I was looking at a product in Micro Mark catalog called NEO LUBE which they claim will put a greyish black coating on metal wheels and it is electrically conductive. Has anyone used this and does it work? I want to blacken some steam loco rods, valve gear and wheels. Any other product that would do this? I have tried ‘Blacken It’ and not that impressed with it.
Bob
I have tried it and it works, but not as well as I imagined. I may have been expecting too much. I can’t comment of its conductivity other than to say it does not hurt. It blackens some. It does not work on copper wire as well as I hoped, but it is what I use on my bridges to tone down the wire. It works on wheels for a little blakening, but for a diorama, paint would be better, but then they would not run as well. I would try a bottle and then you will know. I am glad I have a bottle on my shelf.
I’ve used it for long time, and I like it. It can be brushed on and dries to a good metallic gray color, which to me looks like unpolished steel.
Tom Watkins
thanks for the replies. I was hoping it might be a decent product as I don’t want to waste the $15 Micro Mark wants for it. I just want to get rid of the shinny plated valve gear and wheels.
Bob
I bought some to do exactly what you want to do, and it worked great for me. It didn’t build up like paint would do. I also lubricated the moving joints after it was dry. I don’t think it is very conductive though, as I couldn’t get a resistance reading from the material by itself.
I “paint” Neo-Lube on the sides of the rails on my track with a small brush. It dries to nice flat dark gray and to my eye looks very realistic. I’ve used it to paint small handrails and it seems to work very well there too. Some people who’ve experimented with have argued that it really doesn’t conduct electricity, but I’ve never experimented with that aspect of it.
I reelly don’t need the conductivity, mainly the looks and durability. I thiough since it is advertised as being conductive it would work on the drivers. I will give it a try. Thanks again for all the input.
Bob
Bob, Neo-Lube is basically powdered graphite in alcohol. It can be brushed on, and will dry to a darkish gray slightly metallic color. I use it primarily for the smokeboxes of steamers (after all, that’s what the prototype uses!), and also occasionally on the rods. It is indeed electrically conductive. Be wary of painting steam loco drivers with it. If you get any bridging the insulation, you could wind up with a mysterious short circuit that can be devilish hard to track down and harder to get rid of. Also, it does NOT come out of clothing when spilled. It can be rubbed off, so don’t use it on anything that gets a lot of handling.
All of the above being said, it’s a great product! It’s well worth the $15, though if you Google “NeoLube No. 2” you may be able to find it cheaper elsewhere…