# Repainting an AF steamer



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I think all of us would rather have the original paint on our old steamers. We also know that sometimes the original paint has started to pop off. Most of my engines have good paint. That is
a result of being selective with my purchases. I have purchased one repainted engine from flyernut. A 4 piece 1948 302. As would be expected from flyernut it was done to perfection. Very happy with it. It looks very nice. I have a 290 I purchased from flyguy55. Much of the paint has popped off. I was fully informed about the paint and engine was priced cheap because of the paint. I thought I could live with the paint job. I can't and it needs repainted. I would think the first step would be to remove ALL the old paint. I need any and all info on the process to remove the old paint. I have heard "Easy Off" oven cleaner works best. What kind of a container do I need to use? I have heard a baggy will work. But if it eats paint will it eat plastic? AF did not use primer. Main reason the paint pops. I will be using Krylon paint that includes primer so maybe it will last. Any advice would be appreciated. Not doing this project this week but thinking about it in advance.


----------



## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

Good luck Mopac! Keep us posted with photos if you can. In the meantime, perhaps you could buy another steamer?:laugh:


----------



## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Can you post a closeup picture?


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Broke, when I do the project I will post plenty of pics.

Tom, I will get pic of the engine in a bit.


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Here are some pics I just took of engine. Hate to repaint cause the cab numbers and the tender are so good. But too much paint flaking.


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)




----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)




----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Broke, I doubt I will buy another steamer. I have 15 steamers and 4 diesel sets.
Well, if I run across a deal I can't pass up, I will buy then. But that does not happen that much.


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Maybe I will run across a nice 290 shell. That would be cool. Its really a nice engine.
I like a 290. Shame about the paint. And I hate touchups and there are just too many.


----------



## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

Mopac, just a thought" Take a black magic marker and mark the chips. I have done this and it doesn't look too bad. It may be an improvement and you wouldn't have to paint.:dunno:


----------



## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

That is a little worse than my first 290 was but like yours it had strong lettering. What I did was carefully sand and scrape around the chipped areas and make sure the paint still on the engine was not ready to flake off. I carefully applied Vaseline over the numbers and letters and sprayed the engine with a semi flat black. It came out very nice and with the close to but not quite flat black the edges of the chipping are not visible from 3 feet away. Frankly it looks factory fresh sitting on the layout. Wipe off the Vaseline when the paint is dry. If you do not like the result you can always strip and repaint later.


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Thanks Tom. I might try the Vaseline trick. And the feathering of the paint flakes.
I think almost anything would look better. And like you say I can always strip her down.
Glad you agree it is a little bad right now. Going to try not repainting the tender. I
know the black will not match exactly but might be ok. I will post pics no matter what I try.

I might even try using those little brass wire bits I bought. Instructions that came with them said to keep the RPMs down on the drill. High RPMs is what causes the little wires to go flying. Might try my regular drill, I can make it run slow. Most
dremels run too fast.


----------



## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Definitely do the engine first. The tender looks pretty good. The semi-flat black was an exact match for the original paint on the 290. Unfortunately I have not seen that color recently, not sure if it is still made.


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

My local Walmart has a large display of Krylon paint. Lots of colors. I will check for the semi flat color. I think flyernut uses Krylon black satin. I think that is what he used on the 302 I got from him. I bought a can of it and painted some HO coal hoppers with it. They
came out great. Very happy with them. They look more like dark graphite. Not a black black. So need to look for the semi flat paint.


----------



## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

The black satin has a higher sheen than the semi flat. Nothing wrong with using it if you like the appearance and it will match the other engine.
If you are perusing the spray paint aisle there is also a high temperature black called Grill Paint. My memory says this is similar to the semi flat finish.


