Media blasting and airbrushes

[John Richardson]

Hi,

     I just purchased a small cabinet blaster for my shop, and have been blasting and painting some of my transformer shells.  The blaster works great, and was well worth the money.  However, the Black Jack sand is going to be way to aggresseive for boiler shells, and I was wondering what others have used for paint removal.  Glass beads or walnut shells seem like they have possibilities.

     As for painting, spray cans are fine for flat, horizontal surfaces, but I can see runs and other issues for nooks, crannies and odd positions.  I'm thinking of an airbrush set, but I'm only familiar with auto style spray guns.  What have others used for this type of work?

     Finally, I' actually getting more enjoyment out of tinkering and repairing the trains than searching for shelf queens.  I've decided that since I plan on running everything I have, I'd rather have a new looking restored piece than an item that shows it's age.   I can see a set of wheel cups and pullers in my future also.....

Advice appreciated,

John

[TRAINCAT]

I paid an automotive engine rebuild shop to glass bead my old 2025. It did a fanstastic job and leaves a great surface for painting. Forget the airbrush if you are just painting steamers. I painted some with spray cans and they look great. If you look carefully there are some really close matching paints to be had. I use 'SEM" trim paint or Valspar farm implement paint. If you can find the Krylon 1613 it appears to be near perfect match. Ebay has it. If the bar code says 51613 it is NOT the original finish paint. Krylon has changed it.

Roger

[fifedog]

A single action BADGER airbrush should suffice in painting.  With cans, you always run the risk of an errant overspray.  If you're in good with your auto shop, have them give a try with their equipment and paint.

Would like to see some before/after pics.

[Gray Cat]

For blast media "Soda" or baking soda media has gained a lot of popularity. One of the nicest things about it is that it's not as toxic as some of the other media's.. don't want to breath in dust from most of them! The soda is great for removing paint while being environmentally friendly as compared to others. Not so great for rust cleanup though.

As for painting with spray bombs vs air brush.. I use both but each for their own purpose. The airbrush is great for doing touch up on repairs or light restorations but I think that doing a whole boiler with an airbrush and getting the correct coverage would be painstakingly hard. The spray can is a great tool if used properly. Shaking vigorously is important. I also place the can in a bowl of warm to hot water and shake it a few times after a soak and then put it back in, and shake again. This does a few things in my opinion, one of which is it raises the internal pressure to help atomize the paint for a better finish. I also ALWAYS start with a fresh can, it is risky using a partially used can for many reasons. I also believe that warming the paint helps it to flow and dry better. Most people would say to use multiple light coats, this can't be stressed enough. The first coat I apply is usually just a dusting from afar. This helps the next coat bite. Good luck and have fun..

[PARTSGUY]

Which rattle can spray tips do you prefer? The wide range of paint manufacturer's seem set on using what I call, the "comfort style tip". I prefer the smaller red tips for their broader coverage, and they come off the can for easier cleaning in the thinner. I guess it's all in what the individual painter prefers.

[Gray Cat]

I prefer the small red tips. I have a spray handle attachment for spray cans that is comfortable but honestly I hardly use it.

[chucky2025]

hi john first of all ive been custom airbrushing for about 10 yrs mostly motorcycles here is my guideline for restoring repainting lionel engine shells i use a master sb844 airbrush set this is a sidefeed airbrush so you can use it both ways either gravity feed which is what i use allmost all the time with very few exceptions or syphon feed and you will pretty much know when youll need that because if you cant do it with gravity feed well you will have to with syphon. this set comes with 3 different nozzles a .2 mm .3 mm and .5mm i use the 5mm for doing the shells i use autoair colors 4002 dark/black sealer and 4011 flash reducer mix the sealer/reducer 3/1 that is 3 parts dark sealer 1 part reducer mix well 35-45 psi works well for this first coat spray lightly almost just a misting it should look like you didnt even try painting it do the same for 3-5 coats and you should have a nice good clean paint job go over anything you see that needs it and than follow with a semi gloss/matte gloss from krylon which is what i use do 2 med wet coats from about 12 inches away and you will find that this allmost perfectly matches lionel original finish i hope this helps. by the way this airbrush set is a very reasonable 35-50 dollar set and can be found on ebay or tcp global.