(Photos Restored): Step-by-step; (Stainless Steel) Metalizing: HO Dome Car Makeover

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Hi everyone.
This process is becoming more and more enjoyable. Imho, I sincerely feel that if a klutz like me can do this.....so can anyone that can handle an airbrush! I was going to wait until I completed both cars, including decals....... but after reading some comments regarding plated cars, I felt that this would be a decent time to post this. The intent here is to demonstrate how to take a relatively inexpensive car that's commonly found on ebay and swap meets and easily transform it into something that looks much more prototypical that you'd enjoy running on your layout..
A. Subject: HO scale 1980's IHC dome car. Model is based on prototype Pullman Standard unit used by the Santa Fe (Pleasure Dome). Belongs to a good friend of mine, my wife's cousin, who is a Santa Fe & BNSF fan. He purchased it at a train show for a bargain at $10. (ironic, for me, that it was in the SCL scheme!)

1. I removed the shell from the chassis and gave it a 91% alcohol paint-stripping bath. After soaking for 5 minutes, the factory silver paint came off easily with a toothbrush. After stripping, the shell was washed with warm water and an inexpensive dishwashing liquid (Dawn).

2. Basecoat Color (foundation) - Scalecoat 2, New York Central Light Gray. Thinned 60%. Airbrush (Paasche VL. Needle and aircap sizes: #3 (medium). Air pressure at tip: 25psi. Distance to shell: 3" inches. Total number of coats: Two, medium wet.

3. Critical stage: The Basecoat Gray finish must be SMOOTH! If it is, then you'll be ready to move ahead. Check the shell with a flashlight for dry spots and re-coat the shell, if needed. If eye-catching mistakes are discovered, then fix them after the basecoat has cured. Wet sand spots, clean and apply another coat over shell if needed. If this takes a day or two.....it's worth the effort. When finished, flush out & clean airbrush with lacquer thinner

4. As the basecolor cured, I took the molded black plastic seating unit in the dome section and hand painted it with Polyscale acrylics. The floor: gold/brown with a dark brown mat in the center. The seats, a blue mix based on forum member Smitty's photo of his Santa Fe dome car.

5. Alclad2 Application - Formula: 107. No thinning. Airbrush Needle & aircap sizes-#1 (fine). Air pressure at tip: 12 to 15psi. Distance to shell: 2" inches. Number of coats: 3. FIRST, I spent several minutes testing myself on a scrap FP45 shell to make sure the airbrush was spraying well and my distance/stroke speed were good. This step is, imho, a headache preventer as I discovered that I needed to increase my speed, slightly.

6. Spraying the Alclad 2. Relax and enjoy. (I had my smooth jazz tunes playing) Maintain the airbrush parallel to the surface. Spray in a mist coat and stroke your airbrush as if you were painting with a modeler's paint brush. Tip: ( Wear an appropriate respirator) As you spray, keep your head within 10" of your model, but over it, and either to the right or left of the airbrush so you can monitor your speed and distance. Some people have a tendency of standing directly behind the airbrush while spraying and not clearly seeing if they're getting too close or far. (yes, been there, done that!
) Wait 3 to 5 minutes between coats if temperature is over 75F. Wait longer at lower temps. Check your shell carefully for any areas missed; and stroke over if needed. Flush & clean airbrush upon finishing.

7. Sealing/Toning down sheen - Instead of the Testor's Acryl or Pollyscale clears, I applied one of Alclad's NEW waterbased clear; #ALC 600. Thinning: None. Airbrush needle & aircap sizes #3 (medium). Air pressure at tip 20 psi. Distance 3" inches. Number of coats: One:

After practicing for several minutes with the medium size needle/aircap set up, I applied the clear to the shell. I was surprised at how fine this atomizes and smoothly lays on top of the Alclad finish. IMHO, this performed superior to the clears I've used before. However, upon finishing the airbrush must be flushed out immediately. I used a mixture of distilled water and alcohol to flush out.
8. The sheen toned down nicely, imho, to the appearance of highly polished, reflective stainless steel. Only one coat was applied since this will be the foundation for the Santa Fe decals. Afterwards, 1 to 2 more coats of clear will seal the decals and tone down the sheen more. This shot is before re-assembly:

9. The underframe and diaphrams received light weathering with Polly scale paints. I cut white styrene fron Plastruct Strips, positioned and glued them in place to resemble window shades. Dome interior seat module was reinstalled and body installed on to chassis. OUTDOOR PHOTOS:




Weathering on diaphram compared to a prototype unit.

Indoor shot:

The next Alclad thread will be for a Santa Fe HO full length dome, which I'm currently working on. The one following will be (should be) on matching the Walthers Pine series finish.
Take a quick look at some prototype SS units:



Respectfully, you can clearly see the reason why we should not be so worried about getting a "PERFECT" stainless steel match. Except for when these cars were new........there's no such thing! The combination of weather, dirt/grime, maintenance practices, and photographic lighting conditions only help to affirm this.
Pullman Standard, deep sheen, very good condition
SCL (photo by Dixon) older, polished surface with dents & stains:
Here are 2 shots of the same ex-NYC obseration car, YEARS APART. Note that as the surface car aged (and was likely neglected), the sheen dulled considerably and the surface faded to a lighter grayish tone.
As a former transit shop tech that often worked with steels, imho, the arguments regarding which metalized finish is the "best" or "most realistic" is a moot point. Walthers Pine series. and Rapido's stainless steel finishes differ from each other Y-E-T they are both protoypically realistic. My respectful criticism is that due to potential higher costs, Walthers and other manufacturers that produce "plated" cars offer only one tone/hue finish per production. This would be "proper" for brand new units of the same manufactuer (all Budd, all PS, all ACF). Still, imho, to me they look far better than the silver paints that manufactueres have been using since the 1970's. For modelers that complain that they apear "too shiny", one to two thin smooth coats of semi-gloss clear tones them down nicely!
Those of you with unplated cars that would like the stainless steel look should give consider giving metalizing a fun try! Forget the arguments.......REMEMBER: IT IS PROTOTYPICAL if stainless steel hues and sheens within a train don't match up perfectly!
Even with alloying and machining differences Budd, PS, and ACF used high Chromium content on their cars surfaces resulting in "High Reflectivity". By applying the Clear in thin coats on top of Alclad #107, or #105 (over a gray basecoat) you can instantly tone the sheen down to the level that you desire, whether you're using photographs or have access to a prototype car.
Sample of a Penn Central Budd unit with a worn, grimy, yet reflective surface:
I was fortunate in being able to ride and view a lot Amtrak Heritage cars, including units still in their predecessors' finish. In spite of their age, a good number of them still yielded sheens that were deeper and more brilliant than what's on the Walthers Pine cars, like this photo (credit to the photographer).
Inspite of the problems posed by photography and the persistence of some modelers that "photos are subjective", one thing that many photos reveal that's undeniable (regardless of lighting, color saturation, pixel counts, overexposure, underexposure and even black&white photography)......is reflective sheens. Alclad (and Alsa, Spaz Stix) high shine metalizers resemble "Chromium". The prototype stainless steels we are talking about contain significant portions of Chromium, which is why they were so mirror-like when new and after extensive polishing when worn.
I am having fun with metalizing passenger cars and hope that those of you that enjoy realistic finishes give this a try. Practice first on scrap. It is not difficult all.