Santa Fe caboose (Ce8) is Indian Red. Is there a resource available to access the pigments and proportions to duplicate the original color? Same question for the yellow originally used by Santa Fe.[?]
If this question is for modelling purposes, you may want to try posting this question on the "Prototype questions for the Modeler’ portion on the Model Railroader Forum.
They get & give solutions to these color questions all of the time.
Happy Railroading & Welcome!
Mark
We’re repainting caboose #999727, and could use info about stencils for the logo, also. Thanks
Oh…real 12 inches to 1 foot, Full Scale type of Caboose1??! Great.
Floquil and Polly Scale both have a red color called ‘ASTF Red’ in little jars but you’d need a millon of em. [:)]
Paint a big swatch with a jar of the red and have it matched at a local paint shop. They can mix up the large amount you require, & you’d be real close. The yellow can be done that way as well. I’ve done it professionally for large architectural paint jobs. Painting wood or steel is the same thing when it comes to batch mixing and spraying.
I just read Stephen M. Priest’s article about kitbashing a ATSF CE6 caboose in September '05 issue of Model Rallroader Craftsman. His articles about modeling the ASTF have appeared in Model Railroader as well. He was an ATSF employee and would be knowledgable on proper markings.
I’m out of my depth on stenciling but a source like Mr Priest or one of the Yahoo web sites devoted to the ATSF/BNSF would be good places to look. Check any of the ATSF historical societies as well.
Sometimes, a local sign painter can do the trick.
HTH & Good Luck!
Mark
It can’t hurt to contact BNSF public relations. The formulation and suppliers are in a file somewhere. You never know, a few gallons of the real thing might just show up on your doorstep, courtesy of a shop foreman who would rather let you dispose of his waste problem (paint can be a pain to unload).
Barring that lucky happenstance, simply knowing an original supplier and the appropriate color numbers or names may do the trick.
Many paint shops have programs where you give them a piece of material with the color on it, and they put it in a scanner like thing and it matches it perfectly.
williamsdoc…
I forgot to ask. Is the #999727 a steel (I presume) cabin or is it partially constructed of wood?
Getting the undercoating/primer right is very important to the longevity of the finish paint.
Regards,
Mark
On the topic of stencils - the big guys make theirs out of sheet metal. If you want to go with the stencilled look (which will be tough if the work is done with a brush) you might want to consider the following:
- Find pictures of your caboose, or others of the same type.
- Convert them to digital, if they aren’t.
- Compute the approximate sizes of the different elements.
- Obtain a digital projector.
- Obtain a supply of poster paper. You may want some light lumber (1x2), too, to frame up the big stuff.
- Tape enough poster paper together to cover the finished sized of the stencil (a herald might be several feet wide). Tape that to a suitable wall.
- Project the image of the stencil onto the poster paper, adjust the size of the elements by moving the projector back and forth, and start tracing. Use pencil. You can follow up the tracing session by using rulers or other guides to clean up the lines.
- Obtain suitable cutting devices. Depending on the area and detail to be cut, that might be hobby knives, box cutters, or scissors.
- Start cutting. Pay particular attention to the jumpers that keep the whole stencil together. It’s possible that the original stencils had loops of wire that wouldn’t show up when painted (think of a croquet wicket).
- Mask appropriately and spray away. A professional spray gun will give you better results than spray cans.
If you have a place to store your stencils, do so and save the effort necessary to create them next time they are needed. Otherwise, make sure you leave instructions for duplicating them. Consider stencilling newsprint with the images. You can roll the newsprint up and store it in tubes, then discard the stencils. The outlines can be transferred to new stencils using pounce wheels or carbon paper.
Yes - I’ve hand cut a lot of stencils.
You could also consider working with a local sign shop that cuts vinyl, but it probably won’t weather as w