Painting Brass trains

[doctorwayne]

Ike513

Hello. This is my first post soo..   anyhow, Have acquired a couople brass locomotives and looking to get them painted. I've stripped and painted a couple of OLD Varney metal loco's..didn't do bad. But my Brass loco's...they're really cool and I don't trust my skills. Any advice here? Anyone "paint for hire?" 

 

You've not indicated whether the locomotives are steam or diesel, but I'd guess that your remark about Varney metal locos to suggest that you're speaking of steam locomotives.

Painting brass steam is not really any different than painting cast metal ones, and over many years, I have painted dozens of them, both commercially and for friends. 

 

The first thing to do is make sure that they run properly...that might include adding extra pick-up wipers, tweaking the motor (new magnets in open frame motors can make a huge difference), or adjusting drawbar length or height, and where possible,adding more weight.

 

Once it's running smoothly and reliably, disassemble it, remove the motor and gearbox, and put all of the other parts (make sketches of stuff to show how to properly re-assemble it later) in a sink full of hot water and dish detergent.  If the cab is removeable, it will be easier to paint the interior, but I've seen only a couple so-constructed.

As you remove the parts from the soapy water, rinse them thoroughly with running water and place them somewhere to air-dry. 
From this point on, best to wear nitrile gloves for handling things.

I usually leave the loco's chassis (frame with drivers still in place, along with the cylinder assembly), and use a brush to paint all parts of the frame which will be visible once the loco is re-assembled.  The main reason for using a brush is that airbrushing to paint the frame, where the drivers are still in-place, will put too much paint on the drivers.  For the same reason, I usually brush-paint the spokes of the drivers, too (all will get an airbrushed application of paint later on in the process, which will cover any missed areas).

Airbrush all of the brass superstructure parts, along with the tender frame, using a good quality primer.  I like ready-to-use Alclad II Grey Primer , but Tamiya's version in a spray can is good, too.

 

I use four or five different colours for most steam, all based on black.  Straight black is used on the cab and body shell of the tender, and a black modified with white and or grey is used for the boiler, smokebox front, cylinders, pilot area, and tender deck.
For the running gear, I add some red or brown to that second mixture, and apply it to the drivers and frame (roller the motor-less chassis back and forth as you spray, in order to get over-all coverage, especially of the frame and drivers, along with the siderods and valve gear.
For the smokebox and firebox, I use the lightened black, with more red added, although for some roads, other colours may be more prototypical. (some roads used a graphite/oil mixture, while others used what appears to be silver paint.

Cab interiors were often "industrial" green, but your prototype may differ.

 

I originally used Floquil for painting pretty-well everything, but with the introduction of good quality acrylic paints, Pollyscale became my favourite.  It dried as fast as Floquil, but was more durable.  Because it was dry-to-the-touch in almost no time, it was easy to paint all of the necessary colours in the same session, using only a piece of cardstock to shield adjacent colours from overspray.
Unfortunately, I am out of Pollyscale Black, so the remaining dozen-or-so locos still needing paint will be done, one-colour-at-a-time, using Scalecoat.  It's also a good tough paint, but very slow-drying, so what was once done in one session will now take a session for each colour.

For areas on the smokebox and firebox, over which pipes may pass, I use a brush to paint the pipes using the same colour used on the boiler. 

Depending on the paint used, and the lettering (decals or dry transfers), various clear finishes will be needed.  I use airbrushed Testor's clear Glosscote and Dullcote, mixing the two for wide variety of semi-gloss finishes.

Cab and tender shell get a gloss finish, boiler and smokebox front, along with the pilot area and cylinders a less glossy finish, and less-glossy-still for the cab roof and running gear of both loco and tender.  The tender deck gets a dead-flat clear coat.

 

After that, you can weather the loco and tender to suit your tastes.

 

A few examples...

 

....these painted for a friend who preferred them not too dirty...

 

 

 

 

...a modified Athearn Mikado...

 

 

...a very heavily modified USRA 2-10-2 (based on a photo of the prototype, as were most of the previous examples)...

 

 

These were done for another friend...

 

 

 

 

 

...while these are some of mine...

 

This one is a much-modifed B&M B-15...

 

 

...and likewise for this IHC Mogul...

 

...this is one of two Varney boilers on Bachmann Ten Wheeler running gear...

 

 

...and a Proto USRA 0-8-0 heavily re-worked to match a CNR prototype...

 

 

...a Bachmann USRA Light Mountain, slightly modified into one of my freelanced road's Mohawks...

 

 

...a couple more in brass...

 

 

One of five home-road Bachmann Consolidations...

 

 

...and one of four home-road Athearn Mikados...

 

 

If you could paint your Varney locos, you should be equally capable of doing the same for brass.  What I've suggested is merely my take on the subject, but certainly not the only way to do it.

 

Wayne

[Ike513]

Thank you!

[SeeYou190]

I have painted several brass freight cars and a few locomotives. It is not difficult, and no where as complicated as many might lead you to believe.

-Kevin

[snjroy]

Hi there. You might want to check this thread:

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/272834.aspx

Simon

 

[Ike513]

Hello. This is my first post soo..   anyhow, Have acquired a couople brass locomotives and looking to get them painted. I've stripped and painted a couple of OLD Varney metal loco's..didn't do bad. But my Brass loco's...they're really cool and I don't trust my skills. Any advice here? Anyone "paint for hire?"