I'm ready to do the roads but the local paint store will only mix and sell it by the quart. It's not that I can't afford that, I just don't want to be wasteful. I have only a medium 10x11 layout and need more like half a cup. Any suggestions? BTW, I picked up a bit of concrete from a street and would like to match that color, but will consider other colors if need be.

If you have a Michael's craft store nearby, try them. They have a huge selection of very reasonably priced paints. Bottle size ranging from 4 ounces and up. They have acrylics, latex and oil based. You will have to mix your colors yourself, but they have an amazing selection to start with

ginsaw,
I have always underestimated the amount of paint needed for the layout. When you add up roads, parking areas, mountains, cliff faces, and basic ground color under your grass, weeds, etc., you can easily exceed a couple of gallons for even a smaller layout.

What I do is buy a gallon of black (or very dark gray) and a gallon of light beige or antique white.

When mixed these will produce everything from the basic brown for most ground cover, to light grays and browns for rockwork, and dark grays for roads, parking lots and shadow effects on rocks.

I mix about a pint at a time of what I need and add a bit of yellow, red or green to get the exact color I want using craft store acrylic paints (less than a dollar apiece).

Jim

If you get a quart of this and a quart of that and a quart of the other you can pretty much mix whatever else you need.

Whenever we need a room painted I consider how the colors will look with my models. We have used Northern Sea, Cottage Walk, Painted Desert...

Rand

Rand,
My wife caught on to that one right away when I suggested a color called Sedona Cliffs for one room of the house. She just said, what's your next train project, a national park?

How right she was!

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Policastro:
Rand,
My wife caught on to that one right away when I suggested a color called Sedona Cliffs for one room of the house. She just said, what's your next train project, a national park?

How right she was!

Jim

Good story Jim!

I sucked the lady in when I painted the bedroom Cocoa Butter. I smoothed her with "You can get naked and hide against the wall!"

Rand

quote:

Originally posted by Rand Fredricksen:I sucked the lady in when I painted the bedroom Cocoa Butter. I smoothed her with "You can get naked and hide against the wall!" Rand

TMI, Rand, TMI, & STMI But, I wish I had that good an idea!


Anywhoos, when I needed paint in quantities greater that a bottle of Floquil off to HD to their paint department to see what got returned -- "Ooops" paint. Years ago they used to give it away and then they caught on that they had to sell it - up to a $1. No idea what they charge now, but there's always a big selection on the rack at HD,

These are all great ideas.

Getting a gallon or quart of this and that and mixing them is interesting, except I've no need for paint in those amounts. But, it does give me an idea.

Out in the garage are plenty of old inside and outside house paints, that probably won't stay good much longer anyhow. There are some different shades of white amongst them. That plus a little black might do it.

And there is a Lowe's within walking distance. I could use the exercise anyway. I'll visit them first and check out the returned paint.

Thanks.

Make sure the "voo-doo" (mixing old paints, etc.) will be worth the $7. you save by not buying a custom mixed quart. At least you could bring home paint sample cards from Home Depot, before you buy, to decide on the ideal color under your layout lighting conditions. Joe

quote:

Originally posted by ginsaw:
These are all great ideas.

Getting a gallon or quart of this and that and mixing them is interesting, except I've no need for paint in those amounts. But, it does give me an idea.

Out in the garage are plenty of old inside and outside house paints, that probably won't stay good much longer anyhow. There are some different shades of white amongst them. That plus a little black might do it.

And there is a Lowe's within walking distance. I could use the exercise anyway. I'll visit them first and check out the returned paint.

Thanks.

Don't try to mix enamels and latex.

Like Joe said sometimes having a color mixed is your best bet. And a color like concrete is pretty neutral, I am sure you could find a lot of uses for it. If nothing else it would make a good primer.

If you really only need a very small amount go to the hobby shop and buy Concrete Liquid Pigment.

Rand

Yes Jim and your artical on building your Nation Park in OGR was first class.

It brought back many memores of my trips out west. Sherward

I go to the home store and pick out 5 or 6 paint chips that I think may be a close match, lay them on the layout under normal light conditions, and then pick one for purchase. A quart is around $5-$7 so you'll spend that much buying different small bottles.

Some of the larger paint companies now sell sample bottles of their line so homeowners can try a smaple on the wall. I also heard that the big home stores will mix one of those sample bottles also.

