this is how we make the moonshine.....err, ah scrap metal. First locate some confetti:
It has a nice jagged, pieces, shards, scraps or whatever. The problem is it comes in a myriad of colors and even patterns imprinted upon the scraps. These need to be hidden or covered up as much as possible. At first my intention was to simply paint over the pieces with a diluted wash of craft paint. So I poured some confetti into plastic solo cups and added different "rust" or "rust like" colored paint and diluted it some with water. I stirred each cup to coat all of the confetti and poured each out onto some window screen placed into a disposable aluminum pan to dry out.
here are the paints I used:
Burnt sienna; Brown Iron oxide; Rusted pipe and....
Raw umber; Traditional burnt umber; burnt orange
Well, this didn't work out very well. The diluted paint didn't cover the confetti thoroughly or convincingly enough. So after it dried I tried something new, something I knew would stick to the confetti. And that turned out to be Pastel chalks. Pastel chalks alone won't stick to the slippery plastic confetti shards without some sort of binder or glue. So hair spray to the rescue....
To get this to work, I needed to scrape the chalks with an extacto knife to create a powder. So using various shades of brown, orange, red, and yellow, I scraped enough powder to coat all the pieces of scrap. You simply spray a small even coat of hairspray onto the confetti and sprinkle the "rust" powder all over. While its still wet, stir or toss (like a salad) the confetti and continue to sprinkle on the powder until you get the amount of coverage that looks good to you. I had to repeat this process 2 to 3 times to get it where I felt it needed to be. Even then a few pieces will have a shiny side or edge. I think that helps to add to the look of scrap.
Some of what was left over...
after I set up and took the pictures for this weeks Team Track Tuesday. Note that some of the pieces after hair spraying them will stick together. They easily come apart with a little picking and handling. Rub some together between your fingers to loosen and pry them apart.
I hope this was helpful for creating scrap loads or a scrap yard for your railroad.
