I want to add a switcher to my steel mill. Existing locomotives are black with yellow accents.
I found a new unit that is very close to what I want the loco to look like. I just need to change the logo and cover the road name. Since many mills bought used locomotives and repainted them I was wondering if I could get away with just covering what I don't want with black paint, put a new logo on and weather it. That may turn out looking more prototypical than a shiny new model. If I don't like it I can just start over and do it the right way.
Has anyone else done something like this?
Rick
hbgatsfHas anyone else done something like this?
Yes, I have.
I found that Microscale "Trim Film" to be a handy source for making "Patch outs" rather than going the paint route.
Good Luck, Ed
I have a couple of yard switchers that are mostly black with yellow lettering. I plan to mask them and paint over part of the black paint with Milwaukee orange. No, it won't be a prototypical paint scheme, but who's going to notice?
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
hbgatsf Existing locomotives are black with yellow accents. Has anyone else done something like this?
Existing locomotives are black with yellow accents.
Absolutely not! Whatever are you thinking??
Mine are yellow with black striping! THAT'S the proper way to go.
I like where you're going with this--I'd do it too.
Ed
If the real railroads can do it so can we. Years ago there was a picture inTrains of just such a paint job. After the Penn Central merger at least one ex PRR crew would peal the black paint off to reveal the keystones.
ndbprr If the real railroads can do it so can we. Years ago there was a picture inTrains of just such a paint job. After the Penn Central merger at least one ex PRR crew would peal the black paint off to reveal the keystones.
I always wondered how good a paint job was done, especially with the mergers where many locomotives needed to be done. How good they prepped them would go a long way to making it look good, and that would be tough with years of grime and rust on them.
hbgatsf I found a new unit that is very close to what I want the loco to look like. I just need to change the logo and cover the road name. Since many mills bought used locomotives and repainted them I was wondering if I could get away with just covering what I don't want with black paint, put a new logo on and weather it. That may turn out looking more prototypical than a shiny new model. If I don't like it I can just start over and do it the right way.
Rich
Alton Junction
A lot of the patch-outs were done with a roller or spray gun, with no masking involved. This produced crooked or feathered edges which neatly cut trim film will not provide. Circus City Decals produces blank patches in many colors, including black and white, in all the popular scales. The patches replicate the hasty, free-hand appearance of the prototype. www.circuscitydecals.com or www.greatdecals.com
Thanks for the replies. I ordered the locomotive. Now I need to decide how I am going to do this.
If I am reading the replies correctly, using trim film is just putting a blank decal over the lettering I don't want? Do you then paint over that to feather it in?
If I just decide to paint over the lettering, should I do anything first like a primer coat? I will be painting black over yellow lettering.
Edit: I should add that in my original post I wasn't thinking along the lines of the roller or spray paint patch-out, but that I didn't need to be overly concerned with it looking like new. After weathering I thought it could be something you wouldn't notice.
The only issue I could see, is that if it's decal or thick lettering, the new paint will still show "ghosting" through it.
Trim film decals will help hide this.
But, if you are modeling a second (or even third) hand unit, that may not be necessarilly a bad thing.
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.
ricktrains4824But, if you are modeling a second (or even third) hand unit, that may not be necessarilly a bad thing.
That was the look I was going after with this Penn-Central, ex-Pennsylvania sleeper:
IMG_0009_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
I remember seeing these in the "pre-Amtrak" days and you could frequently see the ghosting of the former lettering.
As previously mentioned, the railroads didn't make a great effort to do much prep work or use the best quality paint for the "patch out":
Penn Central E-7 & E-8 at Chicago IL Oct 1974 by Mark LLanuza, on Flickr
This was especially true if the paint was applied over ScotchLite reflective vinyl which was thicker than paint, much more difficult to remove and paint did not adhere to it very well especially in the railroad environment.
Some roads had the forethought to patch out in the "future" color of the car, when time and money, if ever, became available for a full repaint:
PC_X58 by Edmund, on Flickr
Regards, Ed
Good stuff. Thank you.
The locomotive I am going to paint is the new Walthers Mainline SW7. Does anyone know how thick the lettering is on Walthers models in general?
I have an Atlas MP15DC done for US Steel. I am going to alter the Walthers D&TS to have a similar look.
