I have been practicing for months now trying to find the best way to paint custom locomotives. Im not sure why all my results are not satisfactory but I was curious if it was the simplicity of my attempts or the use of flat colors.
For my fleet of custom painted cars and locmotives, I use Scalecoat 2 gloss paints 90% of the time. These excellent paints cover well and have a smooth finish perfect for accepting decals.
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I also occassional use Model Master or od Floquil paints, but always glossy.
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Practice is the answer. Buy a bucket of junk train cars for $5.00, prime them all with spray krylon, and practice. It will come to you.
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-Kevin
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More information would be helpful. What exactly in your results are not satisfactory? Are you painting metal models or plastic? What colors are you using? Brush painting, airbrushing, or spray can?
I’m not a fan of glossy paints so I prefer semi-gloss. However, I’m not sure if semi-gloss will hide decal outlines as well as semi-gloss.
Tom
Maybe the OP editied his post after the above response, but it’s clear now he is airburshing.
If you are getting a grainy texture it could be the pressure is too high, or you are too far from the engine.
You are probably planning decals after you paint, so a gloss coat would be better. Then, when you’re happy with the decals, use a semi-gloss or even flat clear coat.
My hands-down favourite for airbrushing is Pollyscale, and that’s a flat paint. If the model needs lettering, dry transfers will adhere well to it, but if the lettering is to be decals, it needs to be over-sprayed with clear gloss - I prefer Testors Glosscote.
Once the decals are in place and set, I overspray them with another coat of clear gloss, as the shine of the decals is usually not the same degree of shininess as the surface to which it’s been applied.
Further treatment depends on whether you’re representing a new locomotive or one that’s been in service for some time, and also on the type of locomotive - steam or diesel.
Were I finishing a diesel for use on a layout or for display in a cabinet, I’d go for a low-sheen semi-gloss, then weather the layout-version appropriate to its supposed age and service, leaving the cabinet one looking pretty-much “new”.
I use the same procedures for steam locomotives, but never paint the entire loco and tender the same colour, unless the real one looked that way.
Instead, I paint the cab and tender-sides black, the tender deck and boiler a lighter modified-version of black, the smokebox and firebox a grey/brown mixed from the boiler colour (which is mixed from the cab/tender colour), and the running gear a different version of “black”.
Any applied details, such as piping or appliances, on the smokebox and firebox are brush-painted with the boiler-colour, and details such as window sash and valve handles on pipe fittings are painted as on their prototype, again using a brush.
Any areas that will be lettered are done in the same manner as outlined above.
After that, the model is clear-coated: a fairly glossy finish for the cab and tender-sides, a less-shiny gloss for the boiler and an even less-shiny for the running gear. The smokebox and firebox get no clear coat at all, unless they’re lagged, and if that’s the case, it would
While we know the OP is airbrushing, what is the OP using for paint?
What exactly is the issue? Runs? Orange peel? Off color? Spots?
Each of these issues has a different fix.
Runs means the paint is applied too thick.
Spots could be from improper prep, temperature or humidity issues, tap water, fingerprints, dust, etc…
Orange peel means either the pressure is too high, or the airbrush is too far from the model, allowing the paint to begin to dry before contacting the model.
Off color means improper mixing, or other issues.
A bit more info would really allow us to help better.
I spray acrylics myself, either Modelflex, Valejo, or craft acrylics, all properly thinned. I also use a mix of a specialty acrylic airbrush medium and add a drop or two of Flow-aid to the distilled water I use to in the thinner mix.
Of course, if the OP is not spraying acrylics, this is not helpful…