Another type of rusting you can do is with the Bragdon powders. These are not as precise but they allow a certain transparency to the rust. They are especially effective on darker matte surfaces. Seal the whole thing with Testors’ Dullcote.



Sometimes, the object to which you will apply rust is not metal itself, like a brick wall, but a metal object has been attached to it, like a ladder or sign. Here you may want to paint thin rusty streaks flowing down from the contact point. Use a thin pointy brush. The key here is subtlety. A little bit goes a long way and can be too easily overdone. The streaks should fade out quickly.



Perhaps you want to age a painted metal object with hard edges, like a 55 gallon drum. Dry-brush the hard edges with the rust colors and leave the rest alone except for a few vertical streaks as discussed above. The idea is that the hard edges would be where the object’s paint has scraped away allowing the exposed metal to rust, while the painted surfaces remain intact.



The Rustall effect is completed by dusting on some brownish dust to make the surface appear even more worn. You could also do this with the Bragdon powder of your choice, or even by getting some gray or brown chalk pastels from the art store and crushing them against sandpaper to produce custom weathering dust. Real dirt is probably too thick and granular to look good as a scale weathering product unless it is repeatedly sifted through progressively finer strainers. As with the other powders, sealing lightly with Dullcote makes the effect more resistant to damage.



In the photo is a tunnel portal demonstrating another example of rust adding character. Check out the streaking and staining on this O-scale Featherlite portal casting. No additional parts have been added; it's a single piece with elaborate but simple paint work.



Using this technique, it’s easy to build up a whole junkyard of rusty debris, but the uses extend much further. You can rust out rolling stock, or abandoned metal structures like signal bridges or water tanks. You can even bring life to a rusty fire escape on the side of a dilapidated tenement. The sky’s the limit, so just go out there and rust!