Burlington Northern's Nelson Subdivision: Newly Weathered Freight Cars

Here are a few cars I just weathered up a few days ago. The photos didn't turnout that great. Sorry. The photo for the MILW flat car is really dark. I have no idea why. Once again, sorry for that.
            For weathering I first wash the car sides with warm soapy water to get the fingerprints and other foreign things off of the car. I then spray it with a Dullcote. The cars are weathered first with a fading wash, which is made with cheap white acrylic paint and 70% alcohol. I brush that on, almost flooding the car with it. I let it set up for about 30 seconds than I come back with a large soft bristle brush and brush the whole car in verticle stokes. I try to get all of the wash from the cracks on the car and just leave a thin film on the car pannels. This leaves I very nice faded look. After this step, before you go on, it is a must to spray it again with the Dullcote otherwise you'll end up with a nasty mess. I don't always use this method on all cars, but I think it is a must for bright, colorful cars.
           I next get a photo off the internet that is of the exact same car that I'm weathering or a very similar one. Using the prototype photo I use ''dirty'' washes made the same way as the fading wash just use a brown or black depending on the need. I also use a technique called dry brushing to simulate streaks on the car. Dry brushing is super simple. All you do is load up your brush with a desired paint color and then wipe most of it off on a paper towel and apply it on the car in verticle strokes starting at the top and working downward. Sounds redundant, but the results are amazing. I also really like weathering powders. They are easy to use and and they bring the car to life because it adds texture to the car and gives the look of built up rust and/or dirt. I like using chalk pencils, which you can buy at a craft store, to highlight rivets, door handles, rust spots, panel edges, and so on.
            For the truck, I take the wheels off the truck and I paint the 'face' and the back of the wheel with a brown color and once that is dry, I add powders to add texture. For the trucks I drybrush a dark grey color on it. I've had much better results leaving the trucks with a black hue than just completely painting it brown. Once that is dry, I brush back powders on the truck and then highlight the axle caps and spring with a rust color.
             That's pretty much it. I do like to 'tag' the car with fine black or white pens. I always make my graffiti have a personal touch to them like I make them someone I know's name or a place that I like or for me, I like adding Bible verses. After everthing is done I spray it again with Dullcote and remount the trucks. I hope you like!

AFEX covered hopper