Metal Kit Building Help

[Anonymous]

Have any of you ever built a metal kit? It could be from any manufacturer like, Bowser, Bear Locomotive, or MDC/Roundhouse. If so how did you prep the model for painting? Did you use vinegar to "pickle" it, or did you use a sand blaster? When you did paint it, what brands of primer and paint did you use. I have built an old Tyco 2-8-2 and an MDC 2-6-2. Right now I am in the process of building and painting a Bowser 4-8-2.

Terry (U.P. fan)
Arlington,TX

[dknelson]

I have built several Mantua and have rebuilt some Bowser. I used regular paint remover plus detergent/toothbrush and was careful not to leave fingerprints. Lacking an airbrush I used a spray can with pretty good results.
One thing: just as nothing looks as much like wood as real wood, somehow nothing looks more like real metal than metal. I know some of the plastic steamers now look very much like brass but there is something in the texture that gives them away
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

Dave,
Thanks for the reply. I agree with you about the way a metal train looks. Man, can those Bowsers pull! What is your opinion of the Bowsers? I can't wait to get it finished. How did you paint the mechanism? The instructions tell you not to Pickle or spray paint it.

Thanks again,
Terry
Arl, TX