Truss's and Weathering

I finished up the trusses yesterday. I like the look of  .20 wire representing truss hangers as its strung between the upper and lower supports. I had weathered them with Blacken It which was OK, but I still had to retouch  them in black acrylic. During handling the Blacken It bore off the wire.  A black craft paint worked just fine to finish the job.
Now a warning, but don't on't worry about weathering - I know its the fun part - until you've sanded, cleaned and otherwise rid your work of any random glue spots. Remember I am a sloppy gluist.  If you stain over those spots it just won't take. So clean up your glue before hand with Q tip or rag and get on with it.

5 trusses ready for stain and weathering

On my last entry, I had completely forgotten to talk about weathering techniques. Its surprisingly simple with these wood pieces and much of it is done before I get my hands on the glue. Specifically, after the stain dries and on those pieces requiring it I brush the wood with  one of those small wire brushes that you'd buy at the hardware store. Brush it in the same direction, not scrubbing but grazing the grain.  I use it to lighten and essentially blend the stain through out the wood. I do each piece individually and off the model being built. I do this to give each board a different look . Its the same stain throughout and you get similar color and shading, with subtle differences. I also use the brush by bearing down on it to thin the boards near the bottom of their length. Its the whole worn board thing.

I have a myriad of examples on the Pville where I didn't take that step and it felt like I was being lazy. Its just not the kind of work I  want to  display. Not really an appealing look. Start with a coarse paper and work your way down - with the last light sand to remove any and all fuzzy's that are clinging to your work. Other techniques as in splitting boards, creating knot holes, or nail holes  are well documented in the hobby press. I've even gone so far to utilize a #2 pencil for shading and creating shadows on some pieces over the years.

Now its on the the first of 2 equipment decks that will hopefully fit under the trusses and side walls.

See you next time. +