From the emails I’ve gotten, it is good to see that more modelers are interested in refinishing their plastic corrugated passenger cars to a stainless steel appearance.
Just wanted to share this guideline list since modelers have emailed me with questions regarding Alclad. IMHO, I firmly believe that we’ve advanced beyond the point of using Silver and Bare Aluminum Foil.
Guys, please keep in mind that the info below is subjective and it’s what I use for my passenger car metalizing based on my research. But I don’t claim to be correct.
OK, in a simplified nutshell, I’m primarily concerned about what’s over and under the Alclad metalizer.
1. The tone of the basecoat color UNDER Alclad #107. 2. The gloss level and number of Clearcoats OVER Alclad 107.
Keep in mind also that the cool factor here is that if you’re of the mindset that you want ALL of your cars in a train to “match up” (although that’s not always prototypical) you can choose one guideline and stick with it.
Well you’re going to laugh at me, but it will be A or B, the Budd cars, as I am trying to make a couple RDC cars look like the cars used in the X-Files. They have their windows plated over & other modifications. Although I work on them from time to time, I don’t make too much progress, but it all helps. The Proto car needed a lot of roof work on the ends (hard part was rebuilding the lights), & the smaller Old Athearn needs some trim removed from the ends. I am about ready to plate over the windows & then add grab irons & other external details. The cars will be two tone, the window plating has a much more blue hue, & I may try a different base coat or another paint for that, not real sure yet.
I also model Metra occasionally, as I worked 70 yards from the ex-MILW line in IL for quite a while.
Thanks again, for all your posts & tips, it helps me tremendously!
No, I wouldn’t laugh at all. Neat and unusual idea. I googled photos of that RDC unit and the best I found was a distant shot of the train facing forward. The finish looks a bit worn. Regarding the blue hue that you observed…remember that the colors/tones/hues of what you see on tv are not going to be 100% on the mark and SS surfaces on railcars tend to reflect blue sky conditions as with this Metrolner:
I’ve seen railfan YouTube vids where Amfleet cars look “bluish”. Yet, when I see Amfleet cars with surfaces that are in very good shape up close, they appear gray.
Hi guys, this is a reply to the modeler that was “poking fun” at Penn Central for having cars looking like the ss shine “jumped ship and ran!”
Not always so! A number of ex-NYC and Pennsy SS cars were still in decent shape (appearancewise) after the merger even though trips to the washer were apparently not as frequent.
Here’s a photo from BCoolidge
The photo appears slightly underexposed but still makes for good reference material.
The Budd appears aged, grimy, and pretty dirty, but you can still clearly see reflectivity underneath that “stuff”.
For this appearance just go with Steps B and F. Add washes of weathering when finished. Don’t forget to use grime on the entire body, including the roof and ends.
It would be a big leap from the Walthers Pine Series’ appearance, but nevertheless quite prototypical!
Alclad’s crew is researching and will be developing a metalizing line FOR MODEL RAILROADING, specifically passenger car modelers! It’s early in the game, but I’ll update you guys, as well as our brethren on the Atlas forum, with info as I get it.
Posting these photos for a modeler that wanted to see a comparison photo of this dome car and a prototype in sunlight.
As is so often pointed out, photo images are greatly affected by lighting conditions. [8D]
Responding to a modeler who’s experimenting with Alclad on samples! Smart move!
Remember this guideline is just that…a suggested guideline.
If NYC Dk. Gray looks too dark for you then simply lighten it as you plan, but do it in specific measurements so that you can get a consistent appearance, if that’s what you’re striving for. Since you prefer Scale Coat 2 products, keep a bottle of Scale Coat 2 White #20111 handy. An easier option is to keep several pre-mixed bottles of gray and see which tone you prefer.
Another modeler noted that NYC Lt. Gray as a slight, brownish hue to it that looks “good” to him on HO Pullman Standard units (such as the IHC Dome I refinished) but looks slightly darker on his Walthers Budd coach fluting. Remember, this goes back to reflectivity being influenced by the angles and spacing of the fluting ribs. Now you’re seeing what many of us see on the prototypes!
So continue experimenting and having fun with this guys. Don’t make it a “brain puzzle”.
I now have a variety of SS appearances on my fleet. As I continue, I will post results and modify the guideline as I take notes and get feedback from modelers.
BTW: for those of you using this, please post your feedback as well so that we learn from each other, even if you don’t have photos.
Well, that info is a month or so, so I am wondering - has Alclad ever come up with something approximating weathered Galvanized Steel - I use the old Silver+Dullcoat trick for new Galvanized steel (mostly Model window display items, and the SP lettering Grey (or Floquil Primer) + drybrushing w/ acrylics for weathered Galvanized Steel, but that still doesn’t seem right to me - weathered Galvanized steel (which is everywhere nowadays in the real world, from conduit to sign poles to fencing to struts and so on) seems to have a slight metallic sheen, even though (to me) it is mostly a light grey with some motted whites/dark greys. I just can’t seem to capture that right (under standard lighting).
I’ve worked with galvanized steel of varying grades and based on what I’ve seen, imho, Alclad #103 will likely fit the bill nicely, BUT that’s just my opinion. There are a good variety of finishes available. On the link below click on the red dots that you’ll see on the jet.
This is the best I could come up with on the web right now, and it does approximate closely what I am looking for. I think the mottled grey and the very slight sheen (a bit hard to make out in the image) is what says Weathered Galvanized Steel/Metal to me.
Probably the monitor I have, but the various galvanized metal objects I pass on my walk to the corner store (sign posts, fence posts, conduit on stores, etc) look a bit lighter in real-life, but the image is close.
I’m familiar with that! (man, does it give off nasty fumes when welding it!)
IMHO, you can get the effect by adding a simple step of “marblizing”. First, for the base color I’d go with one of the medium grays that looks close to the gray that you see in your photo.
Apply it fairly wet to the surface.
Take a small piece of polyethylene material (such as Seran Wrap) ball it up in your hand, then stretch it open with both hands
Lay it on top of the wet painted surface, and rub it down gently (do not pat it down, just rub).
Remove the plastic wrap, and your surface should resemble something like this
Apply Alclad #103 Dark Aluminum and if you like the results, seal with clear. If it appears too dark, then you’d have to go with a lighter gray. As always, do test panels first.
I have never considered Galvanized Steel until you mentioned it. Fun idea and definitely worth giving it a shot and then sharing your results on a new thread.
Here is my test, actually 2 projects, a Kitbash & Alclad!
You could say I made myself a stainless steel ‘Food Grade’ container from an A-Line unit. I thought it was a perfect candidate to test on, as it is pretty corrugated & has lots of angles. I had also gotten the Klear Kotes I had ordered a while back too.
I was hoping that their Klear Kote would not dull the finish, but it did a little.
Here is what I did;
Painted the container with Testors Gloss Gray #1238
Painted the container with Alclad II Chrome (older but still good)
Painted the container with Alclad II Klear Kote #310
I’m pretty happy with it, I doubt I would use any lighter color for the undertone, but that was part of the test.
I think I would be happy with on any of my cars that I would like to custom paint in the future, as they would be more metal looking than other silvers & painting techniques.
It’s harder to photograph, but compare the Maersk container in the stack to the one on the rig, I can see the differences, & I like it!
Great! So cool to the use of Alclad for this application. You can see the contrast between the two containers. A little light weathering is all she needs. Yes, the clears tone down the sheen a little but for the case of simulated aluminum and stainless steels, it works out quite nicely as you’ve demonstrated.
