Hey all! *WARNING: This is long. Grab a fresh cup of coffee or Monster Energy Drink.* **WARNING: You’ve been Warned.* First of all, I need to start off by saying that I have never painted any rolling stock before!!! I am looking for recommendations for prep, paint, and decals. So, over the past few months I have been purchasing the Lionel 3456 Operating Hoppers for my Coal Mine and Coal Fired Power Plant. You can see the long story of how the two level Power Plant and Coal Mine work on my Layouts Facebook page listed below, but this picture should give you a quick idea. I run Norfolk Southern Engines and the Coal mine is the Pocahontas Coke and Coal Co. which was a big part of the N&W and is still a major force for NS. The Hoppers I’ve been purchasing are of any and every road name that I can get cheap with the goal of repainting them all to the current NS coal cars that I seen trundling through my town to the Coal Terminal here in Norfolk, VA. Painted is this typical grey color. I have two small air brushes and a vision! But I need help to get me in the right direction, so here are my questions. -After removing all hardware from the rolling stock: 1. What is the best way to remove the existing decals without causing damage to the body? 2. If the body is currently a color, say burgundy, does that mean the plastic of the body is that color, or is it paint that needs to be removed? If so, does it come off the same way as the decals or is this a different process? 3. After removal of the Decals and body color, do I need to spray it with Primer, or do model paints already contain it? I am concerned about too much paint hiding rivet detail or causing the doors to stick open or closed because of paint build up when I re-attach them after paint. (I don’t want to spill my coal all over the place when I load.) 4. Once the body is ready to be sprayed, does anyone know what color to use, and what manufacturer is recommended? 5. I read somewhere that when you have paint you want to run it through a sprayer, you have to cut it with something. I recall it was a solvent of some kind, but can’t recall what (Acetone, lacquer thinner, etc). What do you use and what is the ratio? 6. Decals: Where does everyone get them? Do they come in kits? Do you make your own (if so, how?) 7. Weathering: What’s the recommended product for a complete rookie? I’ve heard good things about powders – any popular brand/kit ? 8. Clear coat: any recommendations on well performing products? Yes, lots of questions, and if you’ve made it this far, Thank you! If you actually reply to my questions THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! Please feel free to send me any links that have been helpful to you. I read everything I’m sent to try to learn something new. Also, if you have any of the Lionel 3456 or the similar K-Line Operating Hoppers that you want to sell, please let me know! I’m in the market for a massive coal operation! You can see my layouts progress on Facebook at the link: https://www.facebook.com/NSHDRR?ref=hl&ref_type=bookmark#!/NSHDRR/timeline Thanks! Cory
Hi Cory, if you do a search on Youtube there are some videos of paint removal on model railroad rolling stock and locomotives. Some use alcohol soaking the cars for up to several days. I've had folks tell me they used brake fluid to do the same thing. But it looks like there are several methods to do it. you may have to experiment a bit on the paint color by mixing your own color. I personally prefer the acrylic water-based colors. The water clean-up is most appealing to me. I will normally mix the paint at about 5 or 6 to 1 (alcohol to paint) for airbrushing. Keep your air pressure to about 30 psi. These can be varied a bit to suit your needs. The best thing to do is get an old car body and experiment till you get what you want. There are several decal manufacturers out there, Google is your friend. Do a search and see who makes what you need. I've used Micro-Scale a bunch in the past. Be sure to follow the directions and use the decal solvents as recommended. When you get the car looking the way you want, seal it with a clear coat. I usually use Testor's Dullcote for the job. When I weather the cars I will usually start by clear coating, it seems to help with making the surface easier to work with. You can weather with pastel chalks, paint or a combination of both. Again, you can find lots of videos on Youtube about weathering. If you check out my album on The Port of Catoosa Railroad in TB Albums, you will see some examples of weathering. I'm by no means an expert on any of this. Just look around and you will find a vast wealth of information on all this. good luck, have fun and post some pictures as you go. You'd be surprised how much inspiration you can find and share. Dale
