Wheels

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Im trying to weather a freight car but it has metal wheels can I paint them?

2

Pop them out and paint them with a brush? Now ask a question that takes some thought.

3

Well, now that you got the sarcastic answer, I presume that you were not asking how to paint them, but were asking if there would be a problem if you painted them? Yes, you can paint them, but you want to keep the paint off the wheel thread where the wheel contacts the rail. You can also paint the axle without worrying about causing a short, if that was your concern. You also want to keep the paint off the axle end where the wheelset rides in the truck sideframe.

Regards

4

Yeah, spray paint is not going to be the way to go here. I would remove the trucks from the car body, and then twist them gently to remove the wheels. Don’t paint the inside edge of the trucks where the axles fit in - these should remain bare metal or plastic. And, as maxman said, don’t paint either the ends of the axles or the rail contact surface of the wheels. You can use pretty much any kind of paint you want on the outer faces of the wheels, though.

5

thanks guys, yes my question was if I could paint them without causing harm. I’m going to ignore the rude uncalled for response.

6

I paint the wheels, both front and back, and also the axles (but only the portion between the wheels, of course) on all of my non-powered rolling stock, using a brush. However, I almost never remove the wheelsets from the sideframes, and often don’t bother to remove thre trucks from the car, either. It’s much easier to rotate the wheels as you paint, and there’s also less chance of painting your fingers. A four-axle car can be done in a minute or so.

Wayne

7

Or…if they’re metal…



8

Here’s an inexpensive solution that has been recommended to me. I haven’t tried it yet but have heard several good posts on it, as well as a friend that uses it regularly.

http://www.modelerschoice.com/masks.htm

9

There was an article a couple of years ago in Model Railroader about making a holding fixture to hold wheels for airbrushing them.

10

There are two methods I use, both very simple.

#1. I remove the wheelsets from the trucks and spray them with Rust-Oleum rusty metal primer. I use a fine grit sanding sponge to just break the paint on the tread surface and it peels right off leaving the paint on the front and rear of the wheel intact and it does not scratch the wheel surface. I’m sure there’s someone out there that was about to blurt out that it does but I’ve been doing this for quite a while and have yet to see a scratch.

#2. If I just want to blacken the metal wheels I use a black permanent marker with a sharp tip. These are available from Wal-Mart for next to nothing and you don’t have to worry about getting any on the wheel tread. It won’t hurt anything if you do.

For a splotchy rust effect on a blackened or non-blackened wheel I paint parts of the wheel with Vasoline then spray it with the rusty metal primer. When the paint is dry I just rub it with a paper towel and the paint comes off the parts that the Vasoline was on.

Rusty wheels:

Blackened wheels: