I am curious why the old paint needs to be stripped off for a restoration. Why can’t the rough edges where the paint is chipped just be feathered in. Paint will generally adhere better to the pre-existing paint then it will to bare metal.
Earl
Jim Apitz is an expert at just that. Bet he signs on tomorrow AM and will post his knowledge on that.
Earl, the old paint can be sanded and new paint feathered in. I’ve done it with good results. The only caveats are matching the old paint and making sure that the new paint does not react badly with the old paint.
If you intend to repaint an entire shell, the first concern isn’t an issue, since all of the old paint will be covered.
Some modern paints and their inherent solvents will sometimes react adversely with other paints. For instance, as a general rule, one shouldn’t spray lacquer over enamel. Care should be taken in this regard. Experiment with paint compatibility on an area inside the shell.
To feather in a spray paint, use an old tee shirt as the mask. It will create a soft edge, not a stark line like tape would.
Here is an example:
I used a tee shirt to mask off the surrounding nice paint and sprayed the damaged area after sanding it smooth.
Here it is after painting. An all but invisible repair.
Here is my 736 post war Berk when I got it.
I sanded the chips smooth and brush painted over them. Look at it now. The touch ups are seamless with the factory original paint.
Jim
Jim,
I have been reading and saving the locations of your various posts on restoration, like this one on the 2432 Clifton Vista Dome passenger car and the 736 Berkshire cab. I have decided that I’m going to be buried with my early 50’s trains and don’t give a hoot about whether or not touch ups or complete repaints devalue the stuff. That won’t be MY problem.
First, it appears you only touched up with paint the repaired spot (wow) on the 2432 after the repair. What’s the paint brand, type, and color that you used for this series of passenger cars? The match looks so good. Did you do any other paint touch ups on this or the matching cars?
Second, just like your Berk, I have to do some touch up on the cab of my 2046, exact same spot, and kept your description of the process from the “Bought a 2020…” thread where you described how you arrived at the color and match by mixing the paint and light coating or feathering the spot by hand with thin coats until the old/new paint matched, no paint line. Did you consider repainting the whole cab top?
From the photos you have provided in this forum, it looks like your stuff is all in like new condition. Your pics have been so clear that even when I blow them up your engines and cars look unmarked, regardless of age.
Thanks for your help.
Jack
What’s the best way to remove the existing paint? A chemical stripper? Hand sand?
I’d like to repaint a few of my father’s old engines and get them back up and running.
For small paint nicks, I generally just go over them with a felt tip pen on my black steamers. Once the ink dries, it is a pretty good match. Anyone else do this? The pros are it is quick and easy. What are the cons?
Earl
Hi Earl,
I believe another poster recommended your approach somewhere in the forum, like a Sharpie (pointed tip unlike a standard Magic Marker) and he was very pleased because of the ease, precision, and the match. He also mentioned he uses a marker that is NOT indelible, that the touched up part will wash off…for those who are worried about resale value. But I can’t recall where I read it and what brand of marker he used. So the con would be that the piece would not be an untouched original.
I for one never plan on selling any of my stuff for sentimental reasons, so I don’t care if a touch up might devalue the piece. A touch up would make me happier than staring at that nick forever. Drives me nuts.
Jack
Hello Earl,
The cars that reach me are so poor that a little touch up would be insufficient, that why I never have “spot painted” before, but it was nice to read how Jim is doing it and I will try so with an old T-shirt when appropriate. My problem is often that pre-war cars corrode under the paint and when the complete paint is stripped, beautiful to see but undesired for the car, rust lines appear. Because I want to stop that type of corrosion of continuing under my paint, I have to remove it all and treat the whole surface.
To answer Mountaineer’s question, the best method for paint stripping depends on the paint, substrate and your tools. My favorite to remove old paint from pre-war metal cars is to boil it off with old-fashioned detergent and then subsequently brush it up with a Brass brush Dremel-type tool. Obviously, that is not an option for removing paints from plastics. I have read this topic a few times on this forum and if you search this forum you will find the threads and the paint removing chemicals that have been recommended by others. I do not know, because I just work with old metal cars. Once, I had the chance to test a sand blaster at a friends work shop and that was the best, but unfortunately, I do not have such a thing yet. It is on the wish list though.
