Ian's 7mm workbench - recent photos

[Hal Nail]

I got some etch primer on yesterday and Halfords satin black today which has reacted and crazed in places on the boiler and cab doors - albeit only on one side where I might have put slightly more paint on that intended. I'd been thinking about painting these bits by hand in the first place and with hindsight obviously I should have. Will let it all set hard and rub down with really fine wet and dry, which it all needs anyway to get a nice flattened finish, and if I'm lucky I'll get away with going straight for weathering. Overall actually quite happy as I was worried I'd dented the sides scrubbing off the old lettering and I hate spraying. Really must learn to use an airbrush. You'll notice the cab steps, which were meant to be covered, and the bunker side where the number plates will sit, have come up beautifully!

 

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Hal Nail

[47606odin]

Scrape off the top of the pickled paint, and then paint the exposed crazed parts with rust colour. It looks like peeling paint on steel sheet then

[bgman]

I would be very tempted to strip the paint and re-do it, yes it's a pain in the whatsit but you'll end up with a far better finish.

 

 

[Piemanlarger]

Hope this turns out ok for you.

 

I'm awaiting the Dapol 45xx. 

Still waiting lol !

[Hal Nail]

29 minutes ago, Piemanlarger said:

Hope this turns out ok for you.

 

I'm awaiting the Dapol 45xx. 

Still waiting lol !

Cheers, it'll be fine, I'm not worried. Its mildly annoying but rattle can spraying is rarely straightforward!

[Piemanlarger]

1 hour ago, Hal Nail said:

Cheers, it'll be fine, I'm not worried. Its mildly annoying but rattle can spraying is rarely straightforward!

 

Haha I'm like you in being a rattler myself.

I've got an airbrush kit unopened for 7 months as a gift under the layout!

I must try it soon as  I want to do the chassis and wheels on my locos!

[Hal Nail]

On 21/02/2021 at 12:34, bgman said:

I would be very tempted to strip the paint and re-do it, yes it's a pain in the whatsit but you'll end up with a far better finish.

I'm now back to bare metal on the tanks and boiler using IPA. I've left the bunker rear which has too many grab rails, steps and lamp irons and part of the fire box around the mud hole covers.

 

Fearing the same as last time I think I'll get a new halfords acid etch primer and satin black, wait for a properly warm day and leave a good week between coats! I'll really mask up and do it in sections as well. All of which I knew I should have done last time.

 

Seems silly getting an immaculate finish when then weathering heavily but having a non-enamel base is pretty fundamental.

Edited February 23, 2021 by Hal Nail

[woodyfox]

In my experience, cellulose paints need to 'vent off' for a few days between coats. I have considered taking advantage of the effects of applying coats within a short time (especially acrylic over cellulose) to create a bubbling rust effect on wagons. Something i'll try when opportunity presents. 

Cheers 

[Hal Nail]

1 hour ago, Hal Nail said:

Seems silly getting an immaculate finish when then weathering heavily but having a non-enamel base is pretty fundamental.

Actually the more I think about it, for a properly grimy loco, a satin as shiny as Halfords probably isn't the ideal starting point for this. The Dapol finish is quite dull and allows washes to key nicely so I will experiment with all my matts, none of which were very matt as I recall!

[47606odin]

The crazed paint worked really well on my brakevan. 
 

I flatted it back with a fibreglass pen, and in this case painted the splits with a rusty brown coulour to simulate old dirty wood.

I can assume it would look just as good as steel under paint with slightly different colours

 

[Hal Nail]

15 minutes ago, 47606odin said:

The crazed paint worked really well on my brakevan. 
 

I flatted it back with a fibreglass pen, and in this case painted the splits with a rusty brown coulour to simulate old dirty wood.

I can assume it would look just as good as steel under paint with slightly different colours

 

I like that. In fact the crazed bits on mine came out with wet and dry very easily. The overall finish on the tank sides was also poor though and cleaning that up exposed all the rivets again so I decided to start again at that point.

 

 

[Hal Nail]

People opinions /help appreciated on this. I looked into an airbrush but decided in the end that I wouldn't really use it enough to justify the cost of the full kit, including good mask etc. I decided I should try to be slightly less tight and buy a new rattle can for each project and not stubbornly try to work around the dregs: a lesson I clearly ignored above

 

I know railmatch and phoenix cans have a reputation for going off after one use compared to Halfords, which are pretty good on the whole but is it because its enamel paint and/or the smaller size cans going off, or just that their nozzles are more prone to clogging? If the latter, occurred to me a solution might be use a can of airbrush propellant to really clear them rather than just inverting. Just wondered others views? 

 

  

Edited February 26, 2021 by Hal Nail

[Piemanlarger]

On 21/02/2021 at 14:18, Hal Nail said:

 

 

I'd just go with a new can if only occasionally spraying

[Hal Nail]

Just now, Piemanlarger said:

 

I'd just go with a new can if only occasionally spraying

I just found a thread specifically on this funnily enough. Sounds like the design of the railmatch caps is part of the problem but also the paint itself.

 

I really ought to just bite the bullet and learn to airbrush - I suspect trying a basic beginners one even with a can of propellant for main colouring a wagon would still be miles better than using a can and I'd find out if I got on with it before investing.

