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Washout plug detailing


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Locos are wonderfully detailed these days (although not all the details are always correct!) but I realised that all my GWR locos were missing something: Brass washout plugs. The plugs themselves are usually very carefully moulded but they are not coloured...

 

So I had a go at addressing this using some ATK Brass True Metal Wax:

IMG_20191126_230808.jpg.cdb36ae77cd88d0e6af1c66a6c035375.jpg

 

This product is thick and has a high pigment level, which means that just a touch completely obscures whatever colour is underneath. This is important because it would be unthinkable to try to paint such small, recessed details let alone having to use multiple coats!

 

I picked up some of the wax on the end of a cocktail stick and, using an optivisor to magnify the view, very carefully touched each plug-head to transfer the colour.

 

The results are very pleasing. Maybe the brass is a bit too shiny but that will get toned down when the locos are weathered.

IMG_20191127_124708_ex.jpg.7a6b0023feb9bf222454481b60fe2115.jpg

 

There are a few mistakes to be cleaned up but not so many to put me off doing more in future.

 

Edited by Harlequin
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4 hours ago, Harlequin said:

Locos are wonderfully detailed these days (although not all the details are always correct!) but I realised that all my GWR locos were missing something: Brass washout plugs. The plugs themselves are usually very carefully moulded but they are not coloured...

 

So I had a go at addressing this using some ATK Brass True Metal Wax:

IMG_20191126_230808.jpg.cdb36ae77cd88d0e6af1c66a6c035375.jpg

 

This product is thick and has a high pigment level, which means that just a touch completely obscures whatever colour is underneath. This is important because it would be unthinkable to try to paint such small, recessed details let alone having to use multiple coats!

 

I picked up some of the wax on the end of a cocktail stick and, using an optivisor to magnify the view, very carefully touched each plug-head to transfer the colour.

 

The results are very pleasing. Maybe the brass is a bit too shiny but that will get toned down when the locos are weathered.

IMG_20191127_124708_ex.jpg.7a6b0023feb9bf222454481b60fe2115.jpg

 

There are a few mistakes to be cleaned up but not so many to put me off doing more in future.

 

I have never seen Brass Washout plugs so I have just looked and found the following heritage railways document that specifically rules out the use of brass. Where did you find they were made of brass?

 

mark

43FEE641-4EA4-473B-BE86-299D85B75B2E.png

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30 minutes ago, Mark said:

I have never seen Brass Washout plugs so I have just looked and found the following heritage railways document that specifically rules out the use of brass. Where did you find they were made of brass?

 

mark

43FEE641-4EA4-473B-BE86-299D85B75B2E.png

 

The specified metals (BS1400 LG2 or LG4) are Leaded Gunmetal/Leaded Bronze which is copper based and has a colour similar to brass. 

 

Leaded Gunmetal for sale on the RS website

 

Edited by Wellyboots
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I have to say that I have never seen washout plugs that bright and shiny, the cleanest ones are on the firebox backhead where the footplate crew might give them a bit of a clean, but the exterior ones would hardly be given a glance and I very much doubt that they were given a polish in the store whilst awaiting use.

 

The ones on the king have been given a museum display finish, not a day to day finish of an engine in use.

 

The only place I have seen bull***t to that level was on Britannia.

 

 

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13 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said:

I have to say that I have never seen washout plugs that bright and shiny, the cleanest ones are on the firebox backhead where the footplate crew might give them a bit of a clean, but the exterior ones would hardly be given a glance and I very much doubt that they were given a polish in the store whilst awaiting use.

 

The ones on the king have been given a museum display finish, not a day to day finish of an engine in use.

 

The only place I have seen bull***t to that level was on Britannia.

 

 

I said above that the current finish is pre-weathering.

It’s surely better to weather on top of the correct colour than loco green.

 

Furthermore, I reckon that they would have been wiped with an oily rag during boiler washouts, every 10-30 days depending on which source you read and the period under consideration.

 

Edited by Harlequin
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Thinking a little further about the colour of the plugs, over time the exposed metal would tarnish and take on a brown colour, I've found a couple of pictures of plugs take from in service engines which show this.

 

This shows the washout plugs from GWR 28xx Class 2807

 

This shows a washout plug from SR U Class 31806

 

So probably a brown wash applied to the brass would help to create the effect although AK Interactive also do Old Bronze and Gun Metal in their True Metal range which both seem to be brown and might be closer to tarnished bronze.    

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Hi Phil,

 

Washout plugs are as variously mentioned above made from LG4 which is a grade of leaded gunmetal. The colour of a new washout plug is indeed similar to bass although it has a slightly more orange tone to it when new, however it does discolour due to oxidation and the effects of soot and graphite paste, fading through shades of brown and ending up pretty much black.

I would suggest that the only locomotives with shiny brass washout plugs would be those to be of exhibition finish. Any newly replaced plugs may well be shiny bronze colour for a few days but wouldn't stay that way for long.

 

Gibbo.

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