Re-painting rolling stock---???

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XavierJ123

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Dec 17, 2004
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Lexington, Kentucky
Do I have to strip the old paint off rolling stock before repainting it or can I just airbrush some acrylic paint over the ugly artificial too bright looking rolling stock that is in so many train sets? I am about ready to make everything Tuscan red. How would you do it? :wave:
 
You should at least remove the lettering I have had some luck with an eraser on a pencil and something like Pine Sol or Goo Gone . If your looking for a "cheap" box car red pick up a can of Primer I use 16011 red oxide primer the brand is Miracal Its 1.00 a can at the local $ store Wally World has same thing different brand I have not had any crazing of the plastic but you mifgt want to spray a car till you try it on a junker first, You can ever put Masking tape on the Data on the car side height weight ect. pull it of when you finish and you have a car the looks like some of the hurry up repaints the real railroads do Cox 47
 
Depending on the brandname there are some cars that you just have to strip before repainting.

Bachmann is one such brand.(though they seem to be getting better :D ) Once you strip them with 91% Isopropyl Alchol you will be amazed at how nice that trainset car really looks.Then you can repaint (cheap rattlecan paint works just fine) and decal to your hearts content.

Speaking of Bachmann the 41' highcube boxcars are great for bashing into 50' highcubes. :D
 
You can also use brake fluid to strip paint but again test it first to make sure it won't crazy the plastic and make sure you wash well with soap and plenty of water to remove all trace of the fluid as if you don't it will cause the new paint not to stick.Cox 47
 
I think ConCor cast their freight cars with colored plastic and then apply the lettering. Some of the toy train cars may have a nice paint job, just too bright. Shoot it with dull coat, and that will knock off the shine. Do a little weathering and you may not need to repaint.
 
I'll go with Russ on that one. Most of my cars (from both ends of the cost$ spectrum) get the weathering treatment with black or grey (or whatever colour) chalk or lead and the dull cote treatments. It certainly improves the looks and definately gets rid of the out of the box look.
 
Painting the bright red caboose with dull primer red.

I just said the heck with it and decided to try the can of NU-HUE automotive sandable primer right over the original bright red paint. The spray can says it is rust resistant and quick drying and it was. The color is a very dull primer deep red. I took the caboose apart and sprayed the body PDQ and it was done. It looks pretty good but is so dull that I think it needs a coat of clear coat of some kind. Guest I'll try that next.
 
I am planning on ordering a bunch of rolling stock and a locomotive from Life-Like and I want to repaint it in a scheme for a nonexistant company (Jake Alexander Transportation Co.. I don't have an airbrush, so does anyone have suggestions on how to paint it or where to get a cheap airbrush that doesn't preform like crap?
 
Go to your local Meijer,K-Mart,Walmart,Menards,Lowe's,Home Depot and check out the varieity of spray paint colour that are available.Some of these paints are quite cheap.With a little practice you will be able to lay on a quite decent paint job.

Be sure that you check out ALL of the spray paints.
 
richalex2010 said:
I am planning on ordering a bunch of rolling stock and a locomotive from Life-Like and I want to repaint it in a scheme for a nonexistant company (Jake Alexander Transportation Co.. I don't have an airbrush, so does anyone have suggestions on how to paint it or where to get a cheap airbrush that doesn't preform like crap?
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Harbor Freight sells a single action air brush for under $10.00 that will do a good job on "dip job" painting. It won't be any good for painting stripes, but will work fine for shooting a solid color on a box car. If you are buying spray cans, look for the ones with a "fan spray" rather than one that squirts a stream.
 
Thanks. What is "Singel Action?" Does it matter? How much of a difference does it make? Also, What sized bottles does the Harbor Freight brush use? Where can I get it? Thanks again.
 
A single action air brush is basically a jet pump. It has a pick up tube going into the bottle; and when you push the button, it sprays paint. A double action brush is designed so that when you push the button down, you get air only. To get paint, you need to push the button down and then while depressed you pull the button back. Also the double action brush can have the size of the spray pattern adjusted from a wide fan to a narrow stripe. If there is no Harbor Freight store near you here is the url. www.harborfreight.com
 
A coworker purchased an airbrush from Harbor Freight for $5.00 and did not like it. He said it was cheap, made in China and the bottle blew up on him. I have a Pasche which was given to me by my cousin. I purchased an additional tip for it as they come in different sizes. It does a fine job. I think the availability of parts might be something that you would want to consider. Not to mention, the free advise from the art store or where ever you buy a Pasche or Badger airbrush. Our local hobby shop also sells airbrushs, so that is another source.
 
Bottle blew up??? Since the bottle can not get pressurized, it doesn't really have a mechanism to blow up. I wonder if a foreign substance and the application of a lighter were involved?

XavierJ123 said:
A coworker purchased an airbrush from Harbor Freight for $5.00 and did not like it. He said it was cheap, made in China and the bottle blew up on him. I have a Pasche which was given to me by my cousin. I purchased an additional tip for it as they come in different sizes. It does a fine job. I think the availability of parts might be something that you would want to consider. Not to mention, the free advise from the art store or where ever you buy a Pasche or Badger airbrush. Our local hobby shop also sells airbrushs, so that is another source.
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You can use a compressor or buy propellent in cans ($$$).
Mini compressors are not inexpensive, and not useful for much else. I would buy myself a nice garage type compressor useful for other shop tasks and just add a regulator to it to control pressure to the airbrush. Once you have an air compressor in your garage/shop you'll wonder how you lived without it.

If you paint in a room other than where your compressor resides, you can buy a portable air tank at most auto or tractor supply stores. Again, add a regulator. The tanks hold up to 125 psi (you only need about 8 I think). You can fill these portable tanks off-site but my experience is they don't retain the air for long periods and most quarter operated gas station compressors don't have enough power to fill them.
 
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