Painting/Refurbishing questions and tips

[yallaen]

Well, I've thrown myself back into the hobby with purchases of track on Ebay...looking for a ZW transformer..now to get rolling stock and engines...

I saw a steam 2-6-2 listed on ebay, and I saw that it had been repainted. So that brings up a good topic that I tried to find on here...but I've only found repaining accessories.

First, in a different topic, it was mentioned about spray paint vs. airbrushing. From redoing several old muscle cars, let me chime in a bit about spray paint: It has a lot of value. However, I can't stress enough to get the right tip for the spray can. Don't use the old style round button type tip. If you noticed, there are newer style tips the spray a fan pattern. Much better control! Save the tips of the cans and you can keep them clean and ready for usage.

Now, getting back to my original thoughts. Let's take an engine as an example, such as a Lionel 2-6-2 steam engine. After years, they get dusty/grimey. What is a good way to clean these? And if it's repainted, does that truly effect the value of the engine from an originality standpoint? I guess like was said in the topic about painting accessories is that they are your..and if you want them you won't worry about the painting, etc.

So, back to the engine. Was the paint that originally came on these baked on? What would be a good way to strip them? What paint would be used to repaint them?

Same goes for say a Santa Fe diesel unit, the Alco F-3(?) type. Chips, dings, etc...repainting detract from the value? Best way to refurbi***hese? I know I cleaned up my old ones using Pledge furniture polish which worked great.

[More to restore]

To clean a car I start with a light bru***o see if I can remove all dust. That is the least aggresive method.
If the dust is old and "cooked on" that usually doesnot work. Then I start with a soft cloth with a diluted detergent solution (never do that with red postwar cars, by the way, red cars should be treated extremely delicately). Dry the car immediately to avoid rusting.

I usually buy pre-war "wrecks" that are beyond simple cleaning and need to paint-stripped. That is most conviently done in boiling detergent solution. Within 20 minutes pre-war paint is loose and can easily be rubbed off. Degrease the bare metal after this bath with some white spirit. Then some stubborn paint flakes need to be sanded away, etc.
I am not sure if this delicate trick works with postwar paint: never tried. There are several mild paint strippers on the market in the hobby shop, that are pleasant to work with at home. Personally, I like to work with 25% ammonia, but you shouldnot mind the stench then. I used this method before I came accross the boiling detergent trick. It is labourious, because the paint only comes loose partial and hence much sanding is required.

About painting, you are right about spray cans. A good nozzle does a large part of the trick. Personally, I prefer air brushing: I got all the gear together and have worked out a way of working the best way with the equipment. It is almost artisinal: you really should get the right hang of it and that takes time (it took me a dozen time or so, to get a feel for the best dilution, pressure etc. Most of my failures had to do with: not cleaning the object sufficiently: dust that entered my drying box and not mixing the paint sufficiently so that paint blobs were delivered. There is a lot you can do wrong spraying and air brushing...
So, basically do it the way you like to do it. Good Luck!

[csxt30]

Norm: here is just one site to check out for paints & it can be baked on, it says. I believe most of the trains have baked on paints. According to TCA rules, I think they want it marked somewhere if it is repainted, so no one gets a repaint, thinking it is original. I would think that would apply to the very rare & valuable old trains, though. Some trains are worth thousands of dollars. Others will be along with more info to your other questions !
http://www.trainenamel.com/