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Post by jimnorton on Sept 7, 2012 10:19:51 GMT -8
I am curious about paint recommendations for painting the shiny metal wheels on Accurail and Atlas cars.
What is a good brand? Also, what is a good color for wheels mounted in roller bearing trucks? Thanks.
Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL
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Post by nw611 on Sept 7, 2012 12:09:32 GMT -8
I remember that Jim Mullen, the owner of my LHS in Kennesaw, Georgia, in the eighties suggested a night in a glass of Coca-Cola. It worked for the wheels of Atlas GP38/40s made by Roco. Ciao. Raffaele
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Post by dti406 on Sept 7, 2012 13:23:52 GMT -8
I used Floquil Rail Brown, which represents a brownish rust color, their rust is too bright. Right now I used Testor's Enamel Rust with some black added to each brushfull for for variety.
If you have a car with solid bearings, the wheel should almost be black due the lubrication of the bearings.
Rick J
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Post by theengineshed on Sept 7, 2012 13:45:22 GMT -8
Oil based paints instead of acrylics is a better choice, IMO. Acrylics tend to bead a bit on metal wheels, I suspect that maybe there's some residual lubrication from the machining. Rick's advice is spot on, I keep a collection of oil based bottles and brushes dedicated to oils for metal wheels and body side weathering.
If you are going to weather with an airbrush, save the painting the wheels for last if you don't remove them, otherwise you may experience truck side frame shadows...
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Post by fr8kar on Sept 7, 2012 18:08:51 GMT -8
I use a half inch wide brush to apply Testors Model Master Burnt Umber onto the wheels and axles while they are mounted in the sideframes. I also paint the trucks with either this color, the body color or black as appropriate for the prototype, then dullcote the trucks/wheels. Next, I weather the wheels and trucks with powders and drybrushing.
Wheels are constantly being replaced as needed, so any given car may have four wheels installed at four different times and the degree of weathering the wheel shows will reflect its age. Wheels will start off as a graphite gray, then quickly get a bright orange rust haze. Gradually this will darken to a burnt sienna color as the wheel ages and deepen as the brake shoe dust accumulates. The final color is usually close to burnt umber, so that's where I start and work backwards to lighter colors to show the age of the wheel.
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Post by Brakie on Sept 8, 2012 3:02:01 GMT -8
I favor Floquil paint markers in rail brown,roof brown and rail tie brown.
I remove the wheels and simply make 2 spins around the wheel face with the chosen marker and wipe the rim of the wheel face with a paper towel so it will be shiny like the prototype..
I use a plastic glove to protect my fingers from the paint.
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Post by calzephyr on Sept 8, 2012 9:12:05 GMT -8
I use a half inch wide brush to apply Testors Model Master Burnt Umber onto the wheels and axles while they are mounted in the sideframes. I also paint the trucks with either this color, the body color or black as appropriate for the prototype, then dullcote the trucks/wheels. Next, I weather the wheels and trucks with powders and drybrushing. Wheels are constantly being replaced as needed, so any given car may have four wheels installed at four different times and the degree of weathering the wheel shows will reflect its age. Wheels will start off as a graphite gray, then quickly get a bright orange rust haze. Gradually this will darken to a burnt sienna color as the wheel ages and deepen as the brake shoe dust accumulates. The final color is usually close to burnt umber, so that's where I start and work backwards to lighter colors to show the age of the wheel. Good point about the wheels being replaced. I noticed that very detail recently on a long train that had several wheels that were new or at least recently replaced on one axle only on a few select cars. That would be an interesting and a nice detail. Larry |
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Post by atsfan on Sept 8, 2012 10:21:47 GMT -8
Depends. Spray paint is great, and you can buy or make masks to not get paint on the treads (important NOT TO DO THAT).
But lots of work if you don't have a fleet to do. Color? Dark rust, oily black, soot black. Mix it up.
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Post by theengineshed on Sept 8, 2012 10:47:51 GMT -8
I favor Floquil paint markers in rail brown,roof brown and rail tie brown. Do the Floquil markers leave a matte or glossy finish? I have never tried them... |
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Post by Brakie on Sept 8, 2012 14:36:13 GMT -8
I favor Floquil paint markers in rail brown,roof brown and rail tie brown. Do the Floquil markers leave a matte or glossy finish? I have never tried them... No..They leave a flat finish since they are "weathering" paints. |
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Post by fr8kar on Sept 9, 2012 4:30:31 GMT -8
I favor Floquil paint markers in rail brown,roof brown and rail tie brown. I remove the wheels and simply make 2 spins around the wheel face with the chosen marker and wipe the rim of the wheel face with a paper towel so it will be shiny like the prototype.. I use a plastic glove to protect my fingers from the paint. That's a good idea, using the paint markers. I haven't tried any of the weathering markers yet. I use a Prismacolor paint marker for putting identifying marks on the bottom of my equipment, but I hadn't thought about using markers for weathering wheels. It seems like a natural fit. It's another little bit of realism to highlight the rim, so I'm glad you pointed that out. I paint the rims of my wheels, but I use a pencil to add some sheen and that raw steel look. It's amazing the effect graphite can have as a weathering medium. |
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Post by drolsen on Sept 9, 2012 4:51:46 GMT -8
Oil based paints instead of acrylics is a better choice, IMO. Acrylics tend to bead a bit on metal wheels, I suspect that maybe there's some residual lubrication from the machining. I've never had this problem with PollyScale. I like using their Rail Brown (or Rust to represent newer wheelsets) with a soft brush. I usually give them an initial coat, then touch them up again after I've painted through a a dozen or so wheelsets (I paint them each once and then go back to the first set to touch them up). I find that PollyScale levels itself out really well as it dries, so I like it for this application. I plan to go back and weather them a little more along with the trucks for the "final finish" (but haven't gotten that far with any models lately). Some people have good results applying weathering powders to the base paint coat too. Dave |
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Post by Donnell Wells on Sept 9, 2012 16:18:05 GMT -8
Here is an article by Brian Banna where he was building a locomotive in which he started with the trucks first. The project was sold before it was completed, however, the information is still very much relevant.
www.6axlepwr.com/CIM_SD38d2_trucks_01.html
Donnell
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Post by theengineshed on Sept 9, 2012 16:28:37 GMT -8
The project was sold before it was completed, however, the information is still very much relevant. That looks fantastic, but if I had to wait for those oils to dry, I'd probably sell the model before I finished it too.  |
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Post by Donnell Wells on Sept 9, 2012 16:48:19 GMT -8
That looks fantastic, but if I had to wait for those oils to dry, I'd probably sell the model before I finished it too. Thanks for the chuckle! ;D  |
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