Does tarnish matter when painting a brass locomotive if the surface of the metal has not been etched or corroded?
Mike
No, not at all.
As previously mentioned tarnish by itself does not affect brass if is to be painted. I do run and use my brass engines so they are eventually painted.
I have made some extremely good buys on a couple of brass engines that were extremely tarnished. Once painted they look great. It is years later and the engines still look terrific.
Hi, Mike
Tarnish by itself I would not worry about but what I would caution about is if there are areas where there’s bright brass and then others where there’s tarnish I’d look for peeling or chipped lacquer which you would want to completely remove before painting.
As with any painting project you want to be careful about getting finger oils on the surface after you wash and prep the engine. I rinse my brass projests with white distilled vinegar to remove oils and slightly etch the surface for paint adhesion.
Hope this helps… Ed