Useing coal dust.

[Pac3steel]

Yes, I did use dullcote to seal in the coal dust.
Had no issues with the dullcoat whatsoever.
I'll post more pics when I can.
Oh, it was dullcote spray I used, not the brush-on kind.

[ak-milw]

I am just curious to see how the oil in the coal will mix with a shot of dullcoat.

 

[steammodeler]

  Looks great Pac !! Are you using any sealer or dull coat for your finished use of the coal. I have a few large pieces here and would like to give your technique a try!!

James

[Pac3steel]

Sorry, forgot to put the tool list.
To grind the big lumps, I used a coffee grinder.
To eliminate the unusable lumps, I screened it though a flour sifter.
To get the pure dust separated, I used a wire-screen permanent coffee filter.
Out of the 4 lbs. of coal , I only had 2 tablespoons of unusable junk.
Just remember, if anyone plans on doing this, make sure it's done in a well ventilated area and wear a mask.

[Pac3steel]

Being a railroader, working for CP Rail, I tend to model prototype. So when it came to weathering coal cars, I thought, why not use real coal?
Found some coal lumps on the Fording river sub, and brought it home.
Here are the common house-hold items I used to make the lumps into pure coal dust, and some before/after shots of the cars.