How to make rust for scale models

All you need is

• a pot,
• a little bit of water,
• a magnetic screw driver,
• some steel wool (00-gauge),
• thinner and dull varnish.
• I forgot: a good piece of patience!

Steel wool is soaked into a pot of some water for 3-5 days and turned over in between for several times. When the water finally evaporated, the result is fine rust, sometimes with some steel pieces remaining in the mixture. These can be easily extruded by means of a magnetic screwdriver. Prior to carry on, be sure that the rust is thoroughly dry.

After having gained fine pigments of rust, one can dilute it with thinner (I always use alcohol or turpentine) and add some dull cote. This is then applied straight onto the model, as for instance a rusty muffler.

The more pigments you use, the greater the rust damage, even up to real heavy corrosion. The phases for gaining those pigments are shown in the sketches to the right.
The great disadvantage is clear: you have to be very patient while awaiting the desired pigments. Sometimes the procedure also turned out to produce only some kind of rust mud. Then you have used too much water or were too lazy to turn over the steel wool often, because to get the right result, the metal needs to have enough air.

The pigment method

Somehow easier to achieve is the method, when using colour pigments as for instance those of MIG productions. The advantage of having already the pigments at hand competes with two disadvantages:

First, it is not real rust and therefore you cannot simulate heavy rust damage, as the pigments are very fine. So you have to add some other material, as for instance plaster cast.

This leads us to the second disadvantage, namely the colour. One has to find the right one on his own by try and error method. Especially if using plaster cast or similar materials for mixing the rust, one has to cope with the white colour of these items. (Don´t tell it another one: they have to be bought for some amount of money...) Applying is done in the same way as the first method.

The "chemical" method

There is an interesting item for sale to achieve rust effects: two liquids, which have to be painted onto the desired surface subsequently. One is the liquid iron the other is the catalyst. The chemical reaction creates the real rust in a very subtle and convincing way. Only disadvantages are:

• These liquids are quite expensive and
• you have to paint them in several steps so you aren´t able to foresee the effect.

The classical method

You can of course try to simulate rust by painting it with all kind of colour. Be aware that rust (except if it is raining) is totally dull. So avoid gloss or satin cotes or oil colors. Again one has to find the right tone by his own.