A Little Paint Goes a Long Way

[santafe158]

I often buy cosmetically decent Postwar Lionel equipment that sometimes needs mechanical work to run well as I don't enjoy doing cosmetic restorations very much (my painting/decal skills are lacking). I picked up this Lionel 1400 passenger set from 1946 on eBay because I've been wanting an example of the two year only 221 Dreyfuss style locomotive for some time.

The locomotive needed a little work. One of the lead truck wheels was loose on the axle and could slide right off. I peened the rear of the wheel around the axle hole which snugged up the fit and reinstalled it. Other than that I gave it a good cleaning and lubrication and installed some new pickup shoes. It runs great.

The cars were a little rougher. The roofs were horribly scratched and scraped and the trucks have been modified over the years to replace damaged or missing couplers. Somebody installed a coupler on the rear truck of the observation car which involved bashing in a portion of the skirting around the rear railing to allow clearance for the coupler that wasn't originally there. That modification I will leave as a touch of its history.

I broke down and decided the roofs needed some attention. The blue paint on the bodies is in pretty good condition aside from a few chips here and there, but the roofs just distracted from the condition of the rest of the car. Three coats of Rustoleum Aluminum enamel later and they look great once again. Although the paint job isn't show quality, it looks much better than the chipped up roofs I started with and really makes the set look nice.

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[Millstonemike]

Nice. Roofs look great as does the entire train.

[Big Ed]

They look too good, now you have to paint the blue.

Looks like you did a good job.

[EdC]

It does look much better!
Ed

[santafe158]

Thanks guys.

Ed, I don't plan on touching the blue. That paint as well as the lettering are actually in decent shape for the most part. I like a few dings and scratches here and there, but the silver roofs were a bit too far gone for my taste.

[Jeff T]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Nice job Jake!

[gunrunnerjohn]

Obviously, you're not totally inept at painting, the roofs look just fine.

[santafe158]

Thanks John and Jeff. I get lucky with my paint jobs on occasion.

[Millstonemike]

Originally Posted by santafe158

Thanks guys.

Ed, I don't plan on touching the blue.

Perhaps some gentle cleaning for the blue.

Gents here have some tried and true techniques ...

[HarborBelt1970]

Those roofs look great. Did you have to do anything to prepare/smooth out the old surface before painting it or did the paint just dry out as smooth as it looks?