Nearholmer Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 Folks I have an exceedingly tatty BL "blood & custard" from the 1950s, which I wish to re-paint, to run with my other, more respectable ones, but the roof seems to be fixed much more firmly than with, say, Ace coaches. Is there a trick to getting these roofs off without damaging the coach? Any help gratefully received, Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted April 11, 2016 Author Share Posted April 11, 2016 OK, I can now answer the above question: use two Playmobil dinghy oars as "tyre levers", because the plastic they are made from is very resilient. But, now: how on earth do I get the glazing out, without stripping the coach right down to its component parts? Help! Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Kevin, Is there a danger of undermining the value of the BL coach by repainting? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted April 11, 2016 Author Share Posted April 11, 2016 Not the one concerned. It is too far gone to be devalued. These post-war coaches have a finish that is very vulnerable to sunlight. Not only does the paint/print fade, but it sort of shrinks and cracks, to give a kind of giant crazy-paving effect. And, it seems to be affected by any chemicals in the paper or (heaven forbid) plastic, in which it is stored. This particular one has all of these problems in abundance, and has hitherto acted as parts-donor for others, but, yesterday, I took sympathy on it, and decided to strip it and start again ......... But, that is proving very difficult! These coaches were actually made by a firm called Precision Models, and they are works of genius. The "tin" from which they are made seems to be good plain steel sheet, and the design is such that they are extremely rigid, and the folds incredibly crisp and tight. I suspect that the firm must have made things like camera or instrument chassis, perhaps turning to models after the War. (My suspicion is wrongly placed, see here http://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/info/Category:Winteringham_Ltd ) I will post a photo of it, and one of its brethren that has spent its life out of the sun, later, and you will see how awful it is. There are lots of very badly repainted, deeply de-valued, ones around, so once I've cracked the problem, I shall be able to access a ready supply of others (at c£20/each) to tackle. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted April 11, 2016 Author Share Posted April 11, 2016 Horrible, is it not? But, more to the point, with further aid from the trusty Playmobil dinghy oar, reduced far enough towards its constituent parts to permit strip, de-rust, and re-paint. And, no significant damage to the tin-work involved. Please do not tell SWMBO that I am using the ironing board as a workbench! K Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed nantes Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 Not the one concerned. It is too far gone to be devalued. These post-war coaches have a finish that is very vulnerable to sunlight. Not only does the paint/print fade, but it sort of shrinks and cracks, to give a kind of giant crazy-paving effect. And, it seems to be affected by any chemicals in the paper or (heaven forbid) plastic, in which it is stored. This particular one has all of these problems in abundance, and has hitherto acted as parts-donor for others, but, yesterday, I took sympathy on it, and decided to strip it and start again ......... But, that is proving very difficult! These coaches were actually made by a firm called Precision Models, and they are works of genius. The "tin" from which they are made seems to be good plain steel sheet, and the design is such that they are extremely rigid, and the folds incredibly crisp and tight. I suspect that the firm must have made things like camera or instrument chassis, perhaps turning to models after the War. (My suspicion is wrongly placed, see here http://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/info/Category:Winteringham_Ltd ) I will post a photo of it, and one of its brethren that has spent its life out of the sun, later, and you will see how awful it is. There are lots of very badly repainted, deeply de-valued, ones around, so once I've cracked the problem, I shall be able to access a ready supply of others (at c£20/each) to tackle. Kevin Some years ago a friend bought some BL blood and custards that appeared unused and perhaps had been on display in a shop window as the red on only one side was extremely faded. I may have bought a BL 2-6-4 tank from the same display at the same time as the pick ups were unmarked but it had been painted. Anyway,he quite successfully restored the red section by using a Texta. The colour is not opaque so left the lining that crossed the red area. The result was surprisingly good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted May 29, 2016 Author Share Posted May 29, 2016 I had to google to find out what a Texta is, but now I know, and I think it's going to take more than a felt-tipped pen to sort my coach out! If ever I find time to make progress, I will report results. K Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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