# Painting Chessie Loco



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Hi All!

Im looking to paint a few Chessie Loco's. Never tackled a three color paint job. Has anyone here done so?

Any advise or suggestions?


----------



## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

I've asked gunrunner about the possibility of starting a new forum titled something like "Painting and Detailing". There's lots of information on the subject of painting and detailing, but it's spread throughout various forums. He said there has to be a need for that. Personally, I think it would be great, but others are also going to have to express that as well.


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Golf I think that is an excellent idea! I'm years away from starting my layout, but I'm being pulled into decaling and custom painting locos and rolling stock for myself and others. If your making a motion to do this, I 2nd it )))


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

BTW Gun, if you do create this new area, I have several questions I could post to get it started


----------



## spoil9 (Dec 24, 2008)

I agree, a seperate section for painting and detailing would be great. It's one thing that is scale independent yet can really change the looks of our models and model rail roads. 

I am Fasha,
Are you using an air brush to paint the locos with? If so, start with one color and paint the whole model.
Use blue painters tape to tape off where you want that color to stay, and then paint the next color over the rest of the model.
Repeat again for the last color.
That's the basics.
Remember that it's easier to work from larger sections to smaller sections of painted area. Sometimes it's easier to work from top to bottom. Really depends on the paint scheme. Plan ahead and it'll fall into place.
Easier to cover lighter colors with darker colors.
Press firmly along the edge of the painters tape to ensure a good seal. 

! Paint in several lite coats. Don't try to cover everything in the first try!!!

If you think you could do one more quick pass with the spray, dont. Wait till the next coat. This has always been my biggest problem which leads to loss of details, paint that runs, and heartache later on.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I'm feeling in a generous mood, check out the new forum: Painting, detailing and decaling

Now that you have a new forum, let's see some new posts! 

I'll start the ball rolling by moving this thread.


----------



## Grabbem88 (Feb 24, 2012)

Lol you ol'softy but very generous

I think it's a good idea though. seems the proto typical aspect of detail and more realism is becoming of a higher demand these days, but people rather buy it that way.

I might need to repost some of my stuff again

And btw frog tape is awesome! And any Rc model tape for painting lexan bodies is very good as well

On a three tonewhen you mask it and pull it off save it to be reapplied when painting the base/primary color... It helps


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

To Gun, sorry Mr gun sir :appl::appl::appl::appl:

Good idea and money saving tip Grab :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## Grabbem88 (Feb 24, 2012)

Are you Airbrushing it?


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Sorry Spoil for missing your post :-( But yes sir and to you too Grab. Airbrush for the larger areas and brush or micro brush for the smaller areas. 

OK Spoil, so for this Chessie, I would go all yellow first and then work my way to the top? I just looked at the pic again. There is that burnt orange on the frame and near the top. So Im guess burnt orange as the base, this would also cover the walkways. then Yellow then Black on top?


----------



## spoil9 (Dec 24, 2008)

What do you have for decals? I hate to say it, but you may need to do the blue as the base coat since it's such a large part of the symbols. 

Wow, it's been a while since I've looked at their paint scheme. That's complicated.


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

I plan on using MicroScale decals. It does look very hard, but I think you are right about the layers. I've never painted a two color loco, much less three color. Do you think by using blue as the base it will give me a hard time when I start to paint the yellow?


----------



## spoil9 (Dec 24, 2008)

Yes. You may need to do a coat of primer over the blue before doing the yellow.
I'm really hoping someone else chimes in as I'm not feeling 100% anymore.


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Your doing fine sir! You got both of us thinking :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Okay I need some help here. Anyone, ANYONE seen anywhere on the web, what colors Chessie uses for their three main colors? Flouquil "DID" make them....


----------



## spoil9 (Dec 24, 2008)

Doesn't list the colors but talks about how to paint the engine...
http://dieseldetailer.proboards.com/thread/3856

This one talks about the different colors that can be used...
http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/archive/index.php/t-74529.html


----------



## dannyrandomstate (Jan 1, 2012)

Light to dark. Primer, yellow, orange, and then blue. Of course decals last.


----------



## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

spoil9 said:


> Yes. You may need to do a coat of primer over the blue before doing the yellow.
> I'm really hoping someone else chimes in as I'm not feeling 100% anymore.


Yes, yellow is a real pain to paint. You will have to put some sort of base layer prior to using yellow. Primer is a good choice. I use flat white as a base coat prior to painting yellow. I learned this while painting my model airplanes. When I get my airbrush back from Badger I can paint my new undecorated wood ice reefers, which are 2 color (including yellow sides). By the way, red is as challenging as yellow.


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Excellent info Spoil!!! I will be studying these threads!

Thanks for the reply and excellent advise on layers Danny!

Golf do you airbrush that flat white as a primer or spray can?


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Okay another quick question. Im noticing a lot of the colors mentioned in these threads are Acrylic paints. Ive never used acrylic, is there much difference painting acrylic verses enamel?


----------



## dannyrandomstate (Jan 1, 2012)

I found that acrylic was easier to work with. Through the airbrush it flowed smooth. And clean up seems easier too. 

I've been using Tamiya acrylics now for about 8 years. I was a hardcore enamel guy for the longest time. It was while I was in Korea that I used enamel on a vinyl model. The paint never dried! :O I finally broke down and bought some acrylic. A world of difference.


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Danny how do you thin your acrylic? What with and how much?

Does it "run" any faster that enamel?

I started with enamel and that's all I've ever used.


