sidewalk chalk dirt?

[jacoballardtattoo]

So I just tried this out and I'm pretty happy with the results, (I don't have pics yet but will try and have them tomorrow) I ground up brown sidewalk chalk into rough dust, mixed Elmer' so school glue and water then painted the treed of my tires with the glue water, rolled the tires in the dust and had perfect muddy tires. Has anyone else done this? What we're your results?

[Swamp Dog]

i use real dirt mixed with elmers glue myself , but if you are happy with the results then it works..maybe i will try that with my weatherning pastells..

[webestang]

Great tip!!!!!.....I want muddy tires for my Jeep build.

[Sixties Sam]

I used real mud on this muddy Jeep a few years ago. I took a clump of dirt from the garden and mixed it with water till it was about as thick as house paint, then flung it on the jeep with a 4" brush from about a foot away. I thinned some of the mud down with more water, then brushed it on the wheels and tires. I sprayed flat clear on it when it all dried. The chalk method sounds good, too. I've used it to weather model train cars.

Sam

[Mister 4x4]

As someone who's seen that first-hand on many occasions, I think that looks just about perfect! Nice job!!

[jacoballardtattoo]

Finally got some pics, the mud job is nothing in comparison to the Jeep but it's good for the car.

Edited January 26, 2015 by jacoballardtattoo

[misterNNL]

I use ground up sidewalk chalk for weathering my dioramas.It's a lot cheaper than those expensive powders and comes in a lot of colors.After applying the chalk dust I seal it with flat clear rattle can paint,Rsther than actually grind the chalk I use an 80 grit sanding stick.The chalk sticks to the stick so I brush it off with a brass brush into a container

[Ace-Garageguy]

Interesting technique, looks great. But it seems everything old is new again.

Model railroaders have been using sidewalk chalks for weathering and mud effects for more than 50 years. If you want to see some mind-blowingly realistic aging, look at RR and armor models.

This isn't quite right...

Edited January 29, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[jacoballardtattoo]

It's cool to know I stumbled onto an old trick. I have begun to feel that the old ways in most cases are the best. It is true though that in today's world everything that is "NEW" has already been done for years. It's kinda hard to find many things that are truly new anymore.

[misterNNL]

It's nice to have an open forum such as this for the exchange of ideas and techniques.I was inspired by the weathered models I had seen but never knew how it was done.I was never exposed to any military or railroad builders or their weathering techs during my 50+ years of model car building so this was all new territory for an old dog like me.

Many thanks to those more experienced for being willing to share their knowledge with the rest of us!!

[Tom Geiger]

THi

This mud was done with Polly S weathering paint oddly called "Mud". The tires were done by literally driving them through a puddle of this paint. That left the sidewall detail totally random and got in all the tread.

This was a box art model and I was asked to do some mud weathering but not to over do it. So the same mud was used on the chassis and sides. The splash patterns coming from the wheel wells was done similar to Sam's technique, only I used an old toothbrush. I literally flicked the paint (fairly close) by running my finger across the brush bristles. The key is to do this and walk away. It's so tempting to try to touch it up etc, which will only ruin it.

I also wanted to point out something. Note the difference in mud color between Sam's Jeep and the 1:1 Nissan pickup. That's called regional dirt color. Think about where your model is supposed to be from... whether you get that East Coast light brown, dark rich soil or the red dirt of the west.

[jacoballardtattoo]

Great point Tom, I have a lot of experience playing in the mud here in Arizona, in Louisiana, Missouri and Afghanistan, all of them have a little different color. Here in AZ you can find some 100 different shades just going from one city to the next.