Instead of simply putting up before and after pictures as usual, I thought I'd take videos of my Lionel passenger car restoration as I do it.
Part 1: DisassemblyPart 2: Stripping Old PaintPart 3: Rust RemovalPart 4: PaintingPart 5: Trucks and PolishingPart 6: Lettering, Windows, and Final DetailsPart 7: Reassembly
I hope you'll enjoy watching, and maybe it'll even be helpful to someone!
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Darth,
That is a great video and I look forward to seeing the rest of them. I've been wanting to buy some Pre-War items but have hesitated because most in my price range need work. I believe your video series will give me the confidence to attempt a restoration.
Thanks,
Joe
part 2 up
Darth
Really well done series which is a wonderful alternative in the hobby that does an end run with creativity around high out of the box costs..more folks might get into tinplate as Joe said.
Bruce
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
part 3 up
Thanks guys. I'll be glad if this series helps more people bring these old trains back to life. There are a ton of old Lionel, AF, Marx, and Ives trains sitting around out there, waiting to be restored as they slowly rust away. These are the trains that come to mind when I think of O gauge, and the memory should be kept alive!
Parts 2 and 3 are great. I may be buying some pre-war items sooner than I planned.
If I don't have a drill press, will a Dremel work?
A Dremel will work fine. The only minor problem is that it'll take longer, but you'll have plenty of time to work on each part before the rust begins to reform (could be hours, could be days. Depends on the environment). You can also use a cordless drill, since it'll hold the larger wheel. Just make sure your brush uses fine wire, or it can put some deep scratches in the surface. I once used a heavier gauge brass wire wheel on part of a Marx tender, and the scratches can be seen through the paint.
I finished de-rusting the body today. I left it in for about 3 hours this time. Most of the leftover black oxide wiped right off, and a few more minutes with the wheel finished it.
Very informative series. I want to do a restoration but I am not confident of my painting ability. Most restorations I have seen done by amateurs look pretty poor. My painting abilities are more the mop and bucket of paint type.
I picked up two pieces to restore and I decided against restoration because, after a thorough cleaning, they looked better then I could have restored them.
I have also had difficulty in finding good candidates for restoration. The last time I looked for restoration candidates, the sellers were pricing rust-bucket type engines as if they were some rare a priceless find. I'm still looking...
Earl
I've almost finished my video for painting. It may seem intimidating, but once you know the motions, it's actually very easy. I'll be showing some of the basic motions for smooth spray painting and airbrushing, so maybe I can help improve your confidence a little.
part 4 up
Great job Darth. As Earl said, painting can be intimidating for those of us without much experience. However, your videos are alleviating my fear.
part 5 up
Sorry this one took so long! I've been very busy the past couple of weeks with work. The next ones shouldn't take quite so much time to finish.
part 6 now up
The passenger car is finished! And it looks great! I just need to put the last video together now.
One word for the series..brilliant. Along with the treads from Becky, Northwoods and this.well, it.beats any article Ive read on this subject. Thanks for your hard work.
All finished!
Thank you for all the work you did in making a very informative series. I have followed your series closely. Have you got any plans for additional series?
Thanks everyone for your comments.
I don't have any plans for another series right now. I don't currently have any projects that I could base a series off of. If I do get something requiring this much work eventually, I may consider another series.
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