Do any of you have any tips on brush painting very old Std gauge trains? (I don't spay paint for various healh and environmental reasons). I can get the required colors from Henning's Trains.
Basically, I want to paint over poor atempts by previous owners: I would like to try this before going the whole stripping/ priming/ repainting route.
Also: any experiance with lionel's original dip method? Is this a possible alternative for home use?
Thanks in advance for any advice
George Thill
George Thill Do any of you have any tips on brush painting very old Std gauge trains? Basically, I want to paint over poor atempts by previous owners: I would like to try this before going the whole stripping/ priming/ repainting route.
Do any of you have any tips on brush painting very old Std gauge trains?
You want to paint over "poor attempts by previous owners" with a brush?
All you are going to get is a "poor attempt by a current owner"
Sorry to be rude, but that is my opinion of how a brush painted item is going to turn out. To really do a restoration/repaint right you will have to strip it and in my opinion spray paint it..
As for dipping an item, like they did in the old days? What sort of environmental nightmare is that going to create when you have to buy so much excess paint in order to create a vat/tub of paint to dip an item in.
If you are not prepared to strip and spray paint the item, then clean it up the best you can and slop some paint on with a brush. As long as you are happy with it and you do not care about the item's future value, that is all that matters.
NWL
It’s true, the bottom line (literally[ :) ) is that is all that matters!
I knew that this would be one answer, but are there any others out there?
Air brushing would be the way to get the best finish with the least health risk. A spray booth with an exhaust fan can be rigged up, and a face mask can be purchased to protect yourself.
Larry
There are some excellent water based paints now. You have to get used to them, they are a bit different than oil based paint, but they have any color you want. I built a spray booth out of junk wood panals that I garbage picked to make a shroud & mounted a range hood fan to the top of it. I used drier vent to get the fumes outside & I put a furnace filter over the fan to catch the paint particles. I got an old blower motor fan from a pet store that they used to dry dogs in the pet grooming department & I mounted it in the basement window to handle any extra fumes so it's pretty good, but just to be a little safer I use a small respirator if I've got to use the rattle cans because they shoot spray like a firehose.
The hardest part is stripping everything, & getting it clean. I've done a few tinplate items before & that was the worst. All the scrubbing & cleaning in the little nook & crannies is a pain. The repainting part isn't so bad.
there have been several threads on some car sites I frequent where cars have been painted using a brush, but mainly a paint roller(like you paint the living room walls with). Many have gotten stunning results, and they use Rustoleum. But no matter what method of painting you use, the old poor paint jobs need to be stripped.
Dave
It's a TOY, A child's PLAYTHING!!! (Woody from Toy Story)
Thanks for the input guys. I'll do a little touch-up on the worst of the lot and tackle the whole redo when I have more time.
Actually, from working with brush-on Rustoleum at work, I'd say it just might make an ok paint for a tinplate train because it's so heavy that it would flatten out nice & hide the brush marks when it levels & it would look similar to the "thick" look that the old trains have. You would sure need a respirator because that stuff really reeks.
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