Brass Plastic or diecast

I paint brass usually totally dis-assembling it ; washing it and priming it and after a day finish painting it, including weathering. Pretty much the same with diecast. I have painted both sometimes without taking the divers and valve gear apart, but it requires some careful work to get ALL parts painted. I paint plastic generally without taking it apart, but masking off windows,lights and anything you don't wanted painted. You will  have to run the engine or at least move the running gear to avoid missing spots. 

What are your skills?

I have painted brass and plastic steam without taking apart running gear. The loco's wheels were spinning and I used an airbrush.

While I agree with Ray, the best way to paint is to disassemble - I don't recommend taking apart the running gear unless you are a machinist or have lots of experience taking brass apart. If the engine runs well. It is very easy to take it all apart and then have it run not-so well upon reassembly. Good running brass is a joy and sometimes luck of the draw. If I have a great running loco, I don't tempt fate by taking apart the running gear....

FWIW: I know modelers who use who take everything apart to paint and modelers who don't. In either case, their work looks great.

Guy

Guy is right about not taking

Guy is right about not taking it apart and looking good here is an example of one not taken apart painted by my son 

Method for protecting wheel treads/contact surfaces?

Would running the mechanism through alligator clips, on paper towel soaked with thinner of the chosen paint type suffice?

Protecting/cleaning treads

Skoti,

I clean up acrylic paint over spray with a Q tip soaked in alcohol. I clean the treads immediately after the paint has dried to the touch. For solvent based paint, I'm sure paint thinner would work fine. I am not too over zealous with the paint coat so I generally don't have problems with paint coating wheel wipers or creeping into wheel journals and causing problems.

Guy

Agree with all of the above

Don't disassemble.  If you can paint with an airbrush and the wheels spinning - that's the best way.  As for whitewall wheels - hmm.  I've never tried that - but that may be a case where the drivers have to come out to do it right.

Kevin

Oddly enough, that was this week's episode on Trainmasters.tv

This week Trainmasters.tv put up the first of several episodes on weathering steam locos using an airbrush.  The loco was weathered while still fully assembled.

I have two Athearn 2-8-2s that I will be weathering at some point, and this was illuminating.  While I will be pulling them apart at some point to replace the original gears that are prone to splitting (already have the replacements waiting in my tool box), I'd just as soon know my options before starting any weathering and maintenance.

Janet N.

Hi Skoti,I painted white

Hi Skoti,
I painted white walls on my locomotives with a fine tipped white paint pen.
I ran the loco very slowly up against a track bumper. I gently held the paint pen against the edge of the driver and as it spun, the white line goes around nice and evenly.

I painted the pony trucks by turning the loco upside down in a cradle and turning the wheels with my finger.
At the time, I found the method on videos on you tube.

Luke

 

MRH: You can get a White Sharpie paint marker on Amazon for less than $5:

https://amzn.com/B001PLKRZQ?tag=mrhmag-20

 

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Thoroughfare Gap Railroad

http://thoroughfaregaprailroad.blogspot.co.nz/

@ekul24

Very impressive!

Your Russia Iron looks very realistic, what is your secret?

Russia iron

Hi Skoti,

Thanks for your comments. I mainly use Humbrol paints because they are easy to come by here in NZ.

I used Humbrols Metalcote Gunmetal colour, number 27004. Once this is dry you buff it with a soft cloth or cotton bud tip and it comes up with a very nice shine.

I know other turn of the century modellers have had sucess with Testors Buffing Metalizer Gunmetal.

I hope the white wall painting method is helpful for you.

Ah Humbrol, one of my favorite paints.

I will definitely try the techniques you shared, and will report back when I have tried them.

Good stuff

Two examples

Here are a couple of shots of running gear that have been painted/weathered with the wheels spinning.

An old PFM Sierra 38:

BLI cab forward - weathered:

Guy