I am planning on painting my first locomotive and before I start I want your advice so that I don’t mess it up. In the past I have painted boxcars and containers with mixed results because of runs, orange peel, or speckles. The locomotive is an undecorated Athearn GP9 which has not yet been assembled. It is black. The livery to be painted is white with a green stripe. I will probably be using Tamiya spray cans. Should I paint it all green first and then tape over the stripe and then paint it white? Should I paint the whole thing white first or use some other color for primer? Should I install the details before or after painting? What about the logo? I will likely print my own decals unless I can find the right set. This used GP9 worked the Cargill mill in San Bernardino for a couple of decades. Thanks for your advice.
Be sure to wash the shell with mild soap and water to remove any casting residue, oils and fingerprints. If details are to be glued on, install those first. Better to glue them on bare plastic than a painted body. Most painters use a primer coat first, but don't spary it on too thick, otherwise tiny cast on deatils may be lost. Start with lighter colors first and then move on to dark.
Hope this helps, John.
Been awhile since painting & decorating any rolling stock or locos, but never being able to get a finish worth a darn with a spray bomb I went over to an airbrush early on. That aside I'd start by attaching as many of the detail parts as possible that will be white, except for the railing and any grabs that are in the area of the stripe. Then shoot on a light grey primer coat and allow to dry before laying on the white. When the white is completely dry, and I mean completely dry, mask off for the green stripe and sill. I like the 3M automotive pin stripe tape.
Years ago there was a great product for two tone paint jobs and stripes by the name of Super Mask, a water soluable liquid masker that could be brushed on and cut with a razor knife to produce a nice sharp line with no bleed thru. Don't know if the stuff is still available, if not maybe there's an alternative product. Another option might be a stripe decal that matches the green.
Good luck and regards, Peter
I would use a grey primer after adding all of your details to unify the colors...Tamiya's light gray primer is pricey but good.
I would prime the shell first (after a thorough cleaning of course). Cheap automotive primer works fine, but make sure you don't use the type that is designed to fill minor imperfections. Then I would do the white, and then the green stripes. I'm going to suggest that you don't want to put the green directly on the black shell. It would require many coats to get the lighter green tone.
Interestingly, I noticed that the stripes are a darker green than the Cargill logo. That will make finding a suitable green for the stripes a lot easier.
I'm not sure if you are aware, but MicroScale sells Cargill decals. These are for a freight or tank car but they might be close enough to work on your locomotive too:
http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=87-645&Store_Code=MD&search=Cargill&offset=&filter_cat=&PowerSearch_Begin_Only=&sort=&range_low=&range_high=
Unfortunately they don't sell a decal trim film that is a light enough green to do the stripes.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Lone Wolf and Santa FeIn the past I have painted boxcars and containers with mixed results because of runs, orange peel, or speckles.
Lone Wolf and Santa Fe:
Runs are caused by applying too much paint too quickly. I suggest three things:
- Keep the spray can further back from the model. You should be 8" to 10" away.
- Apply the paint in several thin coats. The first couple of coats should not cover completely. You should be able to see the underlying colour. If you have paint puddling in the inside corners you are putting down too much paint.
- Allow the paint to 'flash off' between coats. In other words, let the solvents evaporate before applying the next coat.
Orange peel and speckles are likely caused by not cleaning the shell thoroughly. Orange peel indicates that there is something on the shell that is preventing the paint from adhering to the surface, usually some sort of oil like your fingerprints.
- Wash in warm, soapy water and rinse. If your water is really hard, you might want to consider getting some distilled water.
- Let the shell dry thoroughly. Make sure all the water is gone from all the nooks and crannies.
- Paint the shell as soon as it is dry. Don't let it sit for several days gathering dust.
- Don't handle the shell with bare hands after washing. Get yourself some nitrile gloves. Most hardware stores sell them.
- Work in as clean an environment as possible. The speckles may be dust particles which are attracted to the shell by static electricity.
To boil it all down there are two key points - clean shell, and multiple thin coats.
Hope that helps.
Good luck!
Me again!
I just noticed that there are some very interesting details on the cab. There are five pieces that project from both sides of the cab beside the side windows. They appear to be lights with safety cages over them. They must have been used for signalling. I think that might be a rather unique detail but I could be wrong. In any case, it would be really neat to model them, and even neater to illuminate them (although that would be a bit of a challenge to say the least).
Do you know how they were used?
Does anybody know if someone makes a casting of the bulb/safety cage?
Those lights mounted on the side of the cab may denote a remotely-controlled locomotive:
Ours were run with a belt-pack device, much like a walk-around throttle.
Wayne
And, more tidbits, looks to be each light case holds a different color as well.... Either remote controlled, or something similar to it would be my first thought.
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.
doctorwayneThose lights mounted on the side of the cab may denote a remotely-controlled locomotive
AHA!! Makes perfect sense! If there was somebody in the cab they would have used radio communications.
Thanks Wayne. I was scratching my head trying to figure out why the lights? The system still seems a bit primitive to me, having to rely on light bulbs for feedback. I guess that was just part of the evolution of remote control locomotives.
Regards,
Thanks for the tips. I might look into getting an air brush because I think I tend to overspray.
I believe the lights are to show the speed and direction of the locomotive to the remote operator who is standing several cars away by the loading area and might not be able to tell what exactly the loco is doing because of slack action, or to see if he is actually communicating with the loco.
Lone Wolf and Santa FeI might look into getting an air brush because I think I tend to overspray.
Using an airbrush doesn't prevent you from overspraying. There is always a tendancy to want to 'give it one more pass'. However, because you can control the amount of paint that is coming out of the brush, overspraying is easier to avoid. Just remember that you don't want to try to cover completely with the first couple of applications. You can always put on another coat but taking one off is a royal pain.
You will like using an airbrush. Like anything, they can have their problems, but if you clean them properly, and mix and strain your paint properly, you shouldn't have very many issues. I'm guessing a bit here because I'm in Canada, but I think you should be able to get a decent airbrush and a pancake style compressor with a water filter and hose for less than $150.00 US.
I'd never seen the cab indicator lights before. I would love to figure out how to model them. The lights would be easy (relatively). You would need at least a 6 function decoder and you would probably have to steal the rear headlight function for one of the indicator lights if you wanted them all to work. The bulb protectors would be fussy but they might be a candidate for 3D printing.