# 2025 with 2466WX Restoration



## birdbrain (Jan 16, 2012)

Hey guys, just joined today. I am restoring my father's trains that he gave me; well they were my grandfather's first. 
Here's where I am at. I bought the Greenberg's book, all 700+ pages and ordered parts I needed from Olsen's Toy Train. I bought a donor tender on eBay for the whistle. The loco works fairly well but it's been used, I played with these a lot when I was younger, they have been stored for ~10yrs or so now. They need new paint including number stamps and freshening up on the wires and such. 

From browsing it looks like I can use easy off to remove paint from both the loco and the plastic tender. I order paint 675 from henning's trains for the loco, can I use this for the tender too? What do I do with the trucks, loco wheels, and carriage as far as painting? I don't just want to paint the shell and reassemble. I want the whole thing to look restored.

Lastly I have a mechanical question. A few years ago, ~10, I took the engine to a hack and he pulled out the smoke unit. I picked one up on ebay along with the piston and the crank. Where does the crank go and how does it drive the piston. There doesn't appear to be anything to hold the crank in place and the Greenberg manual doesn't really show anything.

Thanks guys. Once I get settled in I will take some pictures. The donor tender will be my tester piece for paint and rubber stamping.


----------



## TrainLarry (Jan 15, 2012)

There is a notch in the boiler shell for the smoke crank, and the steamchest holds the smoke crank in place when you screw it back in place.

Larry


----------



## birdbrain (Jan 16, 2012)

TrainLarry said:


> There is a notch in the boiler shell for the smoke crank, and the steamchest holds the smoke crank in place when you screw it back in place.
> 
> Larry


Thanks. So the piston just rests on the crank?


----------



## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

For blackened metal (wheels, trucks, etc.), you can clean up the surfaces with a Dremel wire brush, and then re-darken with a Gun Blue liquid. It blackens metal by dying the metal itself, with essentially no surface buildup (like you would have with paint).

Some info in this thread:

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=6121

TJ


----------



## birdbrain (Jan 16, 2012)

I saw this thread last night and was wondering if that's what you do with the wheels and lower section of the engine and trucks. Are they dyed or are they painted? I guess if I put easy off or paint remover on it and nothing happens it's dyed? 



tjcruiser said:


> For blackened metal (wheels, trucks, etc.), you can clean up the surfaces with a Dremel wire brush, and then re-darken with a Gun Blue liquid. It blackens metal by dying the metal itself, with essentially no surface buildup (like you would have with paint).
> 
> Some info in this thread:
> 
> ...


----------



## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

I'm pretty sure wheels/trucks are dyed (blued). You should have nickel rims on the wheels, though, I think.

http://www.postwarlionel.com/cgi-bin/postwar?ITEM=2025

http://www.tandem-associates.com/lionel/lionel_trains_2025_loco.htm

TJ


----------



## TrainLarry (Jan 15, 2012)

Yes, the piston rests on the smoke crank, and the steamchest holds the whole assembly in place.

Larry


----------



## birdbrain (Jan 16, 2012)

Cool links. I have the aluminum smoke stack. I'm looking for he Baldwin Discs name on the wheels. I've been watching my kid for the last 2 days so I haven't touched the thing. 



tjcruiser said:


> I'm pretty sure wheels/trucks are dyed (blued). You should have nickel rims on the wheels, though, I think.
> 
> http://www.postwarlionel.com/cgi-bin/postwar?ITEM=2025
> 
> ...


----------



## birdbrain (Jan 16, 2012)

Thanks Larry. I seem to have an issue with things floating around, the piston laying on the crank. Maybe it will make more sense when I actually assemble it.



TrainLarry said:


> Yes, the piston rests on the smoke crank, and the steamchest holds the whole assembly in place.
> 
> Larry


----------



## birdbrain (Jan 16, 2012)

Ok, so I easy offed my tester tender, 2466WX, doesn't seem to do much. A layer came off the outside. It's a duller black now. I scratched up the inside a little to test for paint. It looks like the color was molded in the plastic. Can I paint something like this with good results?