It would almost be worth it just to get the reaction by going in with my poor little piece of concrete, and asking "could you please mix me up a free sample bottle". They'll probably say "you want that for your walls???" Then I get to explain it all.

Won't be like it was the first time. That was when I wanted the table top to look like real grass, so out to the back yard I went and pulled up a handful (surprising how many shades of grass you can have in your own back yard) and took it down to the paint store and asked them to mix up a quart. The looks I got. I don't think they entirely understood even after I explained it.

Anyhow, the method I prefer is to first settle on the colors by examining real life samples, and then to the paint stores with a sample or a photo or something, instead of starting with seeing what they have. I guess that's how I'll deal with it.

By the way, all the suggestions have been great.

ginsaw,
Isn't it amazing the reaction we get when we try to explain what we're doing to the real world!!! I love it!

Just to complicate things, when you're trying to match a color, you have to take into account how viewing distance and light source affect our perception of colors.

For example, when we view that real grass from a normal distance, all those different colors you saw in the grass blend together to produce an "average" shade of green. It's influenced, too, by the yellows and browns present.

Also, you will be viewing the colors under artificial light, not natural sunlight. If you have fluorescents then greens and yellows will be accentuated. Incandescents will bring out the red and orange hues.

If the grass is on a distant hillside, some blue from atmospheric haze will be added to the mix.

That's why you sometimes have to adjust your paint mixes to take into account apparent colors as well as actual colors.

It can sound complicated, but all you really have to do is keep trying until it looks good to you. That's all that matters. Plus, we're lucky to have so many scenic supplies available at the hobby shop that give us many natural looking shades to work with.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Policastro:
ginsaw,
Isn't it amazing the reaction we get when we try to explain what we're doing to the real world!!! I love it!

Jim

What are you doing to the real world? LOL!

I am lucky enough to have a local Ace Hardware. Everyone there is anxious to help and there are even some model rail road fans that work there.
Custom paint = FUN

Rand

I was tempted to write about trying to explain all this to the real world, but won't go there. Well, just this, one of my standard lines is "I'm building this for my grandson, he likes trains". "It's strictly for him, you understand".

I like the shade of green grass I selected real well. Turns out it has a definite yellow tint compared to some other grasses. Others I examined are more just a dark almost forest green that isn't IMO as attractive (to the extent that enters into this). I probably should know the exact name of the one I used but can't think of it. It's not fescue. We have that in the front yard, and if it would look the same on a layout as it does "in the wild" it would be an excellent choice too. The concrete is very pale gray and will be a nice contrast. That's why I picked it, instead of asphalt for instance. Actually the two together will IMO have an almost art deco look, which I don't mind.

Now you talk about how light affects colors? Here's one for you. In my younger days I was a scuba diver and took many trips to the islands and did amongst other things underwater photography. Can you guess how that affects the photos?

Hint - what does a flash do under water?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ginsaw,

quote:

Originally posted by Rand Fredricksen:

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Policastro:
ginsaw,
Isn't it amazing the reaction we get when we try to explain what we're doing to the real world!!! I love it!

Jim

What are you doing to the real world? LOL!

Rand

Real world? What real world? I've been living in my own little world for years! Just ask my friends!

Jim

ginsaw: most Lowes will mix up a sample can, about a pint> I had them match to a MTH building and match was great. Price is right to. David.

For those who were following this I'm bringing it back up for a report on my trip to Lowe's today. The deal is, they will custom mix a 1/2 pint sample for $4. However, they said it's satin finish only inside paint. They described satin as one step removed from semi-gloss. They also had no problem with mixing it based on my piece of concrete.

The satin finish probably puts it out of contention for road use, although I could maybe mix in something to flatten it. Possibly talcum powder - remember how as kids we did that with Testor's gloss paints on planes and ships etc?

BTW, the answer to the "underwater photography trivia question" I posed above is that without using a flash, colors are mostly in shades of blues and greens. Tropical fish, coral, sunken treasure from Spanish galleons and such don't become brilliantly colored until you supply the light. That's strictly in the FWIW department.

ginsaw,
At $4 for half a pint, satin no less, you're much better off with the craft store flat finish acrylics if you really want just small amounts of paint.

Gee, I was going to answer your trivia question based on my experiences as a kid in the Harlem River near my apartment in the Bronx. I guess the 1 foot visibility in that water (on a good day) would give photos a different hue!

Jim