I was looking over some threads on repainting lthat I had bookmarked and saw an interesting comment in one. It was stated that the Walthers models do not use decals, they are pad painted. It was stated that Solvaset could be used to take it off leaving the original paint intact.
This may turn out to be easier than I thought.
hbgatsfThis may turn out to be easier than I thought.
I have had many people tell me this works, but it did not work for me.
I tried to remove the lettering from two Walthers Circus Train flat cars with no luck using Solvaset.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
hbgatsf I was looking over some threads on repainting lthat I had bookmarked and saw an interesting comment in one. It was stated that the Walthers models do not use decals, they are pad painted. It was stated that Solvaset could be used to take it off leaving the original paint intact. This may turn out to be easier than I thought. Rick
I had success using a very light abrasive at that time called Bar Keepers Friend. I rubbed it over the lettering which smoothed the edges and put some tooth in the body before painting.
hbgatsf The locomotive I am going to paint is the new Walthers Mainline SW7. Does anyone know how thick the lettering is on Walthers models in general? I have an Atlas MP15DC done for US Steel. I am going to alter the Walthers D&TS to have a similar look. Rick
This project finally made it to the top of the job jar. I started by trying to remove the factory lettering and logo. Starting with alchohol and working my way up in aggressiveness I didn't find anything that would touch it until I got to lacquer thinner. That took it off but also removed paint.
I just hand brushed floquil engine black to fill it in.
The look at this point didn't bother me as I knew the end result was going to be weathered. A shot of Dullcote and a new decal had it going in the direction that I wanted.
It wasn't until I got to this point that I realized the decal was a slightly different shade of yellow than the factory yellow. Hoping that weathering would blend it in I pressed on.
Here is the "almost" final result.
I need to do some weathering on the MP15DC before I do more to the SW7. Then I will decide how much more I need to do to make it look 20+ years older.
My main objective was to have locomotive painted in the same general scheme and that I would not have to renumber. I think I pulled it off.
hbgatsfMy main objective was to have locomotive painted in the same general scheme and that I would not have to renumber. I think I pulled it off.
You certainly did.
Excellent workmanship, and your weathering concealed the decal shade difference very well.
Please post a project update in Weekend Photo Fun if you like.
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the kind words. My modeling skills aren't as good as most of you, hence the reason for finding a shortcut. This was my first attempt at decals so I didn't want to tackle numbers.
I am not familiar with Weekend Photo Fun. Is that the proper place for posts like this?
I've removed lettering from Walthers (and Atlas) engines using Solvaset with no issues. Sorry link won't work, but this is a Walthers FM switcher that was lettered for the Wabash that I removed the lettering from, added NYC decals, and weathered:
https://cs.trains.com/mrr/m/mrr-layouts/2289588.aspx
The main thing is to work slowly with a pencil eraser (like the one on the end of a pencil) and just rub lightly. Every time you feel some friction, add more Solvaset. Eventually it will start to come off.
If you've just opened a new jar of Solvaset it can be a bit strong, you could put a little bit in a small container with a dash of water to dilute it if you wish.
The British use some auto cleaner called T-Cut, it takes off the pad printing but leaves the paint underneath.
wjstix I've removed lettering from Walthers (and Atlas) engines using Solvaset with no issues. Sorry link won't work, but this is a Walthers FM switcher that was lettered for the Wabash that I removed the lettering from, added NYC decals, and weathered: https://cs.trains.com/mrr/m/mrr-layouts/2289588.aspx The main thing is to work slowly with a pencil eraser (like the one on the end of a pencil) and just rub lightly. Every time you feel some friction, add more Solvaset. Eventually it will start to come off. If you've just opened a new jar of Solvaset it can be a bit strong, you could put a little bit in a small container with a dash of water to dilute it if you wish.
I did try Solvaset and it didn't touch it. I didn't know that it lost potency over time and my bottle is a number of years old. I also didn't try it with an eraser. Good to know for future reference.
hbgatsfI am not familiar with Weekend Photo Fun. Is that the proper place for posts like this?
Weekend Photo Fun is a casual thread that begins on Friday morning and goes through the weekend.
As the name states, it is just a fun place to gather and share photos of modelsjust for fun, and share comments.
It can be a place to share, but this thread is absolutely the best place to post the picture of your work.