Coats of Paint

Newbie here - just started! Am painting the front wheels with craftmaster, how many coats of paint are recommended for the wheels, have people been foolowing the craftmaster guidance of:-

"A typical paint build on steel or iron would be two coats each of Primer, Undercoat, and Coach Enamel followed by two coats of Clear Varnish if required. For a finer finish use an extra coat of undercoat and perhaps two more of enamel. This allows for more thorough rubbing down and better coverage on weaker colours"

Cheers
Simon

I used Craftmaster and put down

1 red oxide
2 primer
2/3 craftmaster (sanded in between each with wet and dry up to 1500 grade)
1 top coat

I used brushes not spray.

others may have used different amounts and it's down to what finish you are happy with.

hope this helps.

Nick

Thanks Nick,

always useful to know what others did.

With best wishes
Simon

Hi Simon,

Welcome to the forum!

Regarding paints, I also use Craftmaster. If you speak to Adam (at Craftmaster) tel: 01954 231 308, he will be very helpful.
When painting my engine I use:

• 2 coats of primer (rubbed down between coats)
  
• 2 coats of undercoat (rubbed down between coats)
  
• two top coats.

It is recommended that you thin the paints as necessary (80%:20%).

The varnish is hand brushed (one litre should be enough).

The black 240 (for the smoke box and chimney) was sprayed directly on to the metal (no primers are used).

For the 4" scale engine, you will need approximately, 2 litres of primer, undercoat and top coat.

The above list does not include the sign writing paint for the lining ( I brought 0.5 of each colour).

The people on here are all very helpful and I would imagine you will receive lots of good advice.

All the best,

Brian M

I also purchased Carftmaster Black paint and the necessary primer plus undercoat for my model and Brian M's comments are correct. I do not think you need to rub down if you paint on consecutive evenings though.

However, I have just collected my wheels from being spray painted but unfortunately there are a number of runs or wrinkles to polish out once it has hardened after a few weeks. A little disapointed and painter said it was very tricky to apply with the spraygun, he would have prefered to use a standard two pack paint. I already had the paint and wanted it to match the bodywork so it was my choice to have him use it - just a warning if you were going down this route. Quite a but of rubbing down and polishing to do before we get to lining.

Incidentally, I could not face painting the wheels with the brush as I am never home long enough to get it done on consecutive evenings. I do need to pluck up courage on the tender though once I finish it - roll on the royal wedding, full day in the workshop

Brian

If you are spraying (or brushing) and see a paint run developing then turn the item round and let the paint find a new level by running back into itself. With conventional paints I then put the item over a heater (if possible) to hasten drying. When spraying wheels you need to paint all the awkward bits first, then finish off with the spoke faces. Essential to be able to rotate the wheel easily.

I used smooth Hammerite sprayed onto bright metalwork from a can on my smokebox, chimney etc. It has been proof to some very hard work on the TE. The secret is to put a light coat on every 15 minutes. Each new coat softens the one underneath but it does not run.... If it does, see above. Finally when the paint has dried well put the object in the oven at 220 deg C. Better when wife / partner not around. This is not essential, but if you don't do this you will find that on the first steaming that the paint is very soft so don't touch it. You may also have to tighten up some of the fixtures, as the paint shrinks on heat curing: in particular, check the perch bracket.

Tim

Thankyou chaps, very helpful, sorry Tim your sprayed wheel has not gone well. Although I have only primed the wheels at the moment, the Craftmaster paint is very easy to work with. I bought a large art brush from an artists shop and the two are a delight to work with, I quite enjoyed painting the front wheel last night - and I don't normally like painting!

I did think about asking someone to spray my wheels but opted to paint them myself and get a lad in town to do the lining - he specialises in traction engines.

With best wishes
Simon

bjwlancashire wrote:

However, I have just collected my wheels from being spray painted but unfortunately there are a number of runs or wrinkles to polish out once it has hardened after a few weeks. A little disapointed and painter said it was very tricky to apply with the spraygun, he would have prefered to use a standard two pack paint. I already had the paint and wanted it to match the bodywork so it was my choice to have him use it - just a warning if you were going down this route.

Brian

Where possible, you may want to get your wheels done professionally, due to the complexity of the design. I took my wheels to a spray shop (who specialises in old transport). They have also opted for the 2 pack paint.

All the best

Brian M

Just a quick tip, if you are spraying keep a 20mm very soft artists brush handy. If a drip appears one can quickly brush it out or remove some of the excess paint with it. The ones I use are about 20mm wide and about 3mm thick with a chisel end, most good art shops have them.

I haven't used a clear varnish top coat.

should I have included one?

if so what type of varnish.

cheers

Nick

sonick45 wrote:I haven't used a clear varnish top coat.

should I have included one?

if so what type of varnish.

cheers

Nick

Hi Nick,

I used the Craftmaster Gloss Varnish 97% reflective (goes on really well) and protects the paint.

Cheers,

Brian M

There is a point of view that varnish on top of paint is at risk of discolouring or separating: it will also make it easier to touch in any minor damage if there is not a coat of varnish. A well respected full size owner suggested that just the lining out should be varnished and a small margin of the main paintwork to protect it from wear and tear. I did this when I repainted the boiler cladding and wheels of my TE. It has worked well. The other technique that I used was to mix a little varnish with the top coats of the final body colour paint, a dodge given in the book 'How not to paint a locomotive'.

Tim