Paint for cylinder fronts

[Crepello]

Can I please have recommendations for either an enamel (preferred) or an acrylic colour for the brown colour seen on steam locos.

[Right Away]

I tend to use light wafts of Lifecolor “Burned Black” and “Frame Dirt”, both acrylic, blended with the airbrush. A rust tint can be added but be careful not to overdo this as it’s quite a dominant colour. There are many options, with people using their preferred colours and methods utilising a variety of blending with more than one pigment. Weathering powders can also be utilised.

Attached is a pic for reference.

 

Edited June 28, 2021 by Right Away

[Hal Nail]

12 hours ago, Crepello said:

Can I please have recommendations for either an enamel (preferred) or an acrylic colour for the brown colour seen on steam locos.

I used to mix Humbrol leather and black for basic enamel chassis dirt but Phoenix frame dirt is a shortcut which I now just vary a little with a hint of something else each time

 

Do you specifically mean the fairly strong almost orangy brown colour often seen just on the lower front of the cylinders, at least on GWR locos? As Right Away suggests it's tricky to achieve this without it looking too overpowering. I've recently tried using a fresh rust powder - a small hint well worked in and toned down with general frame dirt. It worked better than enamels which were always my approach before and you can always wash powders back off if not happy.

Edited June 29, 2021 by Hal Nail

[Mick Bonwick]

19 hours ago, Crepello said:

Can I please have recommendations for either an enamel (preferred) or an acrylic colour for the brown colour seen on steam locos.

 

My recommendation would be to use a pigment (as mentioned by @Hal Nail) rather than a paint. My normal method is to use Abteilung 502 Dark Mud - ABTP033 - applied with a small brush and worked in gently to achieve the saturation you seek.

 

There's an example here:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laughinglobster/27551972272/in/dateposted/

 

[Hal Nail]

Just out of interest, what is it that causes that distinct colour that shows up particularly strongly in that area?

Edited June 29, 2021 by Hal Nail

[Rumblestripe]

From looking at photographs I think it depends on how recently the locomotive has been painted. 

 

On a recently out-shopped loco the black seems to take on a chocolate brown hue, I suspect this is a function of heat on the paint and any oil on the area, I think I would try a glaze of a translucent brown over the black. On a muckier more aged loco the predominant colour is a dark rust colour and dry and crusty looking so perhaps using a powdered pigment close to Burnt Sienna.

[Barry O]

After some research the colouration is track dirt.. it is not rust .

It accumulates especially if thenloco is going through an area with wet track. Could be dirt from the rails, brake block dirt etc.  A check was made by @LNER4479 on Tornado to find out what it was.

 

I tend to use a brown ink and water wsh then a russian dark earth/greenscenes brown mix to colour the frames and cylinder fronts of steam locomotives.

 

Baz

[LNER4479]

Yes (Barry), just to emphasise that the leading pony / bogie wheel of a steam locomotive acts like a sort of catherine wheel on a wet day, training a stream of gunk more or less directly at the cylinder front. A very similar effect to a cyclist on a wet day without a rear mudguard - a train of mud all the way up the back of their jersey!

 

Steam locos get particularly dirty / muddy on a filthy, wet, 'orrible day. The accumulation of dirt / damp / crud might eventually lead to rust if not cleaned off but it's origin is mud / dirt.

 

Go further down the loco (ie beyond the cylinders) and oil starts to play a big part, similarly flicked off the motion / valve gear as it is all spinning round. But that's not so much what's happening at the front end.