Smoke

Has anyone had trouble ,with the paint coming off or bubbling around the smoke stack of there Steam Engines? If so please post , for I have Eight engines doing just that. This is Blowing my mind.

Thank You
Harold

[#welcome] to the forum.

I’ve heard of paint problems on some K-Line Steamers a few years back.

What is the brand of your steam engines?

What is the brand of your smoke fluid?

The only Engines I’m having trouble with are Lionel ,and the smoke fluid i use is either Lionel or Mega Steam.

Welcome Harold,

I would suggest using the approved smoke fluid from whatever company that made the locomotive and not a substitute smoke fluid. Example if you have Lionel use the Lionel smoke fluid and not MTH or K-Line, one other note about smoke fluid be sure that it is up to date fluid and not some post-war fluid left over.

Lee F.

Harold,

Welcome to the forum! Do the engines in question have fan driven smoke units? I have five MTH steamers with fan driven units. A few of them have bubbled or blistered in the stacks. I use MTH fluid and Megasteam smoke fluid. I do not think that smoke fluid causes the paint to bubble or blister, because some of the engines that have this problem have had nothing but MTH fluid used in them their entire lives. I think the problem could be a result of the heat that is given off by the smoke as it comes up the stack. As the smoke reaches the cool air outside of the stack, it also cools down. I do not think that the bubbled or blistered paint is anything to worry about. I have noticed for several years, and I thought I was the only one with this problem. It is nice to know that I am not alone. As I said before, do not worry about the paint in the stack. It does not seem to affect operation.

Jim