SW9/1200 paint job

[spitfire]

Well, although this is not prototypical for the time period, I had to have a red cab-end on my CN switcher. I thought of taking it in to one of the LHS to have it done for me, but last night I decided to tackle it myself. This is the most expensive piece of equipment I have painted and it took a certain amount of nerve to begin. I masked off the cab top and sides with tape and saran wrap, and the windows and handrails with rubber cement that I brushed on.

Although getting the rubber cement off was very picky, time-consuming, and not what I would call fun, it masked perfectly.

Once I had gone that far, weathering was not such a scary prospect.

Here she is. BTW, I'm now thinking of removing the CN markings altogether and having this be a generic, no-name engine, perhaps leased....

cheers
Val

 

[Tyson Rayles]

Ya done good Val !!! Nice Job.

 

[Gary Pfeil]

The red cab end and the weathering on the side and trucks look excellant! Nice job.

 

[RailRon]

Val, it was a good thing to invest your nerve power for that paint job. It turned out very good, indeed!

Good idea with that rubber cement. Never tried it on handrails. Thanks for the hint!

Ron

 

[MasonJar]

Hi Val,

Looks great! I especially like the weathering of the trucks. I thought I was going to see a TH&B yellow scheme...!

What kind of airbrush equipment are you using? I am beginning to think that one may be in my future if I am to face my painting / weathering fears and do it right.

Andrew

 

[spitfire]

Thanks a lot Tyson, Gary and Ron.

Andrew, TH&B may appear on my layout at some time. I really like their paint schemes!

My airbrush is something I bought many many years ago hoping to do illustration, so I'm not sure if it's still available. It's an Iwata HP-B, very simple affair, single action with a little cup to hold paint. I have a Badger too, but I really like how quick and easy the Iwata is to clean.

cheers
Val

 

[eightyeightfan1]

Nice job, Val.
Leave the markings(Just my opinion).The loco looks good.
I know how intimidating things can be. I thought lettering a car with numbers and letters cut from a decal sheet were beyondmy ability...until I tried it. I actually found it quite enjoyable.
Keep up the good work.

 

[jon-monon]

Looks FANTASTIC! , Val!

May I suggest P - K Leasing Co., they have a very good reputation for fine motive power; ask anyone in Cobbler's Knob

 

[spitfire]

Thanks guys!

Let's see now - one vote to leave as CN, and one to change to P-K Leasing. Hmm. Didn't I hear something about those P-K employees being lazy little so-and-so's?

hehehe
Val

 

[jon-monon]

hahaha the lazy ones are GONE!

 

[Woodie]

That does look excellent, Val. Perhaps a bit like me! I'm not game enought to touch my more expensive locos. Bits of old junk, yeah. but not ready for my prized pieces yet!

What is "sarin wrap"? and the rubber cement is a good idea too.

 

[Russ Bellinis]

Outstanding job, Val. The weathering is perfect. By the way, Woodie, "Saran" wrap is a clear plastic kitchen wrap for saving leftovers in the fridge. My first attempt at paint and decals was a gp9 in Santa Fe zebra stripe! The black paint was a "piece of cake," but the stripes had me "cross eyed" for a week. I can do stripes pretty good now, but I didn't think I'd ever get that first one done.

 

[sumpter250]

Val,

This is the most expensive piece of equipment I have painted and it took a certain amount of nerve to begin

Looks like "a certain amount of nerve" well invested!
Nice!!!!

Rubber cement???? When you say rubber cement, I think of something like Pliobond, which can really do some nasty things to plastic. I use liquid latex, Woodland scenics Mountains in Minutes, to mask windows, and other small areas. There used to be a product called Magic Masker, which was also liquid latex. Either way, the latex is easy to remove from the model, and can be applied with a small brush to even the smallest places.
Pete

 

[interurban]

nice

Looking good my friend, bet ya glad ya did it eh!
That weathering is just right, geeeee you must have been doing this for years.

 

[spitfire]

Thanks Woodie, Russ and Chris! Yep, I am glad I did it.

Pete, you're right - liquid latex would have been the way to go. I just didn't have any on hand and no chance of getting any til next weekend. Since I'm way too impatient for that, I tried the rubber cement. Never thought it might eat the plastic - lucky for me it didn't!!!!!!

It's just the art supply stuff though, not Pliobond. It peeled off easily enough on the areas that were flat, like the windows, but around the grab irons and the handrails, and on the handrails themselves it was pretty tricky. And of course it was all coated with paint, so a rubber cement pick-up didn't work.

Anyway, next time I'll go for the latex. Maybe when I work up the nerve to attack my J3e. (Yeah, right!)

cheers
Val

 

[Partsman]

Looks really good, Val. Well done!

 

[Lighthorseman]

Wow!

A SPECTACULAR job you've done there, Val! I'll bet that there was a fair bit of gazing proudly upon your end result going on...

 

[cidchase]

Really good looking loco, Val!
I never thought about that latex masking, great tip!!

 

[Sir_Prize]

I agree...
B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L

Whatever Road you chose to have it. You still did awesome.

 

[spitfire]

Re: Wow!

Originally posted by Lighthorseman
I'll bet that there was a fair bit of gazing proudly upon your end result going on...

Only for an hour or two Steve, LOL! Actually, there's a shelf beside my monitor with a small piece of track where I put whatever loco I'm currently in love with. Guess which one is there now!

Cid, the liquid latex that Pete (Sumpter) mentioned is used by airbrush artists for illustration. It can be applied with a fine brush into small detailed areas, which makes it perfect for models. Larger areas are covered by a "frisket" mask, but that only works on large flat areas so it's not really useful for modelling.

Bill and Ken thanks a lot for the kind comments. In fact thanks again to everyone. It's your encouragement that makes it all worthwhile!

cheers friends!
Val