Freight car graffiti, Part 7: weathering

In my various posts about graffiti for post-1980 freight cars, and in my article in Model Railroad Hobbyist (MRH) for January 2020, I have touched on weathering of the “graffiti-d” cars. I showed some extent of heavy weathering on an ACFX covered hopper in Part 2 of this series (see it at: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2020/01/freight-car-graffiti-part-2.html ). In this post I want to return to specifics.
     First, that ACFX car, that I heavily weathered and rust-streaked (using Weathering Solutions decals in part). I will repeat a photo of the car, with three graffiti on it and plenty of rust and dirt. This somewhat overhead view allows you to see the dirt on the roof and around hatches, while the rust seems to be erupting at the top seam of the car side. This of course is not a cement car.

     But cement cars primarily show streaks and stains of cement, and of course some cement cars show not only heavy staining but buildup of cement around hatches. I have tried to represent this with acrylic tube paints, mixing Neutral Gray and White. On the typical cement-gray covered hoppers( a color chosen of course to not show cement stains), I often use white, or the gray-white mixture. Here’s an example of some heavy cement effects, along with a dirty roof (the car was first described in Part 4 of this series, at: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2020/02/freight-car-graffiti-part-4-further.html ).

This is another example, shown before, of a car painted a really unsuitable color to resist showing cement stains, and weathered accordingly:

     Next is an example of a paper overlay, subsequently weathered. This car was first described in Part 4 of this series (you may wish to see that post at: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2020/02/freight-car-graffiti-part-4-further.html ). I would call this a moderate amount of weathering, as cement cars go.

     Some cars that are newer, or have been lucky enough to escape the worst dirt and graffiti, also need to be represented. I have experimented with representing light but visible weathering on cement cars, since these almost always show at least some evidence of cement staining. An example is below, on a BNSF car that carries a paint scheme not long before the 1999 date of the model owner’s layout’s  (first shown at earlier stages in Part 6, at: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2020/02/freight-car-graffiti-part-6-more-still.html ). You can click on the image to enlarge it if you wish.

You may note that, although there is only a single graffiti element on this car, there are a number of tags along the lower part of the car (you can click on the image to enlarge it if you wish). I will return to the topic of tagging in a future post.
     I continue to find freight car graffiti interesting, not least because of the sheer variety. Vandalism it may be, but it certainly transforms what freight cars look like. Then, of course, suitable weathering needs to be applied, hopefully over a  broad range of effects, as shown above.
Tony Thompson