Beginner's post-war restoration questions

[Jumijo]

 

I use Lacquer thinner to strip die cast locomotive shells. It strips the paint in minutes. But that's because I don't have access to media blasting equipment. Some media may change the texture of the die cast shell, so keep that in mind.

The shell needs to be washed and rinsed well after chemical stripping. As has already been mentioned, Krylon semi-flat black is a great paint to simulate post war Lionel steamer paint. Let it sit for a few days to really set up. Leaving it in the sun for a few hours will help "bake" the paint onto the shell.

I remove the jewel marker lights before stripping because I don't know what effect the lacquer thinner would have on the jewels. They usually come out easily with the help of an Ex-acto blade.

 

 

[mpzpw3]

I think media blasting would work fine. Shouldn't be near as messy as chemical stripping. I think what I would probably do, is mask off the entire marker light and headlight area with duct tape, and use another method of stripper (such as laquer thinner or chemical stripper) in those areas. Preferably, remove the boiler front all together, and strip seperately. Remove and replace sounds good, but if you don't have a parts dealer locally, you are looking at about $3.00 worth of parts, and around $7.00 minimum shipping.

A fellow forum member, Jumijo, recomended Krylon semi-flat black for repainting postwar steamers. I completely agree. Strip it, clean it, paint it and let it dry to the touch, then leave it sit out in the sun, or over a furnace vent for an afternoon. I waited a week before I really handled the shell, but that is probably overkill.

There are a lot of people on this forum who restore postwar Lionel. If you have any questions, this is a good place to post them.

[kpolak]

Hi Chris, WELCOME! 

Here's a link to a recent project...This should help answer your questions.

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1247496/ShowPost.aspx

Kurt

[cjmeyers]

I've got a handful of beat-em-up postwar steamers that I'd like to
refinish. Two 221's, a 2020, and a 1615. All were bargains, all had a
few missing parts and were in need of shell repainting.

What's the preferred method to remove paint? I have access to a media blast
cabinet. Is bead blasting or other abrasive media preferred over a
chemical-type stripping process? What do you do with the headlight
lenses and marker light 'jewels'. Do you try to mask, or remove and
replace?

I've done some decent mechanical and electrical work on
a few Std gauge engines, but painting and surface refinishing is
new. 

Regards,

Chris Meyers

Southern New Jersey