Recently dug out my father’s old Ives tinplate set, and as you will see from the photographs, the loco was repainted an ugly gold at some point. I have always wanted to repaint this back to original colors, but have never had enough time, info (or talent) to do it. Here are a few questions:
1/ where to find good pictures of this loco in its original scheme?
2/ how to remove old paint, and prime for a new coat?
3/ what brand of paint would be good for this? Enamels? Acrylics?
4/ can I get away with spray cans for this type of job? I’m not great at airbrushing, and hand painting would look awful, I think.
Any help appreciated. I’m attaching pix of the loco and the other cars in case that helps dictate what colors the loco should have.
Are you using Krylon primer and paint, by chance? That stuff dries pretty quickly, especially if you spray outside. Very hot this weekend, as noted, so I think you're cure will go pretty quick ... even without an oven.
Reiterating my tip to give the last primer coat (after cure) a very, very light rub-down with a fine ScotchBrite pad (and then wipe with barely-moist alcohol on lint-free rag) before top-coat painting. The rub-down will take off any highs and imperfections in the primer, and prep things nicely for paint.
I am using Krylon Colormaxx (Deep Burgundy), which is supposed to be "Paint & Primer in One." So far, after three coats, I can still clearly see tarnish spots I was unable to buff out. So, I wish I had started with a regular primer to get the shell undercoat consistent. But I imagine if I put on enough coats, all will be well... Nothing to do now but carry on!
Spray cans need the shake shake, shake, shake. I normally spray a test subject with a new can. A used can gives me better results. Especially something like a locomotive shell.
I never used an oven or a box. In cool weather painting I will use a heat gun on the item before and after. The expansion of the spray lowers the temperature so the heat brings it up to a healthy cure temp.
Words of wisdom. Shake it more than you think is necessary - side to side, upside down, different positions and shake technique. I like to roll the ball around the bottom to start.
And I always make sure the can is room temp (not really an issue in the summer).
Patience is the key, and I would have used a primer coat first, instead of relying on the 1 primer+paint combined in one. The standard of gray or red primer is best when restoring a body in the condition you are dealing with. Just take your time, and don’t rush it.
Yes, if I had to do it over again, I would have started with a nice gray primer, like I do on ALL of my plastic models. Live and learn. Lots and lots of thin color coats should work, eventually...
From what I can see so far, this Krylon stuff is THIN! As long as I don't rush it, and resign myself to multiple coats, I think it will work out in the end.
Air dried spray paint scratches VERY EASILY.
The reason I bake my spray paint when applied to a metal base, the heat opens the pores of the metal, allowing the paint to adhere to the metal better, plus it removes all of the solvents in the paint rapidly which also make the paint harder. Air dried spray paint is not completely dry for at least 3 days. In cooler weather even longer. I also do not paint in cold environments. Restoration of tinplate is usually reserved for the summer months.
JMHO, YMMV.
I applied 3 coats of primer, visually it covered all the tarnish and anomalies, but my paint-baking skills must stink because I got just as much orange peel/rough texture as I do when letting plastic models dry in my makeshift spray booth. So add “bad baker” to my long list of non-skills.
Going to let the primer cure for 3 days as you suggest, and then do a very light sanding to smooth out the finish. Then I will attempt the top coat(s) again.
I am resigned to the fact that this isn’t going to look remotely like the finish you experts get, but it will still be better (hopefully) than that god-awful hand-painted gold which the poor loco was stuck with for about a hundred years!
I may have mentioned, I did receive custom 3252 decals from a seller on eBay, plus I have steel rods for handrails coming in from China, so the locomotive might end up looking like a reasonable facsimile of the original toy.
Good point Dan with sticking to one method. Your finished paint jobs come out fantastic. That is one reason I backed off on adding to suggestions. His finished product will be a whole lot better than his starting point.
My 2 cents is I never ever use Rustoleum products. I have nothing but grief when I did try them. The problems were poor finish, took forever to dry. My go to is Krylon for normal colors, and some colors I resort to automotive Dupli-color. Take it for what it’s worth.
I use primer mainly from not having access to blasting solutions. If I were doing an excessive amount of restoring, I might consider getting all the necessary equipment, but it is too expensive, for the low amount of restoring that I do. I never have problems with Krylon Ultramaxx primer. After I strip a body, I use a Drexel Stainless brush wheels, then thoroughly wipe everything down with isopropyl alcohol, immediately before spraying primer. Once I know the surface is smooth, I then spray the finish color, in 2-3 coats. This is what works or me.
Well, my father’s 3252 is finally restored, to the best of my ability. I learned a lot from this difficult project, the first thing being to leave tinplate restoration to the experts! I never could get the smooth finish that you guys seemed to get for baked enamel, but it’s as good as it’s going to be. I really appreciate the excellent advice which was shared by everyone, it helped immensely. I like to think my father would be pleased (if not proud) of the attempt to bring his childhood toy back to life. As he always used to say, regarding my sometimes- failed hobby projects, “A for effort!”
Lost, It looks fantastic, from what I am looking at. As long as you are happy with the paint job, it's all that counts. It had to be a fun project to work on, and you should be proud of your accomplishment. Hope you are glad that you did it, and let it run, like it did, many years ago. Good luck.:smilie_daumenpos::smilie_daumenpos::appl:
Wow, Now you should have no doubt about your ability to restore tinplate.
If you can find one of the bulbs I suggested it will be the icing on the cake. Good work.
Lost, the loco looks GREAT! What a great tribute to your father's legacy. Well done!
TJ
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