10-19-2009, 06:55 PM
After about 30 minutes of carefull sandblasting and a good washing I glued the etched brass cab numbers on so it would have the raised cab numbers that just about every CNR steam locomotive had by the mid 1950's. Once the cab numbers were glued on the boiler was place in a jar of white vinegar for 15 to 20 minutes. The vinegar etches the brass ever so slightly and does a great job of removing any stubborn tarnish the sandblasting did not remove. I rinsed the vinegar off with cold water.
The result is a nice clean shiny boiler that look as good as the day it rolled out of the factory. All the other brass parts were treated the same way with the same nice clean shiny look afterwards.
Next it was off to the paint booth. Before painting any of the brass parts they get a wash in 100% alcohol just make sure they are clean and dried with a hair dryer. Everything was then given a few coats of True Line Trains warm black acrylic paint. I do not use primer when spraying black as it is just one more coat or two of paint build up that is not needed. With the sandblasting and the etching in vinegar and carefull cleaning the warm black sticks to the brass real well.
Pilot all painted up. The little white specs are dust from a ceiling tile I had to remove in my train work shop to fix a light. They will be blown off before I give the pilot a spray of Testors dullcoat.
The boiler all painted. The raised cab numbers had the warm black paint scrapped off with a X-Acto #17 blade and have been painted CN yellow #11. The cab window frames have been painted Santa Fe red as well as the shut off valve handles on the boiler. The smoke box has been painted with my custom graphite mix ( engine black and Santa Fe silver ). It looks shiny now but once I add the Testors dullcoat it will give it the proper flat look and the color will lighten up a little bit. CN used a very dark graphite color on their smoke boxes compared to US steam locomotives. The rest of the parts are all painted warm black as well. I will have to repaint the tender shell as some how I missed a small dent of the firemans side near the back when I did my repairs and it really showed with the warm black paint on it. I have it stripped and the dent filled and tomorrow it will get a fresh coat of paint. After that I just have to decal where needed and give everything a spray or two of dullcoat. Then I can reassemble the locomotive and tender and post some pictures of the finished locomotive.
Wayne Reid
The result is a nice clean shiny boiler that look as good as the day it rolled out of the factory. All the other brass parts were treated the same way with the same nice clean shiny look afterwards.
Next it was off to the paint booth. Before painting any of the brass parts they get a wash in 100% alcohol just make sure they are clean and dried with a hair dryer. Everything was then given a few coats of True Line Trains warm black acrylic paint. I do not use primer when spraying black as it is just one more coat or two of paint build up that is not needed. With the sandblasting and the etching in vinegar and carefull cleaning the warm black sticks to the brass real well.
Pilot all painted up. The little white specs are dust from a ceiling tile I had to remove in my train work shop to fix a light. They will be blown off before I give the pilot a spray of Testors dullcoat.
The boiler all painted. The raised cab numbers had the warm black paint scrapped off with a X-Acto #17 blade and have been painted CN yellow #11. The cab window frames have been painted Santa Fe red as well as the shut off valve handles on the boiler. The smoke box has been painted with my custom graphite mix ( engine black and Santa Fe silver ). It looks shiny now but once I add the Testors dullcoat it will give it the proper flat look and the color will lighten up a little bit. CN used a very dark graphite color on their smoke boxes compared to US steam locomotives. The rest of the parts are all painted warm black as well. I will have to repaint the tender shell as some how I missed a small dent of the firemans side near the back when I did my repairs and it really showed with the warm black paint on it. I have it stripped and the dent filled and tomorrow it will get a fresh coat of paint. After that I just have to decal where needed and give everything a spray or two of dullcoat. Then I can reassemble the locomotive and tender and post some pictures of the finished locomotive.
Wayne Reid