Home & Garden: Make Your Own Abandoned Car Garden
Part 2: Making the Junker
Tanya A. Brown

In the previous article, we selected our materials and decorated the pot - if spray painting the rim of a clay pot can be termed "decorating". (Whatever.)

This time, we'll transmogrify a perfectly good model into an authentic mess, as seen in better neighborhoods everywhere!

The good news is that no matter what you do, you can't go wrong. If you hate assembling models and the idea stresses you out, you can mound the parts in your pot and call it quits. Almost anything will look authentic. That said, there are some things you can do to give your creation an extra edge.

What makes things look old?
We can tell that something is old and beaten up just by looking at it. Keep the following tip-offs in mind for inspiration as you work on your own model:

• Faded colors - if a vehicle has been sitting outside for years, chances are that the sun has been pounding on it and has faded its paint job.

• Dull, rather than shiny, surfaces - Sun, dust storms, snow, hail and the like will destroy a nice shiny finish.

• Irregular colors and surfaces - when things age, they don't necessarily age evenly or at the same rate. Some parts will be duller or more faded than others. Perhaps the sun hits one side of the car longer than the other, or the neighborhood dog likes to pee on one tire more than the others.

• Dirt - things that are out in the elements tend to collect dirt in their nooks and crannies. Depending on where the car has been driven, it may have mud splatters behind the tires or giant bird splats on the windshield.

• Rust - Over time, metal parts tend to get pitted, particularly in areas with salt water.

• Scratches and dings - Local hoodlums and escaping shopping carts take a toll on a car's finish.

• Missing pieces - some car parts are prone to falling off or getting dinged. Maybe an accident smashed one of the tail lights, or the rear bumper is held on with bailing wire. Perhaps someone decided to "fix" the car and forgot to put a few pieces back in.

Have some fun with this! You probably have some tragedy in your past that you'd like to exorcise, or perhaps you've always had a naughty desire to drag a key down the side of a car, just to see what it would feel like.

Supplies:

Paint
I like acrylic paints because they're water soluble and don't emit strong fumes. This not only comes in handy when it's time to clean up from a day's work, but when I mess up: many's the time I've jammed a freshly painted piece under the faucet and hurriedly washed off the most recent coat of paint!

The cheap plastic bottles of crafter's paints, as opposed to more expensive artist's acrylics, are fine for this project. I recommend certain colors; you may find that you prefer others.

• car body color - your choice of color. You may wish to get spray paint instead of brush paint. You may also find that having matching brush paint makes it easier to touch up small parts.

• white, black, and rust or brick red - for aging and fading

• gold and silver metallic - for various engine and chrome parts

• blue or red - for engine detail

Other goodies:

• old mangy toothbrush

• plastic lid from a margarine tub or other container, for mixing paint

• paintbrushes in a variety of sizes. You may want a very small one for detail work.

• cigarette lighter for melting tires (if desired)

• glue for assembling car

• sandpaper in a variety of fairly fine grits - ideally 300 and up. (larger grits, or particles, have smaller numbers. 36 grit has abrasive bits that are the size of the Himalayas.)

Let's get started!

Here's our car, ready for painting. Note the bottles of spray paint and touchup paint in the background. They always have them sitting there in hobby magazines, so I thought I'd do that too. Makes it look professional, no?

Painting preparation

The sun tends to hit the upper portions of the car - roof, hood, trunk - so I've scuffed up those surfaces with 600 grit sandpaper and laid on some thin grey paint (just mix black and white to taste) so that our spray coat will look gross. Next I'll spray pink paint on the car.

Many coats later

I've sprayed many coats of pink paint on the car by now, and have begun the aging process. Note the thin washes of white and grey paint on the upper surfaces of the car, which help it look faded. I've also drug the end of a paper clip down the length of the car to simulate its being scratched with a key.

A close-up

Here's a close-up of the "faded" surfaces. Notice that I've also run thin black and grey washes into the cracks around the trunk, which would naturally gather dirt. Any place on your car which has cracks, nooks, or crannies is an invitation to dirt or grease.

Use some of your sandpaper to dull out the finish of the car and add scratches.

Let's work on the interior

I'm using a grotesque pink and white color scheme on the interior upholstery.

A close-up of the dash

Notice the irregular look we've given the dash by painting it with several thin, runny coats of black paint. This will help it look more disreputable later on.

The assembled interior

Things look too clean, but I'll take care of that problem shortly.

Aging the interior

Imagine a number of catastrophes that can befall the upholstery in a car, and simulate them in a washy fashion.

I started by dribbling very thin coats of black paint into random cracks in the upholstery.

Here's a close-up of the back seat.

Oh dear! It looks like someone had a miniature nosebleed on the right-hand side! (Executed with thin dribbles of rust-colored paint.)

And is that dark grey stain from a miniature soda which was spilled on the seat and dribbled down into the floorboards?

Another view of the interior, after several thin coats of black, grey, and rust colored paint. Not so cheerful now, is it?

A really dedicated person might even cut out little bits of foam or metal springs to simulate the upholstery's deteriorating. Or they might make miniature seatbelts.

(But I'm not that dedicated.)

Let's mess up the chrome!

Here's a bumper, still mounted on its sprue. Sometimes it's easier to work with the parts before they're cut free of the sprue.

Add very thin, irregular washes of white and grey to dull out the surfaces of your chrome parts, particularly the bumpers. This will help them look aged and dirty.

Apply "rust" specks by dampening an old toothbrush with rust or brick colored paint. Run your thumb across the toothbrush, flicking paint droplets at the chrome.

This will leave your fingernails looking gross, but you'll have great looking bumpers!

Ruining the tires

Before assembling the tires/wheels, run some black or grey paint over the white walls to give them that authentic filthy look.

Your black rubber tires will look shiny and clean in comparison. To fix that, rub them with sandpaper. Imagine that someone has driven them into a curb repeatedly, so that the sides are roughed up. Or simply sand away portions of the tread, so that the tires are now "bald".

Assemble the tires as directed in your kit. If desired, you can make them "flat" by slightly melting them with a cigarette lighter, then quickly mashing them into your work surface. (Parents! Don't let your kids catch you doing this!) If you go this route, be sure to hold the tires with pliers or long tweezers to avoid burning your hands, and for God's sakes don't breath the fumes or catch the tires on fire!

Filthying the engine

Assemble the engine as directed in your kit, painting the parts as they specify. Don't forget to leave a few parts off to toss in the passenger compartment.

When you're done, apply several runny coats of black paint to simulate motor oil. Repeat this process when the engine is installed in the car. Remember: most really gross engines have spewed motor oil all over the engine compartment.

Crack the windshields

Before installing the windshields, give one or both some extra attention.

I cracked the rear windshield by holding it on the sharp corner of a drill press table, then smashing it with a hammer.

If you try this yourself, wear a face shield or safety goggles as protection against pieces which may fly loose.

Exciting effects can be achieved by smashing your windshield with different objects, or by drilling in small "bullet holes".

Apply thin washes of white and grey paint to the inside and outside of the windshields to simulate dirt and to enhance the cracks.

Finish assembling the car, pretty much as directed. Don't forget to leave a few parts off here and there - maybe a tail light, or the radiator.

Mud streaks

Add realistic mud splotches by flicking a paint-loaded toothbrush near the car's wheel well. I used a combination of rust and grey paints. It's fine if some misses and goes inside the car!

Our finished car

We've posed it with a miniature whisky bottle. Awww. Isn't that precious? (See large version, 40k)

Part 1: decorating the pot | Part 3: making the goodies