Using the small soft brush carefully paint the buffer beam with Burnt Umber, or any other medium to earthy brown colour. Take care to fully cover and try not to bleed onto the "metal work". This is one of the stages where care is needed.

Using the small soft brush carefully paint the buffers and buffer beam supp0rts with Burnt Sienna, or any other rusty, reddy-brown colour. Take care to fully cover and try not to bleed onto the already painted buffer beam. This is one of the stages where care is needed.

Use a tiny blob of black acrylic, with a splash of IPA and some drips of soapy water to make a thin black paint "wash". The wash should have just enough pigment in it darken the colour of what ever is painted with it. This is hard to describe, it kind of comes with experience. better to be too little and then wash it again once the first wash has dried than go to heavy at this point.
Using the small soft brush allow the wash to run all over the wooden buffer beam. Mop up any excess with a dry paint brush, paper towel or sponge. Although we want the wash to run into all the crevices we don't want it pooling anywhere en mass. The IPA and soap hels break the surface tension and get the pigment down into the wood grain effect scratched on with the course abrasive paper.

Use a tiny blob of Black and Burnt Umber acrylic, with some drips of soapy water to make a thin dark brown paint "wash". No need for the IPA here.
Wash the buffers and the buffer beam supports. Try and use the brush vertically, as any streaks will be in the same direction as rain. Again I prefer two or more coats of "too thin" than one coat of too thick! try to remove any blobs like you see on the right hand support in the photo, with a dry brush, sponge or paper towel, so it looks more like the left support.

I use the (old) flat brush with stiff bristles I introduce a small amount of the grey paint, and then using a paper towel, remove practically all of the paint. I test on a clear bit of cardboard, paper or paper towel, until only the tiniest amount of pigment is left on the paper. I lightly tickle the buffer beam with so the pigment gets picked up by the corners and the raised grain effect I "sanded" into it.

With this going gentle is always the best approach. It is better to put on far less and slowly add more, because it can be easy to spoil the good work already done, with a big blob of paint now. Ask me how I know?!! The look I try to achieve is that of a sun-bleached plank. Although the planks would generally be dark from years applications of creosote, high parts will dry out slightly and become bleached, especially for non-well-maintained items.

Using the same (old) flat brush with stiff bristles, I follow a similar approach to the highlight for the frame and buffers. When I brush the highlight, I ensure that the brush strokes are vertical to the finished aspect of the model. This means any accidental streaking will help simulate streaking from the weather.

I use the grey as I want to simulate the frame was originally painted with grey paint and this has rusted through. You could use other colours, see alternative approaches below.

Alternative approaches.

• Light brown or Rust Highlight rather than grey

• Colour of what ever the frame would have been painted by the TOC, so simulate flaked paint

Next I switch to the fine soft bristle brush and dry-brush a tiny black blob in the centre of the buffers. This is to simulate some dirty grease which has transferred from the buffer heads of a wagon or locomotive.

My completed buffer stop looks like this, but this does include some of the extra steps to make it look more rusty