----------



## daveh219 (Sep 16, 2012)

*Mine Too*

Well...after looking at the pics, this is definately a post I will follow...because my 290 and other's look JUST like like the pics. Already have some good new ideas. Great info....keep it up guys...:smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I think maybe the 290s were a little worse about flaking paint. Not sure what that is about. Dave, everything I have learned about AF steamers has been from this forum.
It has been a tremendous help. I brought up repainting today just because the forum has been too quiet the last few days.


----------



## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Ok boys and girls, since I care about you all so much I decided to post a picture of the 290 I resprayed. I thought I knew right were it was, WRONG! At least I knew which attic it was in. So half an hour later I had it posing for pictures. Since I cleverly had my LN condition 295 in the same crate I got that out as well for comparison. 
As you can see the numbers on mine are weaker than on mopacs. I covered the entire area around the numbers inside the rivets with Vaseline prior to spraying. The paint chipping on this engine was about 1/2 to 2/3 the amount as mopac’s. The paint is indistinguishable from the factory paint on the 295.


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

That 290 looks great. Hope mine comes out as well. Thanks for posting it.
I have got to try and save my numbers. I still need a 295.


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Tom was talking about digging his 290 out and I thought I would show how I store my AF stuff. I get these boxes from my local
baseball card shop. 3.00 each. A pacific fits perfectly with tender attached so of coarse the atlantics fit. The northerns do not so
tenders have to be unhooked. I have 13 of these boxes and I put a sticker on the end with what is in the box. Works good for me.


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Some of my gondolas and flat bed cars are double stacked with a piece of cardboard between them.


----------



## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Mopac, those are nice boxes that stack nicely. I am really impressed you have labeled each box with the contents.
I will share a picture of where I found the two engines this afternoon. I have moved my collection four times with corporate relocations. As a result it was all in moving boxes. Twelve years ago we decided the house we were living in would be our retirement residence so I decided to unpack everything, toss the moving boxes and buy two sizes of large translucent storage tubs with sealed latching lids. They are designed to stack w/o sliding. I have 75 of them. None are labeled with contents but I can mostly see what types of boxes are inside.
The boxes for all the equipment on my permanent layout are stored underneath it. It would take another 20 of those tubs to store those boxes. With few exceptions all of my collection is in its original boxes. Oh, we also have 40 similar red and green crates to store our Christmas decorations. Those are in a separate attic above part of the garage. The two car part of the garage has a 10’ ceiling so I have custom metal storage racks covering the whole ceiling space. About 1/2 of the train collection is there. The balance is in the house attic.
So here is a picture of a small part of the attic where I found the engines. This is a perfect example of how we expand to fit the space available. I do remember fondly the houses we used to own back east that had large basements.


----------



## cramden (Oct 13, 2015)

Mopac, Easy Off works well and it won't hurt the plastic bag. Plastic model builders use it and it doesn't damage the plastic. It will soften the plastic if left on too long but the plastic will harden again once it is washed off. Try to find the Easy Off in the pump spray bottles vs. the pressurized cans. Be careful using it as it will burn exposed skin and eyes. Avoid breathing the fumes and always do it outdoors. Rinse it with water and scrub it clean with a tooth brush. Wear eye protection and a long sleeve shirt that you don't care about because it will splatter. I believe it contains Sodium Hydroxide which is a Lye. Might be better to take Tom's suggestion and paint over the existing paint vs. stripping completely. IIRC, flyernut sand blasts his shells for repainting. If you google paint stripping there might be better alternatives than using oven cleaner. This all reminds me of a 290 that I was given years ago that is apart and in a shoe box somewhere in my house. It too is a repaint and rebuild but it's way down on my list, and further down on my wife's list of things to do.hwell: Forgot, wear rubber gloves too.


----------



## cramden (Oct 13, 2015)

Tom, that paint match is perfect. The 295 is also great looking. That's a lot of tubs filled with trains. Maybe you can find some space for a few shelves. I have found that shelves have a way of multiplying on their own like Rabbits, so be cautious.