[Hal Nail]

Seconds out, round 2!

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Hal Nail

[Hal Nail]

Getting there. This is actually Halfords Matt black which has about the right level of sheen. Slight crazing again on one tank front - it's odd why this is happening - but that will rub down.

 

Will tidy up the firebox sides which I obviously didn't prepare very well and it could do with bit more rubbing down around the new safety valve but those are easy patches and overall I'm happy with this.

 

I really want to swap the whistles over as they are the wrong way round but I think that will end in tears.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Hal Nail

[Hal Nail]

I rubbed down and primed that little trouble area on the firebox then discovered the primer had got under the masking onto the tank sides. So after a little more rubbing down round the safety valve that I'd never been 100% happy with I have put on another coat of black pretty much all over. Fingers crossed!

 

This really has reinforced that I need to move away from rattle cans and sort an airbrush, albeit I only need one suitable for putting down base colour initially.  

 

The dilemma now is do I varnish it. I think given it is destined to be dirty I'm probably not going to risk it and will just seal the transfers.   

[Hal Nail]

[woodyfox]

On 02/03/2021 at 16:32, Hal Nail said:

I rubbed down and primed that little trouble area on the firebox then discovered the primer had got under the masking onto the tank sides. So after a little more rubbing down round the safety valve that I'd never been 100% happy with I have put on another coat of black pretty much all over. Fingers crossed!

 

This really has reinforced that I need to move away from rattle cans and sort an airbrush, albeit I only need one suitable for putting down base colour initially.  

 

The dilemma now is do I varnish it. I think given it is destined to be dirty I'm probably not going to risk it and will just seal the transfers.   

I use a spray of Dullcote to seal in the first finish then weather with acrylics. 

[Hal Nail]

Just now, woodyfox said:

I use a spray of Dullcote to seal in the first finish then weather with acrylics. 

I keep saying it but i need to learn to use an airbrush. Rattle cans are very hit and miss - although definitely never a good idea to spray when conditions are anything other than perfect, which is one of many rules I never seem to learn! 

 

Having actually got a decent finish I'm happy with, I never like to then risk the varnish screwing it up.

 

Another of my rules that is there for a good reason, is don't fix the smoke box darts until you've got the door painted (its just difficult to weather evenly around them). I made a pigs ear of the first attempt and then broke the steam cock so going to take it all back off and I'll re centre the door while I'm on.

 

Being picky with this as it was such a lovely model to start with.

[Hal Nail]

Steady progress. Severn Mill smokebox plate, mk3 adapted Dapol smokebox darts and smokebox and footplate painted black and frame dirt then lightly buffed up (which evens up the finish as much as anything). The tank sides ended up getting another coat of black after all the handling, Railtec transfers and Halfords satin varnish to seal.

 

Sandboxes to fit below decks and this loco had very prominent balance weights which I need to source or make plus the front pony mounted ATC shoe. I'm a bit worried weathering is going to take the finish back off as it isn't proving very durable so this is going to be left a long time to ready harden now - probably makes sense to put it to one side.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Hal Nail

[Hal Nail]

Some weathering - very hard to capture this in photos as the light picks out any highlights far more than the eye does. I had to redo the BR transfers which the thinners lifted despite the varnish. Like most of my locos, I've ended up with a mostly clean loco with a bit of grime, which is fine but not very common and not what I was trying to do. Better to do too little though and I could see wasn't going the way I wanted, so stopped. My dirty 14xx is beginning to look like a fluke and I need to try and work out what I did differently but I think its all about getting the wash exactly the right consistency to cover evenly, without obliterating the main colour. I recently bought a mogul so am going to use the tender as a test bed, starting with a more matt finish to give the dirt a key and see if that works better. 

 

Also that bloody tank vent on the fireman's side wont stay upright!!!

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Hal Nail

[Hal Nail]

4505 pretty much done. Need to dull the rods, add an ATC shoe at the front, reglaze the cab and, in classic fashion, I've not even started the rear sand boxes before finishing the rest! Trying powders (as well as washes first) for the first time and I like what you can do - particularly how easily removed they are if not happy. I had to try a few different blacks to find one that wasn't tinted but getting an idea of what colours work already. The powders can contrast a bit too much between where they stick and when not, if you aren't careful but I will continue to experiment. I've been working on a wagon as a test bed but completely forgot to photo it today.

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Hal Nail

[Andrew P]

Very nice little baby.

[Hal Nail]

Spent most of today lining a Dapol 14xx which I had repainted from a discounted black 58xx: I would have paid the extra for a green one but the Dapol colour doesn't do it for me. Having said that, I don't think this looks quite right either but I'd rather weather it starting from too dark and rich. I'm using Pressfix transfers which are utterly hopeless for this because you can't see where you are putting them. They fracture very easily if moved so I did the boiler bands twice if not three times, replacing the odd bit that wasn't straight before eventually resorting to soaking them off the tissue and basically using them more like waterslide. I will seal them in place which will help hide all the little highlights and differences in width of the orange and toning them down a bit should help.

 

Not a job I want to do again any time soon - which is a shame given I haven't done the other side yet!

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Hal Nail