genral advice

hi All
I am about to start building a dcc loco and am new to all of this I do not have a engineering background and will be asking plenty of questions.
first post first question
starting with the wheels once built would I be right to apply 2 coats of grey primer then 1 coat of the undercoat to protect them until a later date or do they have to be finished once the painting process has started.

Hi Geoff, welcome on board, you will find lots of answers on this forum and everyone is happy to help out. I can only speak from my own experience. The front wheel I had lots of time and have taken them up to 1st top coat. With the rest of the build I have been struggling to find time, the two rear wheels both have primer on and one has a coat of under coat, the other that is just primer but doesn't have any issues, these wheels built back in May the shed they are in is quite damp free so that might help. I would say if you have the time get a primer coat on if possible. The other thing that is mentioned is to remove the masking tape as soon as possible, although I left my cheap Halford tape on one rear wheel for months and it came of really easy, that might have just been luck on my part.
Enjoy your build and look forward to see some photos.

Hi Geoff,
I second that. Whenever a (mayor) part was finished I put on primer and hi coat to prevent any rusting. Just remember some parts are a close fit and the paint layers might haunt you at a later date. I remember struggling to fit the second shaft into the hornplates due to too many layers of paint. And, yes, remove the masking tape as soon as possible.

Cheers

Elwood

thanks for the advice.
when I have looked at various engines the paint finish is immaculate do people achieve this with a brush or does it have to be sprayed.

Hi Geoff

Geoff wrote:thanks for the advice.
when I have looked at various engines the paint finish is immaculate do people achieve this with a brush or does it have to be sprayed.

This is a tough question to answer as several variables come into play.
Ambient temp, Humidity Environment quality, Ability, and paint quality to name a few.
Personally I brush paint wheels, I have tried to spray paint them with mixed results, but I am no sprayer.
The front wheels are much easier to spray as they are more open than the rears, I found it difficult to avoid over spray and the dull finish that gave.

Brush painting while very tedious gave me the best results, I use coach enamel and high quality brushes.
An inhibitor was useful in the summer to slow the drying and giving me time to work.
I made a couple of stands that allow me to have the wheels horizontal for painting, I have found starting on the back side and working from the hub out to the rim before flipping them over worked the best.

As it takes such a lot of work and tape to mask up before starting (I don't enjoy the masking) I tend to paint primer undercoat and top coat in as shorter time as drying time allows before removing the tape and putting them to one side for a couple of weeks before lining them.

The wheels are kits 1,4 & 5 but wont actually be needed until after kit 15 so you will have plenty of time to perfect them and the technique that suits you

Sorry that answer got a little long winded but that is what works for me and I have built over 30 wheels now and I still don't like painting them.

Good luck with your build, take your time and above all enjoy it OH! yes and don't forget to post some pictures.

Simon C

Thanks for that
I am starting to think maybe brush paint the wheels and spray the main parts. I have spoken to a local body shop they are happy to do that for me, maybe they would just spray the top coat not to sure how it works in the painting process. My concern is to protect the steel as the build goes on.

Hi Geoff,

Good plan to brush paint the wheels etc but have larger parts like tender and cladding painted by a car paint shop. But I would strongly suggest to discuss with them beforehand on which paint to use. I doubt they will like you to put primer etc on and they do the finsh coat(s) only as which paint will work with which base seems to be next to black magic. Better have them do the whole paint job. They are the professionals.
Just my five pence.

Cheers
Elwood

If you're thinking of getting it spray painted then make sure that whatever they spray it with will withstand the heat, a lot of modern car body paints won't last 5 minutes otherwise compared to traditional oil based paints.

the paint shop I spoke to said they would use a 2 pack commercial paint maybe that would be up to the mark I am not to sure but it is certainly something that has to be right.