Roof Tiles

[Starfire]

I know this has been discussed here before but I haven't been able to find it. I have some 2000 wood tiles to dye a grey for my Montclair. Anyone have techniques that would be helpful?

[havanaholly]

This is probably in the archives at www.smallstuff-digest.com , because that's where I originally read it, but if you get two disposable heavy aluminum foil roasting pans and a large nail (like a 1:1 scale roofing nail) use the nail to poke holes in the bottom of ONE of the pans. Put a single layer of your shingles in the bottom of the pan with holes and set it into the intact pan and pour your dye/ stain over them, swish or stir them gently to get the dye soaked into them. Meanwhile spread out LOTS of old newspaper, preferably over a layer of waxed paper (to protect whatever surface is underneath). When the shingles/ tiles are the color you want, lift the pan with the shingles (and holes) up and let all the dye/ stain drain into the lower, intact pan. When it's done draining you can remove the shingles and spread them out on the newspaper to dry, spread another layer in the pan with holes, pour the dye/ stain back into the original container you poured it out of, set the pan with holes & shingles into the other pan and repeat the process until all your shingles/ tiles are dyed/ stained.

If the shingles are in sheets such as come with the Greenleaf kits, my method is to put on a pair of rubber gloves and take a rag of old teeshirt and apply the stain to the sheet of shingles with the rag, setting the sheet of shingles on a piece of waxed paper; after they're stained I take them on the sheet of waxed paper and lay them on a flat surface to dry.

[hydroped]

I have another question and I"msure the answer is as simple as "Just use a watered down wash of acrylic paint".. but - I've found that it often saves me lots of time, frustration and trouble if I ask Before I try something

On my Wizards Cottage I put shingles and didn't dye them first... of course at the time I was sick of looking at the roof with no shingles and it does look better than blank but they're awefully new looking. If you have a house with shingles already on it and you want to try to age them - what's the best way? I was thinking a wash of.. or maybe a few washes of light grey and brown but I really don't want to ruin it and end up having to paint the entire roof brown to cover my mistakes, so before I jump in and mess things up - Any Advice?? pretty please? :lol:

-David

[LisaN]

If you use that shingle dye, Holly's post is really helpful. This is how I dyed my shingles for my elfin cottage I sold awhile back. I laid my shingles outside on lots of newspaper to dry in the hot sun, so they aged quicker!

Oh, and be sure to wear REALLY old clothes. This stuff is like the Paris Mud.

[daydream believer]

Hey there David,

You can take a look at my webshots, I also didnt want new looking shingles on my 'Inn at Frenchmans Creek', (the San Francisco) first I painted them black, that wasnt quite enough, then I tried covering them over with paperclay tiles, that was too 'storybook' looking for what I wanted this house to be.~although I think paperclay rooftiles are awesome on the right house... I ended up coating each tile in a thin layer of mod podge, then applying brown(regular)tea leaves and finally moss. It turned out pretty cool looking. Where I had pried up the paperclay left small white areas, which was perfect, since my house is in Cornwall I had to think of the seagulls

Im going to take better pictures as soon as I figure out how to use the new camera, but you'll get the idea...

http://community.webshots.com/user/dollhousediva

[havanaholly]

I REALLY like the aging efect you get painting the wood with a mix of rubbing alcohol & India ink.

[hydroped]

Daydream,

Wow your house is really eyecatching! I love the mossy look you got. It's a little darker than I was hoping to go on this house.. but you never know it is supposed to be really old and I love the idea of it looking like there are lichens growing between the rocks and moss in different places!! Thanks for the link to your webshots. I added it to my favorites so I can go back and browse more!

Holly,

an india ink wash sounds really good. I had only thought as far as using acrylic but I think an ink wash might be just what I'm looking for. I never would have thought of mixing it with rubbing alcohol does it mix with the ink better than water? I'm kind of curious what the alcohol does to the mixture.

-David

[havanaholly]

curious what the alcohol does to the mixture.

For starters it dries quickly so you can see fairly quickly when you get the level of "age" you want. It gives a lovely silvery patina to the wood, and the ink dissolves into the alcohol so you don't get little black particles.

[doogster]

The Thomases (Pat and Noel) seel an aging product called 'Bug Juice' on their site. They're renowned for authentically aged, ie. weathered, buildings. Be warned young Grasshopper, it aint cheap.

[havanaholly]

I'm not sure if the Thomas' "bug juice" is the steel wool dissolved in vinegar recipe or another one. There were several recipes posted on Small Stuff Digest at various times, you might check the archives at www.smallstuff-digest.com .

[hydroped]

Thanks again Holly,

One thing is for sure if Bug Juice ain't cheap I ain't buying it. There are too many good ideas around here. If the aging doesn't work then I can always go with Daydream's technique or if things really don't work out I can reshingle :lol: lol

Also that makes perfect sense about the alcohol! I wish I'd thought of it - then I wouldn't have had to ask such an obvious question. I know a hollywood make up artist and he mixes alcohol with his makes up when airbrushing them - same reason. I guess I really do need to hear things a few times before it sinks in doh!

thanks again!

David

[doogster]

Ah, are we getting into weathering now? MMMMMMMMM, one of my favorite subjects. As far as thinning with what, it depends on the solvent used for the original product. F'rinstance Tamiya acrylic paints thin great with isoprop alcohol, Apple Barrel paints won't thin at all with isoprop. I thin them for spraying. Testors Acryl line sprays real well too thinned with Isoprop, their Model Master line, not so well. Though I have recently heard that Apple Barrel thins well for spraying with Future floor finish (it HAS to be Future, the rest have cleaners in them, Future is just clear acrylic). I haven't done it yet, but will, a guy on SSM tried and got great results. Very clean, very smooth. Delta doesn't do well for spraying at all. As for India ink plus alcohol for washes, I've done the same with el-cheapo craft acrylics thinned down with water. But I found black doesn't give a good result, burnt umber, and other dark browns and greys work much better.

Clearcoat!! What was that? CLEARCOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, if you're gonna be weathing first get it to a point you're happy with pristine. As in make it look brand new. Then apply a couple or more good. solid clear coats. I use acrylics (don't feel like investing in a respirator) so I Future coat. Yes it's gloss, yes it looks wrong, don't worry, there's a long way to go yet. Now you start to apply your washes and various other weathering techniques. Washes add a level of grime, if it's something industrial, you're building an auto shop, then grime is good, but if not it still works, it adds a level of used and aged to the subject. Washes get caught in the seams and valleys, the pits, the edges of things, just like dirt really does over time. Overdo it a bit. It doesn't have to look like a tenament, but a little more than you want. After it dries you're going to take it down with 4-0 steel wool. At this stage you're going to really understand why you want that gloss clearcoat. This is where the magic begins. Suddenly you're perfect paintjob reappears with just a hint of the weathering colour in the corners. Go easy on this stage, the steel wool is very fine but will go through your clear and base coats if you're really aggressive. And the really super thinned down colour you used for the wash will come off REALLY easily. So you won't need to take the Charles Atlas course with Dynamic Tension to get in shape for this stage.

Okay so you've got you're wash weathering where you want it. Guess what? Clearcoat. You do want to protect the look you have now right? Now you've got to detail weathering. Up to this point you've got the house looking like it's been around for a few years-decades,-centuries-whatever, now is the time to pick out specific things that need to be focused on. The soot staining around the chimneys etc. The outside steps that get more wear, the porch.

At this point I'll stop. This has been a long post as it is.