I am in the process of painting some Round House old time passenger cars. They will be UP Armor Yellow with a gray roof. What I would like to know is should the cars be Dul-Coated or Gloss-Coated in the end? I would think very little weathering if any at all, What do you think? They will make up a Steam powered tourist train when I am done. Thanks. Mike
Mike,
I just got done spraying some undec Walthers Budd Dome cars because Rapido doesn’t make any. I used exactly the same colors. Now I did one thing different. The first car I airbrushed I didn’t use any primer, the second I did. The one that I primed the yellow covered better and looked darker, the yellow looked more richer when the two cars were placed side by side. I would definately spray them with Gloss Coat when finished. You’ll be glad you did. Now I airbrushed it on, which gives a better result then using a can. I also mixed it with a little bit of Airbrush Thinner. Now as far as the weathering, ABSOLUTELY. But just very little. Maybe some light spray (dirt or tan color would look great) along the bottom, and some on the trucks, that’s it. I think that any piece of rolling stock looks unreal and out of place if it’s not weathered a little.
Good Luck
Mike
I use Future floor finish for the final coat, but this is for stainless cars. I like it because it is cheap when compared to the Gloss Coat, and I like the finish better. I do one coat for applying decals, and then another coat to seal everything. It does really gunk up the airbrush really bad, so I would suggest doing a really good cleaning after using it. There is a thread somewhere in regards to painting pax cars somwhere here. I will try to find it.
While the prototypes have a glossy finish when new, this doesn’t usually translate well on scale models, and a flat finish won’t look right either. If you’re using an airbrush, mix some Dulcoat and Glosscoat to make a semi-gloss. I’d go about 60-65% gloss to 40-35% flat for cars in excursion service, with only light weathering on the trucks and underbody. For regular passenger cars, try 50%-50% mix for semi-gloss and heavier weathering on the trucks and underbody, with a bit on the lower carbody,too. Don’t forget wheel splash on the car ends.
Wayne