Mortar lines in brick buildings

try robert's mortar. you can apply at will, and wipe off from the brick face at anytime depending on the look you are after. alternately, dilute some acrylic paint and brush on, then wipe off from the brick face before it dries. 

 

jerrman

A diluted latex paint, consistance of thin, skim milk.  Apply and let dry.  It may take several applications to get the motar line look you want.







Previous images were on bare plastic.  Krazy Ken's Car Town was painted with a Krylon spray paint then mortar wash was applied.

Everyone has their favorite method. I use Robert's as well. The ease of doing this also depends on:

Do you want a new/neat look or old and weathered? I like neat, and that is harder.

Does your building have deep grooves (like many MTH), or shallow? Deep is easier for "neat".

I've used drywall compound with good results. Spread it around with a finger and then wipe off the excess with a wet sponge. To avoid leaving a white haze you can never get rid of, you need to wash it off thoroughly after removing the excess. Run the section under warm water and keep wiping it until the surface no longer feels slimy.

 

It will appear you have washed everything off at first, but once it starts to dry, you'll see the mortar lines appear again. 

 

Works well for hydrocal and plastic.

Gents,

Personally I like to airbrush the entire model (brick areas or stone areas) with the mortar color I decide to go with (usually a medium gray and vary it per building; some lighter/some darker) and then dry brush on the main brick color, the whole time being careful not to get the brick color into the mortar joints. I basically make the buildings look like they were just built and then I start to apply the weathering...efflorescence (white mineral deposits seen on some masonry buildings), rust staining from embedded metal components at the facade (from fire escapes/cast iron decorative elements), light black carbon deposits, etc.

 

In my opinion, I've tried the other scenario by painting the main building the brick color and then apply the mortar wash (diluted paint), but it always seems that there is a white haze left behind which I do not like....it makes it look like if the original masonry company who installed the brick was sloppy with their brick install and got mortar all over the face of the bricks...over the entire façade (I'm in the masonry restoration field if you have figured that one out). I rather apply that "look" to isolated areas in a lighter mortar color to represent areas of brick that have been repointed or repaired years later.

 

Nick B.

Boston Metro Hi railers

I use the acrylic wash method, doing one wall at a time, with that one facing up so the

color settles in the joints, and immediately wipe it off the brick surfaces.  Luckily, all of my buildings represent old and weathered, so I don't have to have clean sharp color

breaks with the bricks.

All good...all work.

 

Also...if you add a bit of alcohol or a small drop of detergent to the acrylic wash, it will go into the mortar lines more easily...it makes the wash 'wetter', encourages it to flow off the top level (brick surfaces) into the lower level (mortar grooves).  This, of course, suggests that using this technique will work best if the wall is lying horizontal at the time.....can we say 'duh!'?

 

The other thing I've learned with Roberts wash is to be sure there are no residual oils or mold release substance on the surface of the plastic walls.  If you like the as-molded brick color, at least wash it in warm detergent, well rinsed/dried, before applying the Roberts material.  But that's a good idea, anyway, if you intend to first paint the surface.

 

As for the residual haze on brick surfaces from using Roberts wash...I usually follow up with a typical colored alcohol wash over the whole thing to tone it down, blend it together, minimize any 'blotchiness'.  I've used the ubiquitous black wash, a brownish wash, even a reddish wash, depending on the effect I'm trying to achieve.  At least this works for me (Lucas Gudinov)....the final critic.

 

Another technique I've used on brick/block surfaces that have especially deep, well-defined mortar grooves is to follow up the Roberts wash and secondary washes with a pastel rub.  You can find pastel chalks, oil and non-oil based, in a variety of colors in well-stocked artist supply stores.  I have a brick-red pastel stick (gray one for blocks), for instance, that I'll use most often.  I take a soft pad of cloth, or a make-up sponge, rub it in the pastel chalk stick to put some color onto it, and then gently rub diagonally over the brick surface.  It strengthens the brick color of finished surface to give a different contrast. 

 

It's all from a bit of experimentation.  Save your brick material scraps and try different techniques.  You'll find more than one, I'll bet, that will satisfy you.

 

KD

I have used dry wall compound and white chalk.

Many good ideas thanks for posting.

 

I've been playing around with a more subtle mortar look using a technique from Jimmy Simmons from Monster Model Works.  Here is a video. 

Basically you "paint" the brick walls with 3 shades of weathering powders.  First dip the brush in 91 or 99% alcohol, then into the powder, then paint and blend.  When you are done, spray the wall with Dullcote.  The Dullcote produces the well-known white haze, that is most notable in the mortar lines.  Voila!   Instant mortar.

Here is my effort using 80% rubbing alcohol.   I'm going to try 99% alcohol next time to enhance the effect. 

 

 

 

Bob

Like others I use Roberts Brick mortar for all my jobs. However for fast and easy touch up work on small areas where I accidentally removed the Roberts mortar I go to light weight Spackle. I simply rub it on with a finger then wipe off the excess with another finger (the clean one!). This is a lot faster than mixing and repainting with Roberts.

I always follow up with a India ink wash to even things out.

Sometimes for small structures like OGR stairways I just use the Spackle because of speed and ease of application.