i would like to paint my own box cars for special occasions. is this possible and how would i go about doing this if i can paint my own box cars?
Yes it is possible but you must prepare the model .First you must wash the model in warm soapy water but first strip any old paint and decals then wash and rinse it well and airdry well. Go to your local hobby shop they can help you with the paint and if you airbrush or use a spray can and last new decals. Don’t be scared it is not hard you can always ask for help. rambo1…
Well, dunno about special occasions, like the BiCentennial paint schemes. But the ordinary working boxcars were painted boxcar red all over on many roads. This paint job is easy. Get a spray can of red auto primer from the auto parts store. It goes on and will cover anything, dries nice and flat and takes decals well. Wash the car in hot soapy water and then rinse to get oil, grease, mold parting compound and fingerprints off. A trip thru the dishwasher works well. Was it me, I’d remove trucks and couplers before washing. It isn’t necessary to strip the old paint off, the auto primer will cover it.
Make sure the car is good and dry before you spray it. Hold the spray can about 18 inches from the car and put the paint on just barely wet. If too heavy a coat the paint will sag and run. Don’t get paint on the couplers, in the coupler pockets or on the axle bearings. Mask off with tape.
Decals for many road names are available from hobby shops or on the internet. This forum has numerous discussions of decal technique which will show up for a search on “decal”.
Let the
As others have mentioned preparation is the most important part of any paint job, weather it be on a model box car or a real one. All the details if any should be removed and the paint and decals stripped off. I like ot use Isopropyl alcohol is it’s pretty non invasive on most plastics. Let it soak for about 30 to 40 min. and then check it it the paint is still on there put it back in for another 15 min. or so. Your really not going to hurt it if you leave it in longer but you don’t usually have to. After it comes out clean any reaming paint off with an old tooth brush and rinse thoroughly under cold water. I have a little stand made up to hold the shells when I paint so I don’t get any grease or dirt on them from my hands. Clean the shell of with Alcohol again on a soft cotton cloth.and wipe any remaining residue off with another clean cloth.
I suggest if your a novice at painting and you have an airbrush start off using acrylic paints. If the end result is not what you want the paint is easily removed. If fresh enough warm to hot soapy water will take it off if not soak the shell in Isopropyl alcohol for about 30 min. then check it the paint should come off relatively easy as it hasn’t had time to cure. If you don’t have an airbrush they do make acrylic spray paints.
If you have some really nice equipment your wanting to paint I suggest you go to a toy store etc. and buy the cheapest freight cars you can find maybe in a hobby shop or on line used. Practice on the cheap stuff till your get the hang of it and then do your good stuff. It really isn’t all that hard it just takes practice & patients
Unfortunately it’s harder than it used to be to buy undecorated boxcars. Athearn announced recently they were no longer going to make any more Athearn or Roundhouse kits. But you still can find undecorated boxcars, it’s a lot easier than trying to strip pre-decorated ones.
I’ve had good luck with Tamiya spray can paints. Their paint sprays a much thinner / lighter coat than most traditional spray can paints. I use their primer gray spray on cars, and then paint the car with other spray can colors or airbrush it.
You’ll also need gloss and flat finish spray. Put the gloss over the car once it’s painted; it makes decalling easier. Once the decals are in place and snuggled down with Solvaset or something similar, spray flat finish to seal in the decals.
BTW Accurail and maybe some other companies make “data only” cars, with the car pre-painted and lettered with just the data (height, width, etc.) so you can just add the roadname lettering, heralds, etc. without needing to paint it.