i am restoring a lionel bridge from the prewar era and also from postwar too, is there some place out there that sells lionel paint or does some one know how and where to get this information or is there a list that can be sold of all there colors they used or does one just match color as close as possible thanks ,hammer
Charles C. Wood & Co. sells paint to match old Lionel.
I haven’t used his spray cans, but the Woods enamel gave me fits spraying thru an air gun. Then it didn’t want to harden till after a week and alot of baking. Needless to say, I havn’t tryed it since as I wound up stripping it off and starting over with a custom match done with Dupont automotive paint.
Jim
Enamel paint can take a while to cure.
Did you thin the paint before trying to spray it? If so, with what thinner. The company recommends baking the items at 150 degrees for 15 minutes.
When spraying with enamel, be sure & give the surface a good flash coat first, just an even mist type spray, & let set a minute or two before full coats are applied. That gets it tachy for the full coat to stick nicely to. Did you use a good primer ?
Thanks,John
I also noticed that this paint takes a very long time to dry. It usually takes 24-36 hours to dry at room temperature.
I’ve been painting scale models and restoring trains for pretty much my whole life (I’m 34). I’ve used just about every brand and I’ve certainly used every type of paint on a more than regular basis. I believe Woods’ paint in the bottle is garbage thru a spray gun. It’s not user friendly and it’s my opinion that you’re better off spending the extra money on a proffesional quality paint if you expect proffesional quality results. I find the $40.00 I spend on a Dupont, 2 part automotive base color is cheap in the long run because that pint can paint alot of trains and the durability and finish is second to none. If you’re just a “weekend” restorer, take a walk down the paint aisle in Home Depot or Lowe’s. Many of the Krylon and Rustoleum sprays are very good matches. Bring along your project and match it up on the spot.
I gave up using enamels years ago. I never had much success with that type of paint, and it does seem to take forever to dry. I use automotive paint as well and will attest to its durability. And it dries almost instantly.
Jim
I have had great success with Charlie’s spray bombs. It dries quickly and evenly. I have also had good luck with the paint in a can, but I don’t run it through an air brush, so i can’t judge it there. However, when brushed on, it dries just fine. YMMV, but I use it whenever I can.