----------



## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

Water, denatured alcohol, or something like Tamiya thinner (which is what I use). There are many types of acrylic thinners. As to the ratios, there are no hard and fast rules. For my airplane models I use Tamiya paints with a mixing of ~65% paint to ~35% thinner. Some paints require a lot less thinner (otherwise the paint molecules are stretched too far and give a splotchy appearance). Tru Color advertises no thinning, that the acrylic based paint can be airbrushed as is. But they require about a 28 psi minimum air pressure to push it through the airbrush. You will have to experiment to see what works best for you. Yellows and reds require a primer (I use flat white) to be put on first.


----------



## dannyrandomstate (Jan 1, 2012)

Golfer said it all. 

I picked up some tru color paints to use as an experiment. After the move and getting the air brush booth set up. I'll try em.


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks for info Golf and the "2nd" Danny. Im still looking around. The vermillion seems to be the one that has everyone torn up on.


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Another question, it may seem dumb, but I just don't know the answer. Can I paint enamel over acrylic? Or vise versa?


----------



## dannyrandomstate (Jan 1, 2012)

Enamel can go over acrylic, but not the other way. I learned my lesson on a german tank some years ago. Botched the whole paint job. It's best to stick with one than to mix things up.


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks for the replay Danny and that is good info to know. Im getting closer on ordering paint for this project. But the C&O Enchanted Blue and C&O Enchanted Yellow, appear, to only come on acrylic. Im still look for it in enamel and trying to find something for the vermillion.


----------



## spoil9 (Dec 24, 2008)

Its a couple extra steps, but take the paint samples and get your local hardware store to color match. That way all the paint is the same type. 
Finally got to do some sample runs with my behr paint from home depot and it was easy to paint with, and super easy to clean the air brush since the paint is water based.


----------



## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

I Am Fasha said:


> Thanks for the replay Danny and that is good info to know.


+1. I didn't know that either.


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Good idea Spoil!


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Well it had been sometime since my last post on this topic, but Im just about done with this project. Thought I would make a few videos to show what I did.

http://youtu.be/nWkwTS0osNU


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Part 2 of the series

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2cd2NDtzpQ&feature=share&list=PLAsazFMlDyADhQhinwgY-uUvbL5eI8Sff&index=12


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Part 3 of the series

http://youtu.be/bKOKKpRL9yQ


----------



## thetramp (Dec 14, 2012)

Fasha, you do great work and explain everything in detail that is easy to follow.:appl:


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks Tramp


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Part 4

http://youtu.be/ST8okppPpiE


----------



## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

LOVE the series. I assume you're going to continue into overspray repair and decalling? Thanks a bunch for doing this!! :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Fire21 said:


> LOVE the series. I assume you're going to continue into overspray repair and decalling? Thanks a bunch for doing this!! :smilie_daumenpos:


Yes sir! Working on the corrections right


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

This is it, all done 

Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/Qk_gxHGEWoY


----------



## apoc444 (Jan 28, 2013)

nice job


----------



## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

A BIGround of applause for Fasha!! :appl::appl::appl::appl::appl: Beautiful work.


----------



## Hutch (Dec 19, 2012)

Can't imagine how you did all that. That is, unless I read the thread.

Fantastic job!


----------



## SRV1 (Nov 14, 2010)

Very impressive! That was a heck of a project to tackle. I like that you decided to paint up three of them (since the paint was mixed up. I like the logic. Just 3x the work) 

Just watched video 5 through. I probably would have cheated on some of that touch up with a small brush instead of taping it off again. The paint must have bonded well. Did the tape want to pull any finished product off during the touch up? Were you using painting tape or regular masking tape? 

Nice job. :appl: Any plans to weather them?


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks everyone for the kind word



SRV1 said:


> Very impressive! That was a heck of a project to tackle. I like that you decided to paint up three of them (since the paint was mixed up. I like the logic. Just 3x the work)
> 
> Just watched video 5 through. I probably would have cheated on some of that touch up with a small brush instead of taping it off again. The paint must have bonded well. Did the tape want to pull any finished product off during the touch up? Were you using painting tape or regular masking tape?
> 
> Nice job. :appl: Any plans to weather them?


No sir, no paint pulled away,thank goodness! I used Tamiya Masking Tape, here is a link to the tape: https://www.google.com/search?q=timaya+tape&oq=timaya+tape&aqs=chrome..69i57.5121j0j8&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#q=tamiya+masking+tape&tbm=shop

I have had the tape in the past pull off paint, but I think that was my fault. I sprayed enamel over acrylic. On this project I used all acrylic, but I was sweating it a bit. I considered using a paint brush on some of the areas and did in fact use a brush on the steps at each end of the locos. But I also used the paint that I had thinned to airbrush with and applied several coats. I was afraid that if I used the paint straight from the jar, it would create a buildup over the sprayed layer.


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Great job indeed. :smilie_daumenpos:

Are you going to weather it?


----------



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks Ed! No sir, I painted these for a guy. He says down the road he may weather them and asked me if I would help. I said sure, but it will be hard for me to do, at least for a while.


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I Am Fasha said:


> Thanks Ed! No sir, I painted these for a guy. He says down the road he may weather them and asked me if I would help. I said sure, but it will be hard for me to do, at least for a while.


Tell him you won't ruin a work of art!:smilie_daumenpos:
Unless the price is right.


----------



## SRV1 (Nov 14, 2010)

I Am Fasha said:


> I said sure, but it will be hard for me to do, at least for a while.


 To me itd make it easier if you pick one or two that you like the best to leave "like new", with very minimal weathering. After all, for a little while the prototype can be almost spotless. If its supposed to be an example thats been in heavy use for a decade, youre almost obligated to dirty it up. 
Heres an example of the former though. You could serve dinner off the trucks on this one:










It still appears the top of the hood has begun to fade. The coupler and wheels are rusted. You can weather the first things to go without disturbing your overall paint job much.


Sent from my SCH-R950 using Tapatalk


----------

