Creating faded streaked lettering…

“You’ve ruined that model”, I remember they were the words my friend's Dad used to describe some of his early weathering efforts, and my own Dad, although remaining quiet was visibly worried by my ‘attacks’ on our British outline OO stock in my early teens…

Top: Subtle consistent finish, Bottom: Where I was twenty five years ago!

But how do we learn without practice? Those around you who seem to have mastered skills you perhaps only dream of do not necessarily have some super human ability, just the time and patience to learn, something that in this ever increasingly busy world we all could do with finding time for more of, loosing yourself in practice is a great way to calm the mind. Whether that be mastering a machine tool, or building test pieces, our own skills and our mental health will improve through these studies.

Using your hands and focusing on the task in hand, not with a ‘I can’t wait to share the results on Facebook’ sort of a way, more a ‘I’m looking forward to just practicing this activity, feeling it and gently, kindly watching the results and seeing what happens’…

I’m not suggesting you follow my lead on a brand new £30+ item either, the method shown here would work equally well on a bargain bucket old Hornby or Mainline tank car. The skill is in two particular elements, and they’re the things to focus upon through the practice…

1) Vertical abrasion and streaking

2) Subtle effects

To produce this effect you will need a fibreglass pencil (wet and dry or sand paper can work but is much harder to control, not recommended) and some IPA (not India Pale Ale but the Isopropyl Alchohol variety, 91% or higher).

I shall illustrate with a few captioned photos…

Part 1 - Fading and streaking

Begin by working with the fibreglass pencil. As fibres break off they can get stuck in your skin and cause irritation. To reduce this screw the stick right in, and then just leave 2mm or so protruding from the end of the pencil (I've increased it in the photo, for effect). Hold it comfortably in your hand, and orientate the model on your bench so that the angle matches your natural direction as you want to be able to consistently abrade the lettering, one character at a time, in a vertical direction. 

Rub from top to bottom of each character, gently, let the pencil do the work, and watch as the lettering begins to fade. Stop and appraise frequently, it's easy to take off more, impossible to replace what has been erased. A deft blow will remove the dust, but don't worry if a brushing it with a finger leaves a stain, it's just this newly exposed paint surface is perfect for the pink dust, in this case, to adhere to. 

Once happy wipe the model with white spirit. This will degrease finger marks and remove all traces of the dust. If you'd like more a faded effect, repeat.

To 'streak' the lettering we're going to soften the paint. This is a case of taking things steady and experimenting. In the case of this wagon I tried it on just the ERN on the end of the top line first, to check it worked and confirm timings. Use IPA sparingly, it will eat into and remove paint on models, in fact I use it as a paint stripper. It can also leave a white residue on darker colours. This may require a clear coat later to eliminate, as part of an overall finishing process. 

In this case, begin by applying some IPA to a small section of the lettering, enough to wet it, but not enough to run all over the body side. Let this pool on the lettering and wait about 20 seconds. Dab it dry with a scrap of kitchen towel, then use the moistened kitchen towel, pressing firmly over the lettering, draw down vertically. This is important that it is exactly vertical, our eye will spot this if it's on an angle. If you do make a mistake, add more IPA to a piece of clean towel, and correct.

If you want more of an effect repeat, but be warned you're removing paint, so you may end up with nothing at all if you keep repeating this process!

Part 2 - Removing markings on pale wagons

Sometimes we want to remove markings entirely - as here above, the Winchester and Western on one car will be removed. Rather than abrade it, or use IPA, there is another method. This only seems to work on dark painted markings - not on white - and works across model manufacturers in my experience. You will need a bottle of Micro-sol (yes the decal softener) and some kitchen towel, along with Scotch Magic Tape (the original is best). 

Rip the towel up so that a piece is a single ply thick, and tear or cut to just cover the marking you want to remove. Use a paintbrush to apply the Micro-sol to the towel. The towel keeps it where we want it, as if it strays other markings can be removed by accident. Set a timer for 5 minutes.

Remove the towel, and dab off any excess moisture. You may find you can scratch off the marking with a finger nail, but it's best to use the tape as otherwise you can discolour the surrounding paintwork (guess how I know!). Rip off a piece of tape and ensure a part of it you HAVEN'T touched is stuck over the marking you want to remove. Use a finger nail or back of hand tool to gently burnish this over the marking expelling air and ensuring a good strong adhesion. Rip the tape off, and repeat. If a lot of the marking comes off you're nearly there, if not much, then repeat the Micro-sol step again. Usually two-three applications will remove even the most stubborn of dark colours. This can also be used on locomotives.

The results

These processes in themselves are very easy, and the results can be a great foundation for renumbering, relettering or further weathering. In this photo you can see I've removed the markings entirely from the car on the left, and faded and streaked those on the right. 

What you can't see is the hours of practice is has taken for me to get to this point. Learning by doing is about making mistakes, and then often, correcting them resulting in models we're truly proud of! Today's eye watering prices means it's a brave man who picks up a model to weather for the first time, often sticking to applying dirty washes or powders. However, in real life paint also fades or is worn and without a full understanding of a range of techniques our own attempts will fail to recreate nature. In these cases, take a cheap second hand model and practice. For fading like this, I suggest old tank cars are a good place to start.

I hope this has encouraged you to have a go with a similar process, and perhaps try something new. I will be sharing photos of these two cement hoppers again for my Canadian layout when they've been completed, and will explain some of the more traditional weathering in that future post. Until next time, more soon...

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