CNA 86' Boxcar - Progress Photos

I thought I would share some progress photos of a Bluford Shops model 86' boxcar painted in CNA blue.  I want to replicate a fair amount of age, grime, and rust on this version.  I started with a white fade, and sprayed several coats over the bright blue.  I followed the white with a couple coats of the raw sienna tint.  The graffiti decal went on next.  To achieve the surface rust appearance much like the CSX version I did recently, I brushed on a coat of burnt umber oil thinned with mineral spirits.  I let this sit for a short time, and then took most of it off using a cosmetic sponge.  A note here: I have tried the q-tip method for taking off excess oil, but with these larger bodied cars, the sponge seemed to work very effectively, and faster than a q-tip.  The oil builds up around the ribs and in the details of the doors which is exactly what I want.  At this point, the roof hasn't been touched.  You can see the original color in the photos.  In order to get additional grime on the doors, I then added more burnt umber with a brush, but this time more deliberately, and just on the doors.  I again took off the excess with a sponge, and in a few areas with a q-tip.  Lastly, I began working on the roof by adding a layer of burnt sienna oil which you can see on the cardboard pallet in photo 2.  This will be the base coat which I will then apply burnt umber using a dabbing motion with a stiff brush to achieve a well rusted roof top.  The body will get rust streaks, spots, and details, using more burnt umber and a small brush.  I plan to add some more graffiti towards the end, in addition to safety striping.  Any questions?

In this first photo you can see that I have added a bit more burnt umber oil to the right set of doors.  The left set of doors are the result of a single coat of burnt umber applied to the entire car, and then taken off with a cosmetic sponge.  (just like when you are applying your morning make up fella's)

I use a piece of cardboard as a pallet for my oil paints.  The roof was painted with oil straight from the tube.

Here is where the car stands as of this evening when I decided to stop.  I'll pick it up again tomorrow evening after the oils have dried.