I am going to decal it in the Union Pacific CMO 20000-20609 series with decals from Oddball Decals. Without having an airbrush, I bought one of those Testors (cant remember exactly what company) model spray cans. The color on the can appeared to be a close match for UP covered hoppers, but when I painted the car it had almost a tan tint to it. Its a nice color for a covered hopper, but not the color i need.
My question is, for using one of those 3+/- ounce model spray cans, which will have the closest result to Union Pacifics covered hoppers? Thanks
It would be very helpful if you listed the color code/formula. I remember seeing dark gray and light gray UP hoppers. Sounds like the gray that you’ve applied uses a yellow tint as one of it’s components.
I’ve been in your situation before and it can be a bit frustrating. A trick that I’ve tried with rattle cans is to perform color “blends”.
I’m assuming you’re referring to the medium gray. Again without looking at your exact colors this is a long shot but to get a little closer to the UP gray:
Lightly scuff the surface of your car with a 3M scotch pad. Use horizontal strokes. Clean the shell when finished.
Using a medium gray primer or paint, spray thin even mist coats over the shell. You can mist by either increasing your spraying distance or increasing your stroke speed. Practice on scrap first. Your coats should be transparent.
Remember that you will not be trying to hide the color on your car, just adding a “grayer” tint to it to eliminate the tan hue. Allow each coat to flash off at least 5 minutes. Shouldn’t use anymore than two coats. Make certain that your mist coat is even and not splotched. Practice on scrap first. Once you’re satisfied with the results, apply your gloss coat and decal as normal.
Tom,
don’t be offended but even if it’s a low cost unit from Wal-Mart, please strongly consider acquiring an airbrush. Once you practice with it and perform a paint or weathering job…your rattle cans will sit on the shelf collecting dust. So many color formulas are available for modelrailroaders in Acrylic or Solvent based paints, plus custom color mixing and blends are a piece of cake!
Cost isnt the issue with an airbrush. Ive used them before and its just a pain to clean. Maybe if Pactra still had its origional formula it would be a different story, but I just dont like airbrushes.
I very much understand your feelings as I was first hesitant with airbrushes, though once I became comfortable, I went “ga-ga!”. Not trying to shove it at you, but my point was that because as model railroaders there are so many color variances in railroad paint schemes that’s it can be difficult to get a good match with the rattle cans, even with simplified black and white colors.
Though cleaning my old Paasche airbrush usually involved flushing an ounce of thinner (for solvent based paint) or an ounce of alcohol (for acrylics). Then wiping the needle and I’m done in less than a minute.
Interesting that you mentioned Pactra. I remember using one of their grays (Rebel?) in a spray can and it had a yellowish tint to it, though this was years back. Pactra cans then had a tendecy to spray a bit on the splotchy side. The Testors Model Masters rattle cans do spray smoothly. I have a can of Clear and Bright White. I have used them on “quicky not too picky” paint tasks or touch ups.
I think, in a sense, you’ve answered your own question. I don’t know of any spray cans that offer accurate color. For railroad, armor or aircraft models.
Tamiya Panzer Yellow in the spray can, for instance, is different color-wise than in the bottle and never looks quite right.
What’s more, spray cans don’t offer as fine a spray as airbrushes and thus make for “rougher” paint jobs that can obscure details.
Don’t go to all the work of kitbashing a loco only to spray bomb it. Invest in an airbrush.
If you can’t afford an airbrush, go to your LHS. One of the gents there will probably be able to airbrush it for you, or knows someone who will. Very possibly for free.
I have the Paasche H#1L set-up. I love it. Paid $45.00 total for it off evil-bay. It is not very hard to keep clean either (I like to use the cup instead of the jars).
I use a can of PPG paint reducer left over from when I painted my Trans Am. I poured the reducer into a large jar and when I am done painting with the Paasche I just swish it around in the jar to get it as clean as possible, then spray some reducer through it, put the lid back on the jar, and throw the Paasche on the shelf. Its that easy.
For the air compressor, went to Wally-World and got one of those 8 gal air tanks, and a 120Volt portable compressor for a total of like 40 bucks. Then I went to Farm & Fleet and got a regulator with a guage for 20 bucks. I prolly should of gotten a regular air compressor for a hundred bucks but they are very loud and the wife would have complained. In the past (back when I was a kid) I rigged up an old spare tire to use as a compressed air source for a friend’s H model Paasche. That worked very well also.
I have never had a problem with it yet. And as mentioned above with custom color mixing, I was able to custom mix my own EJ&E Orange very easily using two different colors of Floquil Paints. The coverage is awesome with the airbrush, you actually have to try to screw it up in order to get it wrong.
I don’t know what airbrushes youve tried, but (and I don’t mean to sound like a salesman) you can’t go wrong with a Paasche in my humble opinion. Give one another try.