There are 6 replies, with the last one on September 11 2012 at 10:30:24 PM by AntonioFP45
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Antonio,
Welcome Aboard!
I too am surprised that 91% Alcohol worked for removing the Rivarossi paint, as Nelson said, I and I agree its usually bulletproof!
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id="quote">id="quote"> - EM-1
Ok, I understand your reaction but remember that during the 60s, 70s, and 80s those manufacturers changed paint formulas more than once, if I'm not mistaken. Depends on the manufacturer and sometimes on the product line itself. As I alluded to earlier, stripping a 1970s Athearn locomotive can be a bear of a job, but paint stripping late 70s thru early 90s Rivarassi, AHM, and Bachmann rolling stock is easy. But some of the locomotive shells, however, can be a challenge. I remember Bachmann HO Chessie System F-units having a hard, high gloss on them. They were probably a challenge to strip.
EM-1 -
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"Your metal plating looks AWESOME! I know alittle of that myself, with the use of the different ways of doing it, does the model have to be scratchless and pretty much 100% on the shell? Most are and alot of touchy that way.....
I'm interested in how you achieve the looks your getting!
Originally posted by EM-1 - September 11 2012 : 06:31:31 AM
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Thank you EM-1. Believe me I've had my share of mistakes. What I've been doing is taking notes and posting them on the forums to share with other modelers.
Below is a step-by-step process that I posted in 2011 on the MR Forum. It was for an IHC Dome Car that was based on Santa Fe's Pleasure dome. I hope this will be of help:
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Hello Crew,
Please forgive my gung-ho enthusiasm, but I have to tell you this process is becoming more and more enjoyable and feel that if a klutz like me can do this.....so can anyone that can handle an airbrush! I was going to wait until I completed both cars, including decals....... but after reading some comments regarding plated cars, I felt that this would be a decent time to post this. The intent here is to demonstrate how to take a relatively inexpensive car that's commonly found on ebay and swap meets and easily transform it into something that looks much more prototypical that you'd enjoy running on your layout..
A. Subject: HO scale 1980's IHC dome car. Model is based on prototype Pullman Standard unit used by the Santa Fe (Pleasure Dome). Belongs to a good friend of mine, my wife's cousin, who is a Santa Fe & BNSF fan. He purchased it at a train show for a bargain at $10. (ironic, for me, that it was in the SCL scheme!)
1. I removed the shell from the chassis and gave it a 91% alcohol bath. After soaking for just 5 minutes, the factory silver paint came off easily with a toothbrush. After stripping, the shell was washed with warm water and an inexpensive dishwashing liquid.
2. Basecoat Color (foundation) - Scalecoat 2, New York Central Light Gray. Thinned 60%. Airbrush (Paasche VL. Needle and aircap sizes: #3 (medium). Air pressure at tip: 25psi. Distance to shell: 3" inches. Total number of coats: Two, medium wet.
3. Critical stage: Gray finish must be SMOOTH! After drying; check the shell for dry or rough spots. If mistakes are discovered, this is the time to fix them. Wet sand spots, clean and apply another coat over shell if needed. When finished, flush out & clean airbrush with lacquer thinner
4. As the basecolor cured, I took the molded black plastic seating unit that was in the dome section and hand painted it with Polyscale acrylics. The floor: gold/brown with a dark brown mat in the center. The seats, a blue mix based on forum member Smitty's photo of his Santa Fe dome car .
5. Alclad Application - Formula: Chrome. No thinning. Airbrush Needle & aircap sizes-#1 (fine). Air pressure at tip: 15psi. Distance to shell: 2" inches. Number of coats: 3. FIRST, I spent several minutes testing myself on the back section of a scrap FP45 shell to make sure the airbrush was spraying well and my distance/stroke speed were good. This step is a headache preventer as I discovered that I needed to increase my speed, slightly.
6. Spraying the Alclad 2. Relax and enjoy. (I had my smooth jazz tunes playing) Maintain the airbrush parallel to the surface. Spray in a mist coat and stroke your airbrush as if you were painting with a modeler's paint brush. Tip: ( Wearing an appropriate respirator) As you spray, keep your head within 10" of your model, but over it, and either to the right or left of the airbrush so you can monitor your speed and distance. Some people have a tendency of standing directly behind the airbrush while spraying and not clearly seeing if they're getting too close or far. (yes, been there, done that!) Wait 5 minutes between coats if temperature is over 75F. Wait longer at lower temps. Check shell carefully for any areas missed; and stroke over if needed. Flush & clean airbrush upon finishing
7. Sealing/Toning down sheen - New product. Instead of the Testor's Acryl or Pollyscale clears, I applied one of Alclad's NEW waterbased clear; #ALC 600. Thinning: None. Airbrush needle & aircap sizes #3 (medium). Air pressure at tip 20 psi. Distance 3" inches. Number of coats: One:
After practicing for several minutes with the medium size needle/aircap set up, I applied the clear to the shell. I was surprised at how fine this atomizes and smoothly lays on top of the Alclad finish. IMHO, this performed superior to the clears I've used before. However, upon finishing the airbrush must be flushed out immediately. I used a mixture of distilled water and alcohol to flush out.