----------



## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Sure. I'd suggest a rattle-can (Krylon, for instance) flat black. Maybe a thin coat of primer, first, for better adhesion.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

If it's molded into the plastic, you can certainly paint it. I agree with TJ, I usually use a flat coat first of whatever color I'm painting.


----------



## inxy (Dec 10, 2010)

Easy Off probably will destroy plastic, try it in a test are first.

B


----------



## inxy (Dec 10, 2010)

Thank for the blueing idea TJ. Solves the problem with wheels that do not look right after serious wire brushing on some tinplate restoration.

B


----------



## birdbrain (Jan 16, 2012)

I'm pretty sure it's my impatience on this one, but I glass bead blasted my 2025, it came out great. I then painted it using Testor's Primer and thinned it with their suggested thinner for use in air brushes. It's supposed to take 48hrs for a full cure, but I touched it after 24hrs. The paint rubs off rather easily, I am assuming it's because it hasn't been 48hrs yet? If not what did I do wrong?


----------



## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I would use some heat. When spraying the metal cools very quickly. I usually heat it first. Then lightly apply heat after spraying. I would say the paint didn't mix well. If it doesn't cure remove it and start again.
I use cans and get very good results. I shake it a lot. Then I am careful about starting a new can. I bleed first or use the can on something less important. Blasting sounds like fun .


----------



## birdbrain (Jan 16, 2012)

T-Man said:


> I would use some heat. When spraying the metal cools very quickly. I usually heat it first. Then lightly apply heat after spraying. I would say the paint didn't mix well. If it doesn't cure remove it and start again.
> I use cans and get very good results. I shake it a lot. Then I am careful about starting a new can. I bleed first or use the can on something less important. Blasting sounds like fun .


I did use a heat gun after the fact, I sort of dusted it with the gun so I didn't over do it. I'll give it a check tomorrow; if it's not sticking I'll blast it again. BTW, it is fun but what a mess. I don't have the space for a cabinet so I am blasting in the open. It took longer to vacuum than it did to blast plus it was all over me. I'll be outside next time; set up a tarp and call it a day. If I have no luck with the testosr I'll move over to rustoleum; this is also my first attempt at air brushing anything.


----------



## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

The best black is wallmart flat. Actually a satin for 1.29. maybe lower.
I gave up on heating the can. It loses pressure faster and all the paint doesn't get used up. But that metal shell I heat up and up!!!!!

Find some scrap metal and practice. I had some tins I used then after I had a good color model to use. Save those tins! They are good for storage too!

My thread
The cheep paint


----------



## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Thumbs up on the flat black look, too.

I learned the hard way, though ... I redid a 1688 is Krylon satin black, and though it looks nice, the sheen on the paint is too glossy for my taste.

Then, I redid another 1688 using Krlyon flat black. Much more pleasing, in my opinion ... the paint has a very subtle sheen (like T-man's loco above), but one that it appropriate for an old steam loco.

TJ


----------



## birdbrain (Jan 16, 2012)

I can't believe that flat black was 1.29$ walmart paint. It looks fantastic. How did you get the casting so clean/smooth looking? Mine has bumps in it; probably crash rash and I am afraid to sand it, I don't want to lose the bumps that look like rivets.


----------



## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

If the shell has pits, you can fix it. A little Bondo scratch putty. The shell was clean. The grey primer covers a bit too. Removal of all the paint helps the most.


----------



## rrbill (Mar 11, 2012)

I like the look of the paint on T-man's steam boiler; not too glossy, not too flat. A very nice job.


----------



## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

This is the before picture.










I fixed the link to the thread.


----------



## SteveC (Feb 13, 2012)

I found that the Krylon satin was too glossy, but the flat was too flat. I finally found Krylon semi flat black at Advanced Auto. I think that this matches the original color fairly close. 

Steve


----------