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

cramden, that oven cleaner sounds to dangerous for me to use. Tom got great results,
I will try what he did. If it don't work I may have to find a sand blasting shop. Should not cost much.


----------



## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

The 290 and 295 look great!!!..MOPAC, I sand-blast every cast boiler shell that I intend to re-paint as I have a sand-blaster on hand. The tender shell is a different story. The thin metal on the tender will warp very badly when it is hit with the sand-blaster because of the heat generated by the sand-blaster. Easy-Off or brake fluid works great on the tender shell; I've used both methods... Now the key to a re-paint..Use a GOOD primer!!! I always use a self-etching primer on any project I repaint, whether it be a car part or a toy part..As a side note, I also remove the whistle and/or bell from the shell before blasting/painting. Just use a small bladed screw-driver from the outside,or a small punch pin from the inside to remove said pieces.


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Thanks flyernut. And remove headlight lens. I guess it punches out from inside shell.


----------



## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

After hearing Mopac talk about his boxes last year, I went out and bought some boxes for me. They are great. I did however, take out one divider so that a longer boiler and tender would fit. Sorry for the bad photo...:laugh:


----------



## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Fred, I like the labels on your storage boxes.


----------



## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

mopac said:


> I have heard "Easy Off" oven cleaner works best. What kind of a container do I need to use?


I usually buy the cheap, disposable tin-foil-style lasagna pans in bulk. For paint stripping, I double-up a pair (outside!!!), spray my part in the pan with a hefty dose of oven clean, and then losely cover the top with some heavy-duty tin foil. You might have the oven clean weep through the first pan layer, but very likely not the second. You can rinse (in a slop sink) both pans and reuse. Eventually, the top one will wear through ... but you should get some reuse.

Cheers,

TJ


----------



## DrawsOnCad (8 mo ago)

AmFlyer said:


> Ok boys and girls, since I care about you all so much I decided to post a picture of the 290 I resprayed. I thought I knew right were it was, WRONG! At least I knew which attic it was in. So half an hour later I had it posing for pictures. Since I cleverly had my LN condition 295 in the same crate I got that out as well for comparison.
> As you can see the numbers on mine are weaker than on mopacs. I covered the entire area around the numbers inside the rivets with Vaseline prior to spraying. The paint chipping on this engine was about 1/2 to 2/3 the amount as mopac’s. The paint is indistinguishable from the factory paint on the 295.
> 
> View attachment 494318
> ...


That 290 respray in Krylon Semi Flat looks perfect, you really can not tell its a respray.
Very nice job saving the factory numbers. Well preserved. That really makes this job perfect.

I have a 312 that needs touched up, and am researching currently available paint.
Sure wish I could get some of that Krylon Semi Flat today.


----------



## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

The semi-flat was discontinued. It just takes something between flat and semi-gloss to match the original paint. I have not looked in a long time but likely one of the manufacturers has something that works. If you cannot find a black, get flat black and look for a clear spray with the correct gloss level, that may be easier to find.


----------



## DrawsOnCad (8 mo ago)

AmFlyer said:


> The semi-flat was discontinued. It just takes something between flat and semi-gloss to match the original paint. I have not looked in a long time but likely one of the manufacturers has something that works. If you cannot find a black, get flat black and look for a clear spray with the correct gloss level, that may be easier to find.











9203 ??


----------



## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

I long ago tossed my old, empty can. It looks like it is back in new packaging with a different formulation. Mine was a laquer, they are now making it as an enamel. The enamel may work better.


----------



## Tyrell54 (Jun 14, 2021)

DrawsOnCad said:


> View attachment 588777
> 
> 9203 ??
> I have used the 9203 on a few tender frames and it tightens up very flat and is in between flat and semi gloss. Would probably look good on a boiler or tender shell. Maybe a little to much gloss for some.


----------



## dooper (Nov 9, 2015)

I have used regular paint stripping fluid with good results. Then just used flat black paint. They look good to me.


----------

