Accurate Concrete Color

ive just built a omaha beach bunker using white modeling clay cut out to peice together once air dried ( like a kit) then painted plaster of paris ontop to give a more real texture , looked ok but very white so put a fine spray of matt dessert sand over it to dull the brightness now i just need to shade and detail. couldnt tell you if it works though will find out soon. nae piccies lack o digital camera.

if it looks kack then i may try adding light grey to the plaster mix to shade and maybe add some small small stones to make it a bit nore real looking,

dont know if this is any help probably not!!

I always thought concrete was light grey,which is true for freshly cured concrete,but actually looking at concrete in various pics and real concrete it appears that concrete is almost always more of a tan hue than light grey,which I'm sure is due to weathering,and the older the concrete is the more tan it appears.If there was any steel attached to the concrete,it will leave rust colored streaks usually running vertically down the concrete due to gravity,of course there are always exceptions.

Ryan,
Perhaps I can give you some insight into concrete, I work with it daily. Concrete contains many colors and is very prone to a mottled effect, especially on smooth surfaces.

Some questions to keep in mind during painting of concrete? How did they finish the concrete? Was it poured using wood forms, or metal forms? A freshly poured concrete wall or deck requires vibration to close the air voids in the mix. They do this to evenly distribute the aggregate and paste in the mix. Even with this vibration, it will leave pits and voids in the sides around the forms. This may have been left natural or rubbed (a coating of sand and cement to cover the voids). A natural or non-rubbed finish would be splotched, the rubbed surface is much more uniform in color.

This mottling is often in large splotches from several inches to several feet in size. The colors can be anywhere from a medium grey to a bleached grey/white. The sun will bleach the concrete to a more uniform color but rarely eliminates the splotches. The rougher the surface of the concrete the more uniform the color appears, the smoother surface shows blotches. (the splotches are even splotchy, meaning not uniform in color).

The environment it is located in adds much to the coloring. Concrete will reflect much of the surrounding colors. Not like a mirror but taking on some of the coloration of the surrounding grass or sand or trees, etc. A light tint is all that is needed to get the effect. There is a lime powder that comes out of concrete but it is not pure white, it has some yellows in it, some tans, etc. the reinforcing steel inside the concrete would also give off a rusty brown hue to the surface if anywhere close to the surface. They did not know much about the chemical processes between the steel and concrete during that time period and didn't really care.

Review all the pictures you can find for surface finishes and textures as well as coloration. Experiment with the colors and do what looks good to you.

Let us know how it turns out.
Modelling forever.
Bruce

cheers bruce,
didnt start this thead but no doubt it will help me as i have a few bunkers and pill boxes to make , will let you know how they turn out.

paddy

Practical now,I usually first paint a dark grey color,oversprayed with various lighter tones of greys together with brown,sand,buff,etc.
Washes done with Burnt Sienna and Humbrol's matt 62(wonderful color for rust)
A little drybrushing with any light grey finish the job.
In general,for any buildings we paint, its good to add as many tones of colors as we can.