Crap, my weathering disappeared!

You did nothing wrong.  Dullcoat or any other spray does that to chalk or powders.  The secret is to really WEATHER to twice or three times what you want and then let the coating take some of it away.

 

Try a boxcar or two to experiment.  Much cheaper to redo or live with than a loco.

 

George Lasley

P&O, did you apply a flat finish (Dullcote, or some other brand) PRIOR to applying your weathering powders and chalks?

This gives the chalks and powders something to grab onto.  Although you will still lose SOME of your powder and chalk when applying your final, flat finish, I have found that it's not nearly as muted as it would be without an initial flat finish applied.

And sometimes, no matter what you do, you will have to apply a "second coat" of chalks and powders!

If you insist on using powders as many do, you would want to just apply a mist coat to adhere the powder and let it set before giving the model an all out blast!

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.  Chalk it up to experience.

P&O

 

     Chalks need to be put on heavy as the spray dilutes the color and blows some off. Powders usually have an adhesive that is activated with rubbing and stick much better. You still may need to overweather a little before sealing with a dullcote.

 

Ray

Did you use Dull-Cote in a spray can? That stuff comes out so thick and heavy it will almost always make the powder disappear.

 

Some people don't clear coat for that very reason. If you don't, the powder will easily wear off with handling, and leave very noticeable finger prints.

 

Some people swear by the pan pastels, but I have yet to try them. I use AIM and Bragdon weathering powders.

 

I use an airbrush to apply it, mixed 50/50 with laquer thinner, at 10-15 psi, and several inches away. Very thin, very light coats. You will still need to aplly the powder pretty heavy. 

 

2 other techniques to try:

 

Mix the powder with a little dull-cote on your brush when applying them.

 

After you spray with Dull-Cote, add more powder while it's still wet. The Dull-Cote dries super fast anyway.

 

 

The light grey on these trucks was applied while the trucks were wet with dull-cote. 

" I took it outside and gave a quick spray of Testors dullcote to hold it all in place. When the dullcote dried, almost all of my work with the powders was gone. Only some of the work I'd done with black powder was visible.

 What did I do wrong? Is there a product other than Dullcote I should have used?"

 

   An old trick to set power or chalk without making it dis-appear is to spray it with a light mist of Floquil Diosol. Trouble is it might be hard to find Diosol these days? To avoid the problem entirely I weather with acrylics or oil paint then any added chalk or powder is just left dry, it will stay on as long as the model is not handled a lot and if it eventually wears off it's easy to dust some more on again........DaveB

 

I have used Dullcote with both pastel chalks and Pan Pastels. The trick is a spray of Dullcote as the 1st step. Apply the powders. then seal with the Dullcote, but be careful to keep your model about 12-15 inches away from the spray can. when too close almost all of the weathering will be diluted or even gone 100%. Repeat applying until you achieve the effect you want.

 

Have not yet ventured into air brushing as yet but see that on the horizon