I hope that helps a bit,
Eggo
Eggo,
Thanks. These engines are post war I believe. At least he had them when he was a kid in the 50’s.
Jim,
Where were you when I needed you, nearly 4 years old Christmas of 1954 and first started getting this stuff?
It wasn’t until I was about 7 when my friends and I suddenly became concerned with the train cosmetics and avoided rear end collisions and derailments like the plague. Sometime around then we tikes began using a white Bon Ami foam to clean our pieces and Pledge to protect the finishes (not on the letters or numbers because someone told us that was a no-no).
We’d wrap the trains up in old rags or t-shirts, put them in boxes, and then haul them to a friend’s house/layout in a Radio Flyer wagon. Also about that time none of us would let another person, adult or otherwise, pilot our own train. I’ve been using the Pledge ever since, on both the Alco’s plastics and the steamers’ black paint.
If you don’t think the mechanicals on the 50’s Lionels were tough, we used to drag race the engines on long parallel sets of tracks on one guy’s basement floor that was carpeted, stopping the trains with bunches of bed pillows. Eventually, the guy’s mother took issue with train grease and oil all over her linens. If I recall correctly, the single engined Alcos were much quicker than the bigger dual motored F3’
Jack,
You got to post some photos of your stuff. What locomotives do you have besides the 2031s?
Jim
Hi Jim,
Well here goes, all Lionel:
2046 Santa Fe style Hudson with 2046w tender: 3 window, 1950-1951.
2023 Union Pacific Alcos: Yellow nose, 1950.
2031 Rock Island Alcos: raised roof dimple,1953-1954.
1615 0-4-0 Switcher steam, 1955-1957.
2348 Minneapolis & St. Louis GP9 Diesel, 1958-1959.
6-1776 Spirit of 76 U36 Diesel, 1974.
I don’t have pictures but I promise to take some and post when the Christmas frenzy here dies down. Spent the last 6 hours helping with the Christmas decorations.
Jack
You have some of my favorites, Jack!
Below is a link to the repair process of that vista dome car and a 2671 tender shell.
Repairing Brent’s Trains
Thanks again to Brent for letting me “experiment” with his Lionels!
Merry Christmas!
Jim
Thanks, Jim,
I want to thank all of the folks that continue to post problems and solutions in this forum, long after the topic has already been beaten to death, and for years! You folks show a lot of patience re-explaining things to the novices, things you have done and explained many times before. I slowed down on adding my 2 cents and have become immersed doing searches and reading the old posts.
I liked the short repair and paint dissertation you provided. Cliffs notes version. It’s so easy for the novice to go from bad to worse and find that the plastic is melting, the wrong color paint not only dripped but is falling off, or my fingerpints are now pemanently imbedded on the side of my shell I didn’t wait long enough to dry. “Yes, officer, I can definitively prove that’s my 2046 he stole. If you will check, my fingerprints are permanently affixed to the shell, and his aren’t.”
After the Sunday Christmas Photo thread shut-down, I was somewhat encouraged by some of the apologies, somewhat discouraged that some folks felt they no longer wanted to contribute. As a newbie/oldie, I’m not personally intimidated by the discourse. But many newbies like myself and seasoned veterans like you (good choice of words?) may have been. Intimidated not necessarily by the catalyst but by the direction the discourse took. I was mad that I came looking for photos and found something quite different. Ho hum, next post. I WANT PICTURES!
By the same token, I recognize that the “meaning” of the written and spoken language can turn on a single word or choice of puntuation, that people’s sensitivities must be considered before one posts. When in doubt, yank it out…or don’t post. If one feels so passionately, the forum provides a private e-mail option. Then you and I can piss all over each other to our heart’s content. &