Painting and lining

paratom

Western Thunderer
Martyn, Ive been painting professionaly for about 8 years now, prior to that i used to spray outside but with the weather here that was no good. I had my loft converted into a workshop and the painting is done against the back wall which has a large extraction fan to the outside. In the winter (and sometimes summer;)) i let the room warm ip for an hour or so
Regarding temperatures i would guess at a minimum of around 15-20 c. Colder than that, the air holds more moisture which condenses onto the model which causes blooming and inconsistant finishes. The model and paint should also be up to a reasonable temperature. Im not sure about the science of it all but experience has taught me this.

Hope this makes sense
Warren
Warren,
Nice work by the way. Have you tried anti blooming thinners at all and do you have a Midland Railway colour spec for the paint company you use.

Thomas.
 

warren haywood

Western Thunderer
Thomas,
There are a few names for anti bloom thinners, mirror gloss, top gloss and superflow, it’s all I use and have found a brand called Churchill anti bloom to be excellent. They basically take longer to evaporate so giving a smoother gloss finish. Standard cellulose thinners is no good for painting, it’s just a cleaner and gun wash.
Expect to pay about £25 a gallon for proper stuff.

I have a a couple of litres of Midland red given to me by Ian Rathbone as we have a mutual client whom we paint coaches. This was because my supplier couldn’t get the match exact. I’m not sure if there is a code.
There isn’t really a BS or Ral code that’s suitable but if you take a swatch of Precision gloss Midland red about 6” square to your local car paint mixer they may be able to help.
 

Deano747

Western Thunderer
Cheers Rob,
For fine masking the Tamiya stuff is unbeatable although for general masking Frog tape in green and yellow is great.
I do have a sneaky suspicion tho that yellow frog and Tamiya are the same tape.

Many thanks Warren. I do use the Tamiya with good results and I have an unused roll of yellow frog.

Kind regards, Rob
 

PeterM

Member
Hi Warren

Another question if I may about your pre-grouping GWR coaches. What colour do you use for the gold lining?

Cheers

Peter
 

thruxton

Western Thunderer
Hi Warren

Do you have any particular recommendations for a satin varnish over Precision enamels- purpose being to seal decals as much as anything else?

Regards

Les

apologies if this has been answered previously
 
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warren haywood

Western Thunderer
Sorry Chaps for late reply.
Not been around for a few months.
Re satin varnish, if required I use Ronseal hardglaze gloss varnish dulled down with precision matting agent.
With trial and error you can get the amount of matting agent just right for the required sheen
 

Deano747

Western Thunderer
Sorry Chaps for late reply.
Not been around for a few months.
Re satin varnish, if required I use Ronseal hardglaze gloss varnish dulled down with precision matting agent.
With trial and error you can get the amount of matting agent just right for the required sheen

Hi Warren,
From a newbie and never used these products before, I appreciate you have to experiment to get the result you desire, but as a starting point approximately what sort of ratio of varnish to matting agent do you begin with?

Many thanks and kind regards, Rob.
 

warren haywood

Western Thunderer
Rob,
No idea of exact ratio, for somewhere between gloss and satin which is the finish most clients seam to like it’s maybe 5 varnish to 1 matting agent.
Sorry I can’t be more accurate, like you say it’s all experimentation and a while since I’ve used it.
My preferred method is gloss cellulose lacquer sprayed at high pressure. No idea of pressure, I just turn up the air to full on the airbrush.
 

Deano747

Western Thunderer
Many thanks Warren, that's a good starting point.
I believe you've mentioned the high pressure cellulose before.

Regards, Rob.
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Back around 1970 when I started painting locos for West Coast Scale Models, they put me onto blowing clear gloss cellulose with plenty of air to built up a satin finish becasue that was what Alan Brackenborough did. With Warren H. mentioning it, I presume it is standard among younger generation pro painters. I only use it these day to add lustre to a friends Hornby locos. I usually go up to around 35 psi. Too high a pressure and you risk powdery over spray build up. Clear celly needs a lot more letting down than colours so it lasts for ages.
 

warren haywood

Western Thunderer
Larry, it was Bracks who told me about this method. You are quite right in the fact that if it’s too ‘dry’ it can leave a sort of white powdery film. I’ve found that about 4:1 is fine and I’ve yet to find a finish to beat it. I also use this method on enamel finished models.
It’s not a protective coat but just to let down the gloss of the cellulose paint which in itself is resilient enough.
I love the smooth shiny satin finish it produces, I hate to see a matt model.
This 4F built by Mick Davies really shows the finish achievable :)

73CFE385-E352-49B7-9E1C-58ED800AC196.jpeg
 

Deano747

Western Thunderer
Larry/ Warren,

Thanks guys, all information is gratefully received and noted.
When I finally get round to it I'll post some results. (As long as you don't laugh too loud!! :D:D)

Kind regards, Rob.
 

warren haywood

Western Thunderer
Just completed this GCR 9Q ‘Black pig’ from a Gladiator kit. This was a build and paint commission and went together with no issues.
It’s a cracking looking thing and makes a lovely change from the mundane Great Western :p
I did, however, notice after photographing them that I hadn’t squared the front buffers up, now sorted :)

B968EBCA-320F-4BFE-959D-F2B21C422BD4.jpeg 1D87FD52-E30D-49A1-9FEF-5EB6E7629287.jpeg 793323B7-292B-4D4A-918E-B054FE057FEE.jpeg
 
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