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I have lots of sidewalk to paint and am interested to know what other modelers have used to capture the look of concrete.  For the base of buildings and the sidewalks in front of them  I'm using 1/16" tempered Masonite.   Groups of buildings are clustered on a common base (up to 30" long) for ease of detailing off the layout.  Scribed lines simulate sidewalk curbs and sections.  The Masonite has been sealed with clear acrylic, especially where the Masonite was rounded to simulate the upper edge of the curbs.  The building base/sidewalk modules have been cut, fitted (hidden locating pins on each module) and scribed.  It is time to paint the base concrete color, and following that do some weathering.  On prior layouts I air brushed Floquil Aged Concrete, but due to availability and price I'd like to try craft store acrylics.  What paint and application techniques would you recommend?.

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I use masonite for all my sidewalks and concrete areas. After I have them cut out I spray  them with Rustoleum Camo Khaki paint.IMG_0047IMG_0046IMG_0045

The next step I use a sharp pointed object to scribe joints and stress cracks, then I use thinned out black acrylic paint and brush it on and then wipe it off to weather and bring out the details.Very easy and makes very cool sidewalks, concrete tunnel portals,and any concrete areas.

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Steve Piper posted:

I use masonite for all my sidewalks and concrete areas. After I have them cut out I spray  them with Rustoleum Camo Khaki paint.IMG_0045

The next step I use a sharp pointed object to scribe joints and stress cracks, then I use thinned out black acrylic paint and brush it on and then wipe it off to weather and bring out the details.Very easy and makes very cool sidewalks, concrete tunnel portals,and any concrete areas.

Steve, what is the texture under your water?  Painted aluminum sheet?  Thx TW

I am using Krylon Khaki for just about all my concrete and rock painting. For my layered Masonite streets and sidewalks I don't bother with sealing. I carve expansion joints and cracks, then lightly spackle the expansion joints and other gaps. I am mostly using tube acrylics now for the finishing effects. I will use a damp rag and rub different panels and sections with brown or rust hues. I then do a black wash. One trick that works for doing the black wash is to put a thicker wash into the cracks and joints with a thin brush then rub it out with a semi damp to dry rag. This way you're not chasing a big mess all around and having it dry too fast when covering a large area. Of course, your mileage may vary, and the Krylon is pretty forgiving if you are using water based washes. A wet rag can reverse overdone applications too. The last thing to do is a nice drybrushing. It would be ideal to use a lighter shade of khaki but I typically use white to light gray.

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Thanks for the great input guys.  The various approaches all look better than my previous attempts to model sidewalks.  Today I'll pick up a can of khaki and test it on scrap Masonite.  Does anyone know if one of the two khaki's (Rustoleum, Krylon) is lighter than the other?     A  test I'll run in parallel is to spray a very light pass of Krylon fine texture limestone,  sand the surface, and then brush on a craft paint mix (linen and gray).    Whatever the base color, getting the weathering (wash, chalk) is something I'll also have to work on.

Norm - your artistic talent continues to amaze.  Go PRR!  

Matt - missed your post - thanks for answering the question regarding color of the two major brands of khaki.   Your brush latex approach has a cost and ease of applying at the site.  The spray approach probably works better with scribed cracks and joints.  With a neighborhood open house event in a month, this week I need to decide on an approach and get on with it.  

Turns out I actually have Rustoleum not Krylon. I pick mine up at Home Depot and can't remember when it changed over but I do remember getting Krylon at some point in the past. 

Btw, I switched over to spray bombing vs. latex/acrylic for speed. I found that latex needed an extra day to fully dry in the seams before doing a wash. I would end up with a smeary looking mess if I tried to apply a wash to latex too soon. I control the spray bomb overspray using a shop vac with a rag zip tied over the hose while I'm applying color.

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