Glass Tinting

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Does anybody know of an easy way to tint the glass in coaches from like a standard Walthers to a BLI Zephyr look?

Thanks,

Jonathan

2

I seen color plastic note book dividers used to tint glass.These are the full page types.

3

Old Xray film perhaps? You don’t want to be reminded of what your innards look like do you? :slight_smile:

Regards from Down Under

Trevor www.xdford.digitalzones.com FYI

4

I’ve read about special tinting paint/coating used by aircraft modelers, might be worth while to check out that section in a hobby shop or through online shops.

5

Somebody in one of the model rail mags was talking recently about using a paint - I think by Testors?? - that is a candy apple green clear paint. Apparently it’s used by model plane builders to tint canopies. I tried finding it at the LHS but they didn’t have it.

I can’t remember the company name right now, but a year or so back in “Remember The Rock” magazine, it was mentioned that a company makes window inserts that are a clear-green. He used them in creating a c.1965 HO scale Rock Island Twin Star Rocket. Maybe somebody that has the mag at hand can look up the name, I know they had a website.[%-)]

6

wjstix

That sounds like the very thing. Trust me to have tossed out my old mags last week.

If anyone could help I’d be obliged.

Thanks

Jonathan

7

Testors ,model master I think, makes a color called window tint. It is black. It sucks. Unless the glass is perfectly flat and free of ANY inperfections it will not look good. It runs and puddles like it is its job. I also build 1/24 scale cars and have ruined a few sets of windows trying to use this stuff. The clear green is just as useless. These are both rattle can products. Now I was just at hobby lobby the other day and testors makes clear green in the bottle. Solvent based laquer I believe. So you could try putting it through an airbrush in many light layers to see what you get. Just make sure you are well vented where you spray or outside because this stuff is nasty.

Hope this helps

mie

8

I recall this suggestion, using the teeny bottles of Testors paint. BUT you don’t mix the paint, just use the lightly colored thinner that floats on top. Think I tried it once, but cannot recall where or how.

9

http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?quick=tint

Walthers lists Pikestuff (Rix) as carrying it. I know there’s another company that makes passenger car details that sells green and grey for for HO and N, but I can’t find the link right now.

10

I think the window glazing I’m thinking of is made by Brass Car Sides(??)

11

I posted a picture of my Walthers dome with tinted glass. My way is to install tinted plastic behind the original glass and it is very effective. Some of the hobby shops sell the product.

http://forums.railfan.net/forums.cgi?board=HOScale;action=display;num=1221580761;start=0

12

I always hated getting stuck in a car, or bus that had that gawdaweful green tinted glass.

As for modeling it, I think that flat glazing would be best served by the folder dividers that another poster mentioned. Personally, I would cut and fit that stuff in a dome too, as I have always had bad luck using spray tint on any model, including canopies. Even with the airbrush, I get some spattering that (to my overly picky eye) shows up like its got a spotlight on it.

BY the way, Cal Zephyr, that dome looks AWESOME!

13

Here in Arizona you can purchase window tinting film at Wal-mart and many other types of stores that carry household repair or vehicle items.

14

How about stain glass paint? I use that to tone down some of my headlights before the yellow-glow LED’s came out. You can find it in craft stores.

15

Thanks. I did the complete Walthers train and two sets of Rivarossi cars for the Union Pacific train. The plastic material is available at most large shops and it is very easy to apply the tinted material inside the orginal glass. This process is quick compared to spaying the orginal glazing which would have to be removed from the shell before you painted it.

16

CAZEPHYR

That’s exactly the effect I’m looking for!

When you say plastic - do you mean a sort of film, or a rigid type of plastic?

The car looks amazing - do you have any mor photos of the rest of the train?

Thanks,

Jonathan

17

Would you please post more pictures of the Super Chief cars. It looks fantastic!! That is exactly what I am trying to do to my cars. What type of plastic are you talking about?

Thanks, Michael

18

I purchased the tinted glazing at the Original Whistle Stop, but I am sure other shops offer this type of product. It is a flat thin sheet of tinted plastic for use as glazing and you simply cut out with an exacto the size you need.

On the Dome cars that required curved glazing, I would cut the length of glazing and then place individual pieces inside a 1/2 plastic sprinker pipe before using a hair dryer to curve the piece. With a little practice, you can curve the glazing to fit the curved dome or the observation car. It really works great.

I don’t have pictures of the individual cars handy, but they all came out looking very good.

CZ

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19

I updated the web page with a picture of the UP dome before and after I installed the curved tinted glazing. I could only find one of two pictures more of the other cars, but believe me, they look very nice. You can’t go wrong with the glazing since you can do a car in 30 min or so and the results are super.

The tinted glazing is just thin flat plastic that can be cut with an exacto knife. Several different companies have made this available over the years. It is about as good as you can get.

CZ