I have been practicing for months now trying to find the best way to paint custom locomotives. Im not sure why all my results are not satisfactory but I was curious if it was the simplicity of my attempts or the use of flat colors.
For my fleet of custom painted cars and locmotives, I use Scalecoat 2 gloss paints 90% of the time. These excellent paints cover well and have a smooth finish perfect for accepting decals.
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I also occassional use Model Master or od Floquil paints, but always glossy.
Practice is the answer. Buy a bucket of junk train cars for $5.00, prime them all with spray krylon, and practice. It will come to you.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
More information would be helpful. What exactly in your results are not satisfactory? Are you painting metal models or plastic? What colors are you using? Brush painting, airbrushing, or spray can?
I'm not a fan of glossy paints so I prefer semi-gloss. However, I'm not sure if semi-gloss will hide decal outlines as well as semi-gloss.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Maybe the OP editied his post after the above response, but it's clear now he is airburshing.
If you are getting a grainy texture it could be the pressure is too high, or you are too far from the engine.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
You are probably planning decals after you paint, so a gloss coat would be better. Then, when you're happy with the decals, use a semi-gloss or even flat clear coat.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
My hands-down favourite for airbrushing is Pollyscale, and that's a flat paint. If the model needs lettering, dry transfers will adhere well to it, but if the lettering is to be decals, it needs to be over-sprayed with clear gloss - I prefer Testors Glosscote.
Once the decals are in place and set, I overspray them with another coat of clear gloss, as the shine of the decals is usually not the same degree of shininess as the surface to which it's been applied.
Further treatment depends on whether you're representing a new locomotive or one that's been in service for some time, and also on the type of locomotive - steam or diesel.Were I finishing a diesel for use on a layout or for display in a cabinet, I'd go for a low-sheen semi-gloss, then weather the layout-version appropriate to its supposed age and service, leaving the cabinet one looking pretty-much "new".
I use the same procedures for steam locomotives, but never paint the entire loco and tender the same colour, unless the real one looked that way.Instead, I paint the cab and tender-sides black, the tender deck and boiler a lighter modified-version of black, the smokebox and firebox a grey/brown mixed from the boiler colour (which is mixed from the cab/tender colour), and the running gear a different version of "black". Any applied details, such as piping or appliances, on the smokebox and firebox are brush-painted with the boiler-colour, and details such as window sash and valve handles on pipe fittings are painted as on their prototype, again using a brush.Any areas that will be lettered are done in the same manner as outlined above.After that, the model is clear-coated: a fairly glossy finish for the cab and tender-sides, a less-shiny gloss for the boiler and an even less-shiny for the running gear. The smokebox and firebox get no clear coat at all, unless they're lagged, and if that's the case, it would be the finish used on either the boiler or running gear. However, the piping and appliances on the smokebox and firebox would be brush-painted with the same clear semi-gloss finished used on the boiler. That would be the model for the dispay case.For the layout version, simply weather the display model to represent whatever in-use version you need...just-out-of-the-shop/been-in-service-a-while/used-and abused/pretty-much-ready-for-scrapping.
None of my locomotives, nor the ones I've done for others, have been painted as display pieces, although some folks didn't want their's weathered. Perhaps they didn't weather their rolling stock, either, and a weathered locomotive would have looked out of place.
Here are a few that I've done for others or for myself...
...on these, below, all of the lettering except that in the number boards and the small warning data, is painted...
tstage...I'm not sure if semi-gloss will hide decal outlines as well as semi-gloss.
A good way to hide decal outlines is to remove them before applying the decals.
I cut the decals from the sheet using a sharp blade, keeping it well-away from the printed portion that I intend to use.Next, working on a sheet of glass, I use a sharp blade in either my X-Acto handle or a utility knife, to cut off the excess paper and decal film around the letters, words, or images, using a straight-down chopping motion. This removes the raised-up edges caused by slicing the lettering from the decal sheet, but also pushes down the edge of the portion which you intend to use, making it somewhat easier to set with setting solutions. Cut as close as possible to the image, so that there's little-to-no clear film around it. For lettering or images with rounded features, such as B, P, or S, even a diagonal cut at each curve will help lessen the appearance of the excess film, but since you're already using chopping motions of the blade rather than slicing, it's fairly easy to just chop your way around each curve.
I don't have a great deal of factory-painted rolling stock, but a lot of my freelanced home-road cars are lettered using custom-made dry transfers. When they were used-up, I had some decals made by Rail Graphics, and used them on these cars, lettered to honour a deceased friend...
...and another order from Rail Graphics for my homeroad cars...
...this one used 168 separate pieces of decal to letter...
...some decals from Champ...
...and the same car weathered...
This painted, but not yet weathered gondola, was lettered using Black Cat decals...
...as was this tank car...
This ventilated boxcar, from Wright Track, was lettered using decals from Speedwitch Media...
...and the left-overs from the sheet lettered three boxcars for friends...
...and this not-yet-weathered scratchbuilt boxcar...
Wayne
While we know the OP is airbrushing, what is the OP using for paint?
What exactly is the issue? Runs? Orange peel? Off color? Spots?
Each of these issues has a different fix.
Runs means the paint is applied too thick. Spots could be from improper prep, temperature or humidity issues, tap water, fingerprints, dust, etc...
Orange peel means either the pressure is too high, or the airbrush is too far from the model, allowing the paint to begin to dry before contacting the model.
Off color means improper mixing, or other issues.
A bit more info would really allow us to help better.
I spray acrylics myself, either Modelflex, Valejo, or craft acrylics, all properly thinned. I also use a mix of a specialty acrylic airbrush medium and add a drop or two of Flow-aid to the distilled water I use to in the thinner mix. Of course, if the OP is not spraying acrylics, this is not helpful...
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.