8. The sheen toned down beautifully, imho, to the appearance of highly polished, reflective stainless steel. Only one coat was applied since this will be the foundation for the Santa Fe decals. Afterwards, 1 to 2 more coats of clear will seal the decals and tone down the sheen more. This shot is before re-assembly:
9. After lightly weathering the underframe and diaphrams, Re-assembly: White styrene strips were positioned and glued in place to resemble window shades. Dome interior seat module was reinstalled and body installed on to chassis. OUTDOOR PHOTOS:
Weathering on diaphram
Indoor photos:
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Now, respectfully, here are some photos (not taken by me) of prototype stainless steel units, including the Santa Fe dome.
Gentlemen and ladies, you can clearly see the reason why we should not be so deeply worried about getting a "PERFECT" stainless steel match. Except for when these cars were new........there's no such thing! The combination of weather, dirt/grime, maintenance practices, and photographic lighting conditions only help to affirm this. Pullman Standard, deep sheen, good condition-
SCL (photo by Dixon) older, polished surface with dents & stains
ACF cars in fairly new condition. Stainless steel sheathing is "whiter" than Budd and Pullman Standard cars of similar age: (BCoolidge photo)
Now, take a good look at these photos of the same car YEARS APART. Note that as the car aged (and was likely neglected), the sheen dulled considerably and the surface faded to a lighter grayish hue
As a former transit shop collision repair tech that often worked with steels, imho, the arguments regarding which finish is the best or most realistic is like the old Ford vs Chevy argument. Walthers Pine series. and Rapido's stainless steel finishes differ from each other Y-E-T they are both correct. My only, humble, criticism is that the Walthers Superliners have too high a sheen which is very pronounced over the dark hue (likely a black base underneath the plating). However, they would look more realistic with a semi-gloss clear applied onto their surfaces.
Those of you with unplated cars that seem to greatly want the stainless steel look should give this a go. IT IS PROTOTYPICAL if stainless steel hues and sheens within a train don't match up perfectly! I'm not a salesman, but as I've stated so often, back in the day I fantasized about having onboard sound in HO locomotives, and HO passenger cars with surfaces that looked just like the prototype streamliners......... instead of "silver" paint, Here we are!
Another point: I'm frequently asked why I apply Alclad #107 instead of #115, Stainless Steel. I'll explain again. Alclad #115 Stainless Steel resembles the finish that you see on SS appliances and sinks. Even with alloying and machining differences Budd, PS, and ACF used high Chromium content on their cars surfaces resulting in "High Reflectivity". By applying the Clear on top of the Chrome, you can instantly tone it down to the level that you desire, whether you're using photographs or have access to a prototype car. With Alclad Stainless Steel #115, the reflectivity is knocked down considerably. Yet, even some cars with considerably faded exteriors will still display reflectivity, like these two:
As a high schooler back in the late 70s, I spent a lot of time in and around Amtrak Heritage cars, including units still in their predecessor finishes. Guys, I have photos and can tell you a lot of those sheens were deeper and more brilliant than what's on the Walthers Pine cars, like this photo (not mine).
Inspite of the problems posed by photography and the persistence of some modelers that "photos are subjective", one thing that MANY, MANY photos reveal that's undeniable regardless of lighting, color saturation, pixel counts, overexposure, underexposure and even black&white photography......is reflective sheens! Alclad Chrome resembles "Chromium". The prototype streamliners we are talking about contained "Chromium" in their surfaces, which is why they were so mirror-like when new (after extensive polishing in the plant).
Guys, I am having so much fun with this and only wish some of you that enjoy realistic finishes would jump on the bandwagon as well. Lots of room and it's an enjoyable ride!
Would be cool if one of you modern Amtrak modelers would try this on an Amfleet car. Some of you already own Bachmann or Walthers Amfleet cars that were produced years back. Give it a shot! (use a NYC dark gray or similarly colored charcoal gray as a base foundation).