Dome car restoration questions

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

When I started back into model railroading back in January I bought an assortment of cheap rolling stock off of eBay. A set of 4 Con-Cor N scale passenger units became my first painting/upgrading project and now that I have made a little progress I have a few questions.

  1. Two of the cars have domes. the cars have been painted at least once before, when I received that they were silver, after disassembling them and washing them with dish soap and a soft toothbrush I found out they were originally dark green, Reading Railroad(?) or military olive drab. Some of this green shows up on what should be a clear part of one dome. Any suggestions on removing it without further damage to the clear?

  2. I need to paint the ribs between the window sections on the domes and the center section on top of the domes. I can (I think I can, I think I can…) use a needle to apply the paint to the clear but is it possible to mask that off before attempting it?

2a. I eventually figured out the the center section on top of the dome needs to be painted by looking at photos of modern domed cars and by the fact that it is slightly frosted. I could not find any photos that clearly show the front and rear of the dome. They also are divided into 3 sections but am I safe in assuming that all three are clear?

  1. The clear sections of the molds for all 4 roof sections are a little dingy, and have some fine scratches from being taken apart and put back together to often. Is there any way to make this less obvious? I seem to remember something from Fine Scale Modeler that was mentioned for airplane canopies but it has been at least twenty years since I read that magazine.

There are more questions but this is more than enough at once. When there is some progress to show I will try to post some pictures. Thanks.

2

This site may be of help:
http://www.trainweb.org/web_lurker/WebLurkersDOMEmain/

3

To remove paint from the plastic glass, try using the tips of wooden toothpicks to pu***he paint off the glass like you would a pencil eraser. A little rubbing alcohol might help on stubborn spots and won’t damage the glass.
As for painting the dome frame. Try twisting up the corners of paper towels to a fine point, dip them in the paint and carefully apply it where you want it. When you’re done, you can throw them away. That’s better than going out buying fine tip paint brushes you have to clean and may only use once in a while.
It’s not easy to repair damaged glass, but sometimes Elmer’s white glue can be used to fill in cracks or chips because it dries clear. Just apply it to the area, then wipe off the excess with a wet paper towel and let dry.

Hope this helps.

trainluver1

4

Govener,

That is one impressive site. You want to talk weathered just look at some of the more recent pictures of the surviving cars. The first picture answered my question about the windows at the front and back of the dome. Thanks.

trainluver1

Thanks for the advise. I will try all your suggestions. There is one corner of the lower clear section that has a crack in it. I was just going to “pull the shade” but I will try the Elmer’s glue first. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks.

5

Sweet website!

I especially like the beautiful picture of the VIA dome with bright flourescent lights inside!