I need to find someone to paint an inexpensive engine, two boxcars and a passenger car at an inexpensive price. If anyone has information that they can pass along, I would appreciate it.
Danny
You get what you pay for.
Typically, a custom painter will charge upwards of 150 dollars for painting a loco, 100 for rolling stock and in between for passenger cars.
David B
Your best bet is on eBay. Theres a guy that does engines, boxcar, etc for about $7.00 a car. Your other weathers like myself charge with how much time, weather products, etc. I would look that guy up. Hes probably your best shot, as far as cheap wise.
Danny,
Can you provide some details. Some custom painters base their price on how involved a job is.
For example, even among inexpensive rolling stock:
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Cab diesels and electrics are much easier to paint than hood diesels or steamers.
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Bachmann and older Life Like units are easier to paint strip (91% alcohol) than Athearns and Atlas units (Super Clean). On some units the paint is so stubborn, that a custom painter will have to use a mini sand/bead blaster to remove the topcoat.
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Decals: On locomotives, decals consisting of long stripes and small letters/numbers (such as the New York Central “Lightning Stripers” ) can be more challenging to apply than something simplified, like the 1970s Norfolk & Western’s huge “N&W” logo with large cab numbers.
This is why some painters charge a flat-fee for jobs or categories of jobs. That covers: paint, materials, and time. So even on inexpensive equipment the price is not always going to be low.
But, what is it that you’d like?
I know who you are talking about and he does fantastic work. He did a large lot of covered hoppers for me and they came out perfect.
For $7 does he use a brush or a roller with the Dutch Boy latex?[%-)][(-D]
Crayons!!![(-D]
Looks like he does good cars for a good price. He’s a power seller, which means you have to sell over $1,000 a month. I am guessing he does alot of it by airbrush. Takes me 2 or more days to do one car. Every Monday night I see he has a new listing of cars. Still looks like good work thou.
Or, maybe you should give some thought to doing it yourself…
If you’re starting with inexpensive cars and engines, then chances are the detail level isn’t much to begin with. So, the job isn’t going to involve a lot of small-scale work, and you don’t have to worry as much about keeping paint out of the fine details, because, well, there aren’t any fine details. Therefore, you can probably get away with rattle-can spray paints and blue painters tape for masking.
If you really think you need an airbrush, then buy one. By the time you’ve painted 2 engines rather than pay someone else to do it for you, you will have saved enough for the airbrush.
Most decals for common railroads are available commercially. Order them and apply them. If you’ve got a good working surface, you can get the stuff the pros use to help the decals settle down. Then you can give them a quick spray, either a satin coat or dull, to seal up the decals and protect them from handling.
This is my most recent paintjob, a Bachmann Peter Witt trolley:
I did this reefer and the small beer truck a while back:
(Yeah, I think I overdid it on the weathering, too.)
The point is that I’m no professional. I’ve been back in the hobby for about 3 years now. But, with limited tools and supplies (no airbrush) and starting with less-than-high-priced models, I came out with a reefer that fits in well, and a trolley I’m really happy with. The reefer is an Athearn blue-box kit, by the way, and the truck is a Jordan Miniatures model.
I also made all of the decals myself, on my computer. With a few simple rules, it’s as easy as printing a picture and cutting it out with scissors.
How much stuff are you going to paint. If this is a one time thing then it would be cost effective to have your models painted. If you are going to paint more equipment then I suggest buying a compressor moisture trap/regulator ans an airbrush and learn how to paint.
Many years ago I bought an airbrush and started painting for myself. It didn’t take long after I perfected my technique that others wanted me to paint for them. The airbrush paid for itself many times over. I used it for not only rolling stock but structures and to weather.
A lot has been said about the new water based paint but I still recomend Accu-Paint, Floquil or Scalecoat 2. Maybe I’m old fashioned but I still prefer lacquer to the water based stuff.
MisterBeasley,
Hats off to you on that trolley. Nice job![8D][tup] That photo is encouraging me to get back to freelance painting my newest GMC fishbowl bus as soon as I finish my Metroliners.
BTW: The reefer is not bad at all and looks like it’s easily modifiable.
Thanks for posting those.