I have found my childhood Mantua HO steam locomotive 0-4-0 and tender. I need to repaint it locomotive black. What brand and color paint should I use? Prefer a spray can unless people advise against it.
If it's all metal, strip it with lacquer thinner. Then use cheap Walmart primer and cheap gloss black paint.
If it's plastic, strip it with Super Clean. Then use cheap gloss black.
Then decal it.
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Since you say that you prefer to do it with a can, the above answer pretty much summarizes the approach. There are higher end spray can paints, such as those made by Tamiya. I find the spray can colors either too black, or too light. If you choose a light color, you can paintbrush light coats of dilluted black to make it a bit darker. I use a mix of about 10% black acrylic paint, 80 percent water, 10% acrylic thinner (e.g., Vallejo). The trick is to allow the coats to dry between applications. I use a fan to speed it up. Apply successive coats until satisfied. If you mess it up, just reapply the spray can paint. Practicing on an old tank car is a good idea.
Many use an airbrush and apply good quality hobby paints. You can then apply the color you want, either a dark grey (e.g., grimy black) or a warm black. I like the latter, especially for an older loco with molded details. If you are interested in this option, ask the question to the forum members. There are a lot of experienced modelers here who can provide excellent advice.
Simon
I use Testors Flat Black Spray Can paint available at hobby shops. If I apply decals I use Testors Clear Gloss over the flat black where the decals go then seal the entire locomotive with Testors Dullcote.
Mel Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Aging is not for wimps.
Of course if you use Scalecoat you don't need the gloss coat as it dries with a gloss finish. Scalecoat is available in spray cans .
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
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FlatironI have found my childhood Mantua HO steam locomotive 0-4-0 and tender. I need to repaint it locomotive black.
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Flatiron Prefer a spray can unless people advise against it.
I prefer not to paint anything black, and I would also advise against painting with a spray can. However, if this is your only project, a spray can should be fine.
Anyway, this is how I handle "black" locomotives...
I paint anything that is supposed to be black a warm dark gray color. I custom mix my paint in the following proportions:
4 parts black.
1 part white.
1 part red.
3 parts thinner.
I use Scalecoat 2 paint from Minuteman Models, but you should get similar results with other brands.
I apply the paint with an airbrush. I usually use a Paasche model "H" with a #3 head. I adjust the air pressure to 12 PSI.
I paint the smokebox, firebox, and running gear with Scalecoat Smokebox Gray, and the cab roofs Model Master British Crimson (no longer available).
I prefer warm dark gray over black because it looks better in photographs, even on "cheap" poorly detailed locomotives like my old Bachmann 0-6-0. For me, it really improves the look.
This is the locomotive after decals, but before weathering and detail painting.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
FlatironI have found my childhood Mantua HO steam locomotive 0-4-0 and tender.
How old is the locomotive? Do you plan to operate it, or just display it?
I'll put in a good word for Krylon. The spray head is superior to just about anything except for Tamiya and very controllable. It is widely available. It dries fast, in 10 minutes. Applying it in multiple light coats will get you great results. It comes in at least 4 varieties of black: Ultra Flat, flat, satin, and gloss.
While all of the advice given is useable and worth considering, I'm almost certain you'll find the easiest way to a great looking project is via Krylon.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
There are very few of us left who actually remember seeing steam engines. The pictures that exist are mostly black and white and not much help. I urge caution when painting a steam engine without looking at as many pictures as possible to get a realistic finish. There are a lot of opinions out there not based in reality
I agree, looking at original color pictures of locos is worth it - but not of those used for fan trips, they are way too clean! Steam lasted a bit longer in Canada, which explains the quantity of good quality color pictures of CP and CN steam. So Canadian modelers are quite lucky for that. However, many of those depicted were actually on their last runs, and were not really in their pristine shape. Another thing to consider is that there is such thing as "regional" weathering. In the muggy East, there was more rust and less dust on the engines, from what I can see.
You can't really go wrong with black - but many modelers prefer a warmer black in order to see the details. Kevin's mix is pretty much what I use as well. Another strategy is to paint the loco black, and highlight the piping details, spoked wheels and siderods with drybrushing, using a light brown color. But less is more when it comes to weathering, in my opinion...
LoganTMTWhere have you been all this time? Who uses cheap paint on a model? That's like selling a car with peeling paint in a lot...
If you do get a peeling paint effect, then that's a plus for many.
In the end, it's not the cost of the paint, it's the quality of the resulting finish that matters. You can have the most expensive paint in the world and if you misapply it, you've got an expensive mess.
snjroyKevin's mix is pretty much what I use as well.
I got those ratios from an old Paint Shop article in Model Railroader from back in the 1980s. I was happy with the results, and stuck with them for over 30 years.
Those old Paint Shops were full of useful advice.
FlatIron) Here is what you might expect from "Testors" brand spray can . The following are a few test photos as I am in the process of doing the same thing you are.
I used Testors (Rustoleum now) #1249T Flat Black. Since i take horrible pictures heres a few in different lighting. The models were done in two coats over a "white" plastic with no primer. (Ofcourse youll need to prep your surfaces, mine were new)
Since spray cans are not at all the best at dispencing sprays evenly, I held the can further from the models (more than a foot) and let the "mist" coat them as opposed to direct spraying. Each had three days of drying (until no paint smell left) before the next coat.
You can (hopefully) see once dried, the color is not far off from MDC's (or Mantua's) basic 'undecorated' color - a little lighter/flatter actually. I will be applying "Testors Extreme Lacquer" (glosscoat - also Rustoleum) in the next week or so, in preporation for decalling. When done they should be 'factory new' looking.
In sunlite.
In LEDlite.
Respectfully,PMR