I acquired 5 heavyweight cars and started stripping them yesterday. I tried both “SuperClean” from wally world and denatured alcohol. One car stripped super easy with the alcohol. A couple stripped easily with the SuperClean. A fourth did best when started with SuperClean but was tough to scrub off until put in alcohol and the paint came quickly off. Perhaps the SuperClean had exhausted its caustic component. The fifth car is the toughest. It’s overnight in alcohols and a bit comes off with each scrubbing but the last 20% is difficult. I think I’ll do one more scrubbing and then call it done. I suspect that the different degrees of difficulty with different cars comes from different runs, when the paints or paint prep might have varied.
Well, now to get ready to address finishing. I plan to paint the 2-tone UP grays per the attached photo. I have the paints on order and lettering and striping decals. Not sure whether to use the striping decals (if the right size), mask and airbrush, or hand paint the stripes, the most difficult part. I plan to lightly prime, then paint interior walls, then the outside. Not sure whether to paint the top, dark or light parts first. On the top, will the Badger gloss black look ok once the car is done and all lightly topcoated with DullCote or similar? Or should I docetor the black with a bit of grimy black? Any suggestions will be helpful as this will be my first airbrush attempt (after some practice on an old car or two).
If what I am seeing is correct, there is a lighter color above and below the windows, a darker band on the windows, and a pinstipe at the color separation line??
First I would spray the whole car with a gray primer, so the lighter colors will cover better than painting over Athearn black plastic, masking off the inside of the windows before painting. Next, mask the sides and spray the black parts. Mask the black, and spray the sides with the upper and lower color. Lastly, mask the window band and spray that color. Spray a gloss clearcoat, apply decals, Dullcote, and light weathering on the roof. At least that is the sequence I use on my passenger cars.
Also, while everythng is stripped, it might be a good time to carve off the molded grab irons by the doors and replace with brass wire. It is a small thing, but not difficult and improves the looks.
American Limited makes a very nice diaphragm that fits Athearn HW cars. #9100 for a pair, and #9106 for 6 pairs. They are a bit fiddley to build, but operate well. Just follow the instructions carefullly.
Athearn heavy weights make fine kit bashes. Here is one of my baggage cars. All done with rattle cans. Did the white first and masked off and sprayed the blue window band. Spray light colors first and dark colors second 'cause the dark colors will cover light colors, but NOT vice versa. Yes, I really have prototype photographs showing the trucks and the roof done in white. Diaphrams are the American Limited plastic ones. I liked the old Walthers ones made of paper better. All the grab irons and hand rails are brass wire. The corner stirrups are home made from brass wire, the ones under the baggage doors are commercial castings. I did all the stirrups largely 'cause the some of the original ones had broken off. Smoke jack is home made from brass tubing and a bit of sheet brass.
Yes, that’s correct. This is a photo from an EBay offering, not one of my cars. Mine have a row of rivets forming the top of the window opening, where a stripe could be, and a double row below the windows, the top rivet row extending more. The decals were in the mailbox and I see the stripes have a black outlining. Not sure whether they would lay with the silver atop the rivet row and then lay ok against the sides ok, particularly at the bottom of the windows. I guess I should simply try the decals first as if that can work it would likely be the most neat effect. But I wonder if (other than the time consuming masking) a best approach would be to paint everthing else then mask the sides to paint the strip on the exposed rivet line. Not really sure. I don’t think I could hand paint the rivet line w/o masking.
Some questions:
if masked, for the stripes, would airbrush be perferred as less likely to run under the masking tape?
should I just use blue painter’s tape for masking, and
I did the same thing for 2 tone grey NYC passenger cars. I painted the whole car dark grey, then masked it and painted it light grey. Then masked again and hand painted the white stripes. I used blue painters tape for the masking. I let the paint dry over night for the best results.
Airbrush would have less liquid paint, so less likely run under. Burnish the edge of the tape to get a better seal. Some people spray the edge of the tape with the base coat color so, if it runs under, it will not show, and it will seal the tape edge.
Blue painters tape is the best, I use the medium adhesive Scotch brand
Drying overnight is OK. That is enough so the tape will not pull the paint.
