Repainting coaches into Network rail yellow.

[ian carville]

Hi, i have a few old coaches in BR blue livery and i want to paint them into Network Rail yellow. However i do not know what i would need to complete the job.

Would i need a airbrush?

Could i paint the windows without having to use filler?

Thanks.

[Sam Moss]

I think you need to give us some more information about which coaches you are planning to model etc as they are all very different. An airbrush is a good start, however plan ahead and get as many photo's of the prototype before even touching the model as it saves errors in the long run.<br />As I said, some more info would enable members to help you even more.

[newbryford]

Hi Ian,

As Sam says, it depends which coaches you have and the ones you want to do. Some are just yellow (but not many), one or two have panelled/painted windows (even less), but many have blanked/modified windows/doors.

 

www.departmentals.com is a good starting point, as is flickr and smugmug once you've got a few numbers to go at.

 

If you want some modelling pointers, have a look at my yellow workbench thread - link in sig. And there's a few others doing yellow stuff as well.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[John M Upton]

Also be aware of the quality of yellow paints, I have had terrible problems with painting any liveries requiring large patches of yellow lately. Precision Paints is passable but needs many coats, the once excellent Railmatch paints in the last year or so have been nothing short of utter crap. I have been attempting to repaint two coaches in Network Rail yellow and have wound up stripping them back to bare plastic three times on account of the poor quality that most commercially available paint is nowadays.

 

Also there seems to be no standard shade of Network Rail yellow, one test train around my local patch recently was all yellow but at least three different shades!!!

[newbryford]

 

 

Also there seems to be no standard shade of Network Rail yellow, one test train around my local patch recently was all yellow but at least three different shades!!!

 

I think there is a standard shade (Network Rail Bodyside yellow), but it does fade/weather quickly in some cases, leading to some multi-shade trains.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Commander-Felix]

I use Humbrol 156 or 165 trainer yellow(cant remember which) I put it agaist my Hornby 31 and HST and it matches very well!

[Penrhos1920]

Try Vallejo model colour 915 or 953.  Excellent paints.

[Adamphillip]

Try Vallejo model colour 915 or 953.  Excellent paints.

which air colours do those match?, I'm trying to make a comparison chart for all the Vallejo air paints

[Guest teacupteacup]

Also be aware of the quality of yellow paints, I have had terrible problems with painting any liveries requiring large patches of yellow lately. Precision Paints is passable but needs many coats, the once excellent Railmatch paints in the last year or so have been nothing short of utter crap. I have been attempting to repaint two coaches in Network Rail yellow and have wound up stripping them back to bare plastic three times on account of the poor quality that most commercially available paint is nowadays.

 

The only paints that I have problems with these days are Humbrol ones so I tend not to touch them

 

In my experience proper preparation and mixing saves much heartache.

 

I prime yellow with white primer (Halfords white matt is my chosen brand), warm the shell and the paint first, and let it dry for at least 24 hours.  I again warm the shell and the top coat paint (for yellow I use Railmatch) and stir the paint thoroughly for a good 5 mins.  I thin the paint a bit at a time to reach the consistency of semi-skinned milk, which I spray in thin coats, around 3-5 mins apart, usually I give the shells 3 coats and set aside to dry for 24 hrs.  If needed, repeat the above to achieve the density required.  Usually around 7/8 coats gives a nice deep finish, without laying on too much paint.

 

After finishing all painting, allowing to dry a good 48 hrs between colours, I'll cover the shell in gloss varnish, again fully mixed, warmed and sprayed, 4 coats or so is enough usually.  This provides a key for the transfers to stick and when those are fully dried, finish the shell in either satin or matt varnish (yet again warmed and sprayed) to seal the transfers in and provide a uniform finish.

 

It sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but its worth taking your time over

 

You needn't spend a fortune on an airbrush and compressor, the deals on ebay are pretty good to get started with - my starter airbrush cost me £50 back in '93 and I still use it most of the time (Paashe F1), along with a Iwata Neo for more precise work.

 

Try it, its a great skill to pick up, but practise on cheap wrecked shells first