I have an airbrush and can figure out how to paint a boxcar. Four sides and a top represent five flat surfaces. Easy task. But, what about painting a tank car ? I can’t figure how to do it.[:S]
Turn it, its round.
Boxcar? Two sides, two ends and roof and a BOTTOM.
SIX surfaces.
I think I understand what your asking. If you can lay a flatcar on one side, you can easily paint the opposite side without having to worry too much about paint runs as the painting surface is flat. Stand it on one end while you paint the other end and so on. Obviously, the boxcar won’t be rolling around either.
I would think that the easiest way to paint tank car (assuming the frame is removed or the car is frameless) would be to use a couple of “V” blocks to hold the car body while you paint the upper half and car ends. Use less paint in your airbrush mix and use multiple light coats to avoid runs. Let the paint dry, then turn the car body on the “V” blocks to expose the unpainted half and repeat the painting sequence.
You could cut the “V” blocks from a length of 2 x 2. First rip a “V” in one face of the 2 x 2, then crosscut a few blocks out of the original piece. Such blocks could be used over and over to hold any tubular object for painting or other work.
I would suggest using a thicker paint mix with more paint to thinner to prevent running, and then applying thin coats to as many surfaces at once as you can. For example, support the car from the ends and then paint the top, sides and bottom of the tank. Then you could hold the car by the middle and pain the ends. Alternate applying coats to the sides and ends to keep any edges from showing.
S&S
Rarely is the tank one piece, usually you can separate the top and bottom and insert a holder inside of the tank and paint the tank bottom with it taped to a box. If not you can stick a dowel (s) or a screw into the bolster holes and use it for a handle.
Randy
I usually paint multiple cars at once, and I normally set the car upside down on the handrails of the platform and paint the bottom of the car and halfway down the sides and ends. After painting the other cars, I turn the car over and rest it on its bolsters and then paint the top and the other half of the sides and ends.
Rick J
I prefer to hold a tank car by the dome when airbrushing, and start with the areas most difficult to get at, usually where the frame and tank meet. The trucks, of course, are removed. I have three Tichy tanks cars currently under construction, and the tanks can’t be separated from the frames once they’ve been assembled. Start anywhere, but don’t stay too long in one area. The paint should dry soon after hitting the surface, so there’s little chance of runs. Move back and forth between these difficult areas until they’re completely covered, then do the walkways (if fitted) and the tank itself. You should be able to do all but the dome, and by that time, the frame or walkways will be dry enough to handle, and you can hold it there while painting the dome.
Tank cars may be a little more involved than a boxcar, but they’re not difficult to paint at all.
A Walthers (Train Miniature) car done recently:
And a shortened Varney tank on a Tichy underframe:
Wayne
If the question is how to you hold it, just make a fixture. Here’s one I made out of brass strips. Its fancier, it has tubes on the base so it can slide out to accommodate different length cars. The basic one would be two pieces of brass strip, bent into Z’s, with a hole drilled into each of the little flat pieces. Use the truck screws to attach the car to the legs and then screw the other end to a block of wood (1x2) or solder together brass shapes to form a stand.
Dave,
I started to post an Idea,that I use,but now,it’s not necessary,you way is almost the same as mine…
Cheers,
Frank
Some variation of a “lazy susan” turntable in the paint booth is useful to have access to all sides without having to touch anything. Mounting the casting at a slight angle should give full access to the top.
Another time honored idea is to put a shell casting on a scrunched up top of a paper towel tube so you can freely turn the casting without touching it. A dowel or screwdriver in a vise provides a handy stick on which to set the tube during final drying
A very experienced custom painter once sat me down with a sample freight car and an airbrush. he said a common error is to paint the car thoroughly first, and then address the little odd spots that somehow escaped being painted. His method is to first paint all the odd little angles and nooks and crannies on a car and as he demonstrated, once you make sure you have covered all of those, in many cases the car is complete painted. On a tank car the dome, if there is one, and the side straps would be classic examples of areas that might escape paint on an initial go around – so you make them the initial go around.
Dave Nelson
For painting house cars (boxcars, reefers, etc.) and gondolas, I keep a supply of wood scraps (1"x1", 1"x2", and similar sizes) next to the paint booth, simply picking whichever one best fits the cars being painted. It allows the car to be turned as-required, making all surfaces easily accessible. When the car has been painted, I slip my fingers into the cavity to remove it, placing it on a nearby shelf and mount the next car on the stick. Flatcars and sealed cars, such as craftsman-type kits for which the floor is cemented into the body are more difficult to paint, and a jig such as the one shown can be useful. However, I prefer to make removeable floors for resin kits, and handle them the same as plastic ones. Gondola interiors often need to be painted first with the car’s colour, then overpainted with a generous application of rust tones, in preparation for further weathering.
For flatcars, I usually paint the underbodies first, and because I almost always paint multiple cars in any session, the first ones done are dry enough to handle once the last one has been completed, and it’s a simple matter to change colours (when necessary) and hold the car either by its frame or by grasping the car between thumb and forefinger, one on the deck and the other on the underbody.
Unless the paint job involves colour separation on the car body (in my modelled era, lots of boxcars had black roofs and/or ends) I seldom both to mask anything, as colour separation between the carbody and a glued-in-place underbody can be accomplished by directional spraying and the judicious use of temporary cardstock masks.
To weather tankcars, it’s often useful to do the initial weathering on the underbody with the trucks removed, as this makes it easier to add wheelspray to the underside of the tank. Once that’s completed, I install the trucks (wheel faces, front and back, and axles and springs already brush-painted) and finish the air-brushed weatherin
Tank you all for the tips.
Wayne : nice job on those cars
leighant : 4 sides, 1 top, 1 bottom and 1 floor (for open doors) but as I always paint those last ones separately the box still has 5 flat surfaces.