the ones I came up with that are close to what I am looking for.
Both the red and green are sandwiched between washes of a color called Sepia. I like the green on the bottom of the sample on the left, ignore the little pieces of wood scattered about. This one:
The panel on the left in the first photo was supposed to be a bigger sample of the green above, but it turned out much darker. Not sure if that is a function of the grain in the wood or something else. Anyway, I plan to do some more test panels over the next couple of days to see if I can get more consistent results. If any of you have any input, it would be greatly helpful.
Dan, what I have done in the past is to apply a generous coat of the India ink/alcohol mix first and let it dry. Then I paint over it with craft paint in an almost dry brush method. I want the wood covered but not saturated like with the ink. After the paint has dried I sand it with fine sand paper or sometimes use a fine bristle wire brush. If any bare wood shows through once I get it to the worn paint look I want I just go back over those spots with the ink mixture. Hope this helps.
Steve
I know Lowe’s sells paint samples for Cabot and Olympic stains. I used a blue stain on Chandler’s Mercantile and it looks like a weathered blue building, with a lot of gray showing through. A half pint goes a long way and is only about $3.
I think your on the right track for color. Don’t be afraid to try a base color painted on dark like green and then go over it with dark ink. Ink is very transparent and shows color from underneath.
Thanks guys. Steve, I had not thought about mixing the ink and paint as you described. Might try that.
Ken, believe it or not, I actually used some blue ink on one of the samples and thought it turned out pretty good and will certainly use it at some point, but on this project I have it my mind that it needs to be red or green. I liked Devon’s old red barn look he is using on his winch house but I’m not ready to tackle that just yet.
Here are the blue samples
Devon, ya know I have had tunnel vision and dead set on using brown or black colors as the base and then layering the green and red on top, had not considered reversing my procedure. I will certainly give that a shot.
Thanks again for the input.
That’s sorta what the Cabot stain did, just the blue was a lot lighter shade. I’ve had to re-stain it a few years back since it’s outside all the time. Using the same can of stain keeps the color consistent.
The stains come in a bunch of different colors.
I agree with the good advice given here that you need a base coat and then build on top of that to achieve what you want.
The toughest part is trying to get the process consistent throughout the project but being an industrial structure it does not need to be perfect.
You are doing well to test on scrap but once you get going on your project start on the back and by the time you get to the front you should be an expert.
It really is an art form to take something that is new and make it look old. I plan on doing the same on my build and the tips here are good ones.
Todd Haskins said:
I agree with the good advice given here that you need a base coat and then build on top of that to achieve what you want.
The toughest part is trying to get the process consistent throughout the project but being an industrial structure it does not need to be perfect.
You are doing well to test on scrap but once you get going on your project start on the back and by the time you get to the front you should be an expert.
It really is an art form to take something that is new and make it look old. I plan on doing the same on my build and the tips here are good ones.
And that my friend is my downfall. I have no artistic talent when it comes to colors, hues, etc, etc. I know what I like when I see it, but have no clue how to get the colors I want other than trial and error. And I have been doing that a lot … the error part … lately. So, I truly appreciate all the input and suggestions. I need all the help I can get.
I believe I have come up with the look I want by following Devon’s suggestion of using the primary color, in my case green or red, as the base and layering on other colors to get the weathered look I am looking for. At least on test pieces. Tonight I plan to attempt to recreate what I came up with a couple days ago and put some science behind the paint to Water ratio and do some larger test panels and then move to the challenge build. I’ll post more pictures once I have the test pieces complete
Again, thanks for everyone’s help.
Been a busy weekend for R.E. Mington and Company. Finished framing the roof and after many hours of testing different paint combinations, we finally settled on one. We started with a dilute grass green and followed that up with two washes of raw umber. Here is the first coat.
Quite bright don’t ya think? After two washes with raw umber, this is what we ended up with.
in these last two photos, the cookhouse has been mounted to the base. It is still removable at this point. I’ve got to add a porch on the front and I’m not sure how to accomplish that and maintain the ability to remove the structure from the base since the porch flooring is an integral part of the base. Still have some trim to install and paint, then the porch and finally the tin roof. Lots to do and time is running out. Gonna be some late nights this next week. Thanks for following along.
Wow nice job Dan! Makes me feel guilty for thinking I may be done! Trying to come up with something to add to it to keep me working on mine.
Thanks, Pete. I was able to get the front porch framed and I believe I’ve come up with a way to attache the porch to both the building and the base and still separate the two for access to the interior.
Next up we will finish decking the front porch and then on to the roofing. Might make the finish line yet!!
You’ll make it, you’ve got the clamps!
Black clamp , orange , orange, blue. yellow, green, blue. Sorry Dan if you cannot keep the colors coordinated you will be fined by the OCD police, and the build will be halted until proper order can be restored!!! Looks good (except for the above mentioned problem) Looking forward to the finished product. Judging is really going to be a bear this year!
Looking great Dan
The roof lines and porch look terrific, just like a real RR building one would see along the tracks.
Just an idea. Why not make the porch roof separate from the building meaning it can stand on its own but be attached to the base using 2 posts that would be tight against the house with a supporting member running between them to hold up the building side of the porch roof? That way you can remove the building and the porch will stand on its own. You won’t see the extra supports when the roof is on.
Pete Lassen Said “Black, orange , orange, blue. yellow, green, blue”.
Hey that is the code to get in the secret back room of the Chat Bar! mmmm Maybe should not have pointed that out.
(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-yell.gif)
Thanks guys. Pete, you sound like my wife(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif). She is always telling me that I need to do a better job of coordinating my clamps. I believe I’ve said it on every build I’ve documented on here that I am awful … let me say that one more time … awful when it comes to colors (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif). But, I will attempt to do better because I certainly don’t need any more fines.
Todd, that is a good idea and one I had considered but I chose to keep all the roof attached to the main structure by doubling the beam on the front columns. The bottom one is permanently attached to the porch columns and the top one is attached to the porch roof rafters. I will fasten the two beams together either by small screws or I may 3D print some sleeves that go over the ends.
Ok, Pete, is this better? (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Or, we could go this route but we would have to add the following disclaimer: “WARNING: The following photo depicts clamp-free modeling and may be disturbing to seasoned modelers. It is never advisable to go clamp free but if you must, do not attempt without competent adult supervision and it must be conducted in a vibration and wind free location, blah, blah blah.”
