UK Suppliers - Rustall weathering products

[Guest]

I've seen a lot of websites singing the praises of "Rustall" and "Weatherall" two US made products which can be used to weather models.

I've had some problems trying to source a UK Supplier. After googling "Rustall" I found

but after phoning this supplier no longer stocks this product and was unaware of any other UK Suppliers.

The only similar product I'e found is called "Scenic Rust" and is available from the Hobby's Annual - but the results looks a little overscale - in effect it seems to be "real rust" and is possibly no more than some kind of solution of rust powder and a rust accelerator.

Does anyone have experience of either of these products or know of a UK supplier?

Now available in the UK from

Scale Model Shop

[Guest]

Read this thread, I'm sure you'll find it interesting:

http://www.scale-models.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3276&highlight=rust

[Guest]

I got some of the scenic rust from the Hobbys Annual today - It consists of three bottles a small plastic mixing cup and a spatula for mixing.

The rust powder - very finely ground iron filings is mixed with a binder, what appears to be very thinned solution of pva. The solution is mixed to a thin paste and then applied to the model. The third bottle containing a rust accelerant is then brushed over the model, apparently 8 hours later the model starts to rust away -infront of your eyes!

Should be quite good as the liquid naturally pools around rivet heads, in panel seams and in the nooks and crannies where rust would take hold.

Sounds like a lot of fun and a little should go a long way unless you are working on modelling a burnt out rusted tank wreck or something.

I'll post some results on a little test model after I've seen how it works!

[Guest]

Alan, do you have a link to the supplier as I may be interested in such a product. It is certainly worth having a play with at least!!

[Guest]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

This sounds great alan! real rust out of the tin!!!!!

Just started painting up about 2 square meters of destroyer hull, real rust sounds like the answer to a ship makers prayer

.... might equaly look good on a dirty british coaster or a 35 knot HM grey razor blade... right Bunker Barge?

A uk source would be great Alan... do share with us!!!

[Guest]

I'm happy to have a go at anything and a model can be brought to life with good weathering techniques.

I wouldn't mind having a go with this stuff which could be usefull on a coaster, North Atlantic destroyer or a U-boat.

[Guest]

Hmm... still no signs of rust on the model! It just has little grey iron looking bits!

It's supposed to be 8 hours for it to develop and it's now been 24 hours! Maybe they mixed the bottle of rust accelerator for a rust inhibitor!

I got my scenic rust from:

http://www.hobby.uk.com/cgi-bin/hobbys-cgi/ProdSel.pl

Scenic Rust seems to be rather overscale though. I think the problem is because the actual metal particles are ground very small but are still 20 microns or so.

The other product which sounds similar to this product is "Rustall" thats the stuff used for the photo above. Rustall seems to offer a much more subtle effect from the photos I've seen.

I haven't found a UK Supplier for this item and have some on order from the US. They are unable to airmail the item as it's prohibited from being sent email - I assume a container of Rust Accelerant isn't a good thing to have rolling around in a cargo crate onboard a plane.

I'll post the results once I see signs of rust forming on my model!

[Guest]

Thanks Alan. I did find a supplier in the UK from a Railway modelling place in Wales but the price is twice the price in the states so I am getting some sent to me on the ship and I will bring it home with me. I am looking forward to having a play around with this stuff and see how it compares to a painted attempt. I suspect that a combination of the Rustall and paint will be the best at the end of the day and the examples on the site with thier wash could obviously be enhanced slightly with differrent colour washes.

If you get yours first please post pictures of your experiments as I am sure thay are going to be interesting.

[Guest]

On the other hand, stick a handfull of old nails in a jar for 2 - 3 weeks; wait for the rust to form and then strain the solution through a coffee filter paper. Allow to dry and then brush on, working it gently into the paint surface. Done slowly and with care, it looks good and saves a fortune. If you are in the habit of giving your model a final blow over with matt varnish, apply the rust after varnishing otherwise it will disappear.

[Guest]

Hello everyone

I am trying to age a full scale replica 1860 colt does anyone know if scenic rust is permanent or will it rub off with handling ? if so is there any way of "fixing" it.

thanks billyno.

[Guest]

There's two products I'm using -

1) Scenic Rust - This is available from www.hobby.uk.com Item No. DM90

I tried this product, It is basically a fine metal powder and a rust accelerant solution. The powder is mixed with a container of binder, which appears to be a white watery PVA solution. The problem with this is that the powder is quite large for small scale models. It looks like lumps of rust glued on! I might try to use this stuff on some scratch built concrere / steel fortifications I've modelled to give a sort of weathered lumpy appearance!

2) Rustall - This is available from www.rustall.com

I haven't tried this stuff yet - it looks to offer a much more subtle effect than the Scenic Rust but only appears to be available in the USA.

www.paragonnarrowgauge.co.ukhave it listed on their site but nolonger stock the stuff. I'm not sure what the bottles contain but for some reason the items are prohibited from being delivered via Airmal and have to be sent surface mail, which from the US to the UK is anything up to 4 weeks.

[Guest]

Hi Billy and a warm welcome to the site. All these weathering effects can be fixed by the application of a clear cote over the top of it. The Rustall product when purchased as a kit comes complete with a bottle of a matt clear varnish to protect the effect. If you are looking at an item that is going to be heavily handled you might want to think of a coat of something like Johnsons Kleer to seal it followed by a matt polyurethane varnish to get the surface finish you want.

[Guest]

Thanks for the info about protecting the rust finish i will give it a try.