"what black paint do many use

   The first step is find some photos of the engine you want to model and see what kind of finish and weathering it had. It's age at the time modeled will also be a main factor. Diesels show up new and shiny and usually end up worn,rusted,and faded at scrapping time. Once you know what you are trying to create then you can test some various paints to see which look right and which are easiest to apply.The is no one magic bullet ,study and practice are the answer....DaveB

Black

I use a mix of Model Flex Gloss Black and Engine Black which is just basically glossy black paint. I then weather the locomotive as needed.  Never though that using grimy black or dark gray was ever really effective. Main weathering is a very dilute mix of PollyScale/Model Master Railroad Tie Brown sprayed on. 

The model is one of the recently released Walthers GP9 (using upgraded P2K tooling).

Tom, very convincing paint on

Tom, very convincing paint on that loco.

I'm going to try engine black

I'm going to try engine black to paint an NS dash 9.  The Penn Central does look really good!

Mike

Grimy black

Not to disagree with Tom, as his PC unit looks great, but I used grimy black from Micro-Mark which is actually made for them by Vallejo on this guy, then sprayed a bit of Vallejo dirt on the trucks, fuel tank, and pilots, followed by Vallejo rust texture on the vents and cab roof:

Southern Tuxedo black....

I am trying to get the right mix for SOU railway tuxedo scheme. I here it referred to as black, but it has a deep,dark Brunswick green type of hue to it. anyone have any suggestions?

Faded Black

I model steam locomotives and the problem is the same with black diesels.  The hard part about black is to get a good-looking fade without making it look like it is painted gray. 

If you try and do a fade with an airbrush, it will look frosted.  I have been doing some fading with AK Interactive and Mig washes made for military models (they still work for railroad models too, they are just marketed to military modelers).  I like the results I am getting, and it is very easy. 

Here are some models that I have done with the premixed washes. The base color was Polly Scale steam power black.  I mostly used the MIG US Modern Vehicle wash for the basic fade, in the photo the bottle looks brown but once shaken up, it is more gray. 

When put on the model it looks really bad, but it dries nice.  As it is drying you can work it with a brush dampened with mineral spirits.

Google shopping search link for Mig washes ...
https://www.google.com/search?q=a.mig+wash&tbm=shop

nice work...

very well done

Tom Thank you for reply. 

Tom

Thank you for reply.  That will give me a starting point.  I was afraid that gloss black would be too black and hide detail.  Will start there.

Tom

Southern Tuxedo black is black

Gray not Black

To me, for faded black, I start with very, very dark gray rather than black paint. Unless you actually need a true black, many of the model colors that use “black” in the name probably are a shade of gray.  My favorite is “black” paint is “Nato Gray” which is available from most of the major paint companies.

Lou in Idaho

One way to get to get a

One way to get to get a "fade" or "haze" on some paints is to spray with dullcote, let dry awhile and then lightly scrub with a toothbrush dipped in alcohol. Not the easiest thing to control though so do a test sample as YMMV.

I just doesn’t look black to me....

I guess I need to experiment to get the proper faded look....

Be a bit careful ...

In the photo of Southern F-unit 4207, based on the sky, the image is over-exposed, so the appearance of the black hood is distorted. The photographer may have pointed at the hood and used auto-exposure or measured exposure from there, but I don't think it's how the unit would have appeared to the eye. The quality of the prototype photo should always be thought about, before we rely on it for modeling.

I'd suggest a gray oil wash

I use thinned oils for my washes on black equipment. I mix a dab of black into white and thin it down.  I don't use just one color of gray so that no two ever look quite alike.  I would highly suggest not just airbrushing a thin coat of white over it.  That usually looks like a frosted cake.  Black is great to work with because the rust will show well, Dust shows up great and graphite can be used to look like worn metal and shows up well.

Heres a few black pieces I have done and I see there are several other great examples already.

Steve

Nice one Steve

Photographing black

I agree that the Southern locos above may be overexposed. When I am shooting black models, I will overexpose the photo in order to see the details. Something similar may be at play here. 

There is doubtless a Southern Railroad/Railway Historical Society out there. I recommend asking them. 

Had to look twice

Still had to look again, The shot of the NW boxcar defines "true to life".

My hat's off, that is impressive work!

"ask the Southern Rwy Historical Assoc."

Blue is the better black

Hi,

if you'll take a look over to the clothes designer scene, they'll tell you that "blue is the better black"...

The thing is, there is no "one black" - "grimy black", "engine black", ...

Also, especially on the prototype (and it's obvious on the pictures above) - the sun fades the colors over time. But not all "parts" of the black at the same time. For example the "red part" and the "green part" fades slightly faster, leaving a blue-tinged black.

Compounding the issue is the quality of the light - one and the same color looks differently in the morning vs. the evening. Just check your car in the driveway over various parts of the day.

Finally, black is especially difficult to photograph. We all want highly detailed models, but with everything black there is simply no way to photograph the details well. That's why many models look better when painted off-black (e.g. "grimy black" which is a colored gray, really, isn't it?).

So, in a way, black is more difficult than most other colors... If you want extra difficulty try a glossy black...

I would suggest using some off-black (e.g. "grimy black" or "engine black") and do a sample with that. Look at the sample on your layout (with layout-light) and then test different weatherings and/or washes on the test piece until it looks sufficiently black but still shows the details well. It will likely be slightly off-black even for a "new" look.

Anyway, you mentioned you didn't want to experiment on your original (the engine shell). Please grab a piece of material or some lesser-valued vehicle and try painting that to your liking. It will save some of your sanity should something go wrong with the sample...

Have fun!

Warm black

I have been using True Line Trains warm black paint for my locomotives and freightcars, unfortunately it is no longer made and I ran out of my supply.  I have  been using Vallejo acrylics with some success, and made my own version of warm black which I have been quite happy with.  

10 parts Vallejo Model Air Black (71.057) with 1 part Vallejo Model Air Black Gray (71.055) and 1 part Vallejo Model Air Light Gray (71.050) along with a couple of drops of flow enhancer.  I'm quite happy with the result as it shows the detail while still being a black versus gray colour.  

Hopper car painted with the Vallejo mix outlined above

 GP9u with the Vallejo warm black mix

 M420 that got the very last drop of TLT warm black applied.

Marc Simpson

Thanks NCR

 Kind of like one of the other posts mentioned on that car if you look close the door is more blue and the car more gray. I study a lot of faded black and try to copy the colors. Looking close it covers most of the spectrum subtly.

Steve

Excellent

Excellent work, very realistic looking. Far above my skills.

What scale are these models, On3?

Terry- modeling BN in 1977