A method that has worked for

A method that has worked for me, but it's fiddly and you have to be quick, is to paint the vehicle with enamel paint and before the paint sets I rub artists pastel dust - grey or dull brown - over it.

this is the 'after' shot of what was a very shiny black

you can see a couple of spots where I missed with the enamel paint, which meant the pastels didn't stick.

It pays to have the pastel dust ready to go, because the paint dries quickly.

Mike

Popping out the glass

One thing I have done to avoid masking is to pop the glass out and put it back in after weathering. Any damaged pieces can be replaced with masking tape. I also find that some of the cast glass is not very well done.

I use a dusting of Dullcoat sprayed with an airbrush then weathered with panpastels to take down the shine.

rubber cement as a mask

has anyone tried using rubber cement as a mask for the glass?

Windshields ain't always clean

Weathering vehicles

I have found that " scrubbing " the vehicle with dirt works fairly good. You need a fairly stiff brush, pick a powder that you like, ( browns, greys, rust, white ) and start by gently scrubbing it on, and if needed, more vigorous scrubbing.
Bill, the problem with rubber cement is it sometimes attacks the plastic used for the windshield. I have used Vaseline ( warmed and liquidfied ) to paint the windows first when using Dullcoat when I could not get the glass out. Cleaning it up afterwards is a chore however. Years ago I used a product called Mighty Masker ( ? ) that was a paint on product that worked well...but I have not seen it for YEARS. Hope these suggestions help !

Michael

Paint on masking

Micro-Mark has a product called 'Mask-It Easy' that is a liquid masking film that is painted on and then peeled off after painting. Also, in the Microscale model finishing products line, they have a similar product called 'Micro Mask'. Either of these can be painted on the area you don't want painted or weathered, left to dry and then peeled off after you're finished.

Dullcoating vehicles

I usually disassemble my vehicles and pop/pry out the windshields before dullcoating. I do this because I generally put drivers/passengers into them as well. Some are easier than others. On Model Power vehicles, you have to drill out the metal retaining lugs to remove the shell. I have heard of modelers who use Elmer's White Glue to mask windshields on cars with metal bodies, although I have not tried this myself.

Willie 

If you use weathering powders

If you use weathering powders that come with adhesive mixed in (like Bragdons do) then you can just rub some over where ever you want to kill shine.  It's not as permanent as Dullcote, but works great and can be changed if you unhappy with it.

Silly putty

What about using Silly putty as a mask? I know it can be used as a mask for paints, I dont know about Dulcoat?

                                                                                                                                                            Kevin

Testors Flat Finish

Testors offers bottled flat finish in acrylic and enamel. Just brush it on - couldn't be easier. 

"has anyone tried using

Hi Bill, I guess it could work. I've used vaseline in the past but it's hard to remove if the car is just dusted with powder instead of painted. There's lots of liquid masking supplies at art stores that work better. They call them frisket.                                                                                                                                                                                      When I weather a car( or loco) and want clean windows I usually just wipe them off with a Qtip before the weathering dries .....DaveB