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| Average Eastern #11 |
Since I wasn't happy with my last attempt at brush painting I removed all the paint from the locomotive shells I was working on. I use brake fluid as a paint stripper. I fill a container with enough fluid to submerge the shells. After they soak a bit I "scrub" them with an old tooth brush. It make take a few soaks to get all the paint off. I don't like leaving the shells in the liquid overnight. Sometimes all you get is dissolved plastic...
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| Stripped Shells |
Painting the shells proved to be an adventure. There were a few problems with the brush which appeared to be a wrong needle. Then the paint came out rough so I started over. It took a while to get back to painting and when I did I found the compressor had locked up. It's an AC motor so there isn't much to fix. The starting circuit had failed. The design of the motor is such that trying to repair it would destroy it.
A new compressor cost serious money. Canned air or an air tank (or even a spare tire) would work, but none of those options is as desirable. The only real solution was to get the compressor working. So I thought about it for a while...it occurred to me that the rotor shaft would fit in my drill chuck. Presto, working compressor...
Or so I thought. The paint just wouldn't flow even though I was getting air. I tried spraying some thinner, but still no joy. Somewhat desperate, I decided to try my Craftsman compressor. It seemed like overkill to use a 2 horsepower pump for an airbrush. I had also read that a compressor like this would produce air pulses that would ruin my attempts at painting. To my surprise everything worked great. I had airflow with the "kitbashed" compressor, but not enough. Apparently the drill cannot drive the compressor fast enough. The brush worked fine at the 45 psi the Sears unit was putting out...
The thing that really burns me up about this is that I've had that air brush compressor for years and have barely used it. When I finally get serious about painting, it goes south...ARRRGH!!!!
After hours and hours of fiddling it took less than five minutes to paint the first DL109 in New Haven "pullman' green. Rather than remove the shell from the spray booth and go for the next ALCO I decided to leave things well enough alone. I'll let the paint dry before I do anything else...
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| Gutted Air Brush Compressor |
Or so I thought. The paint just wouldn't flow even though I was getting air. I tried spraying some thinner, but still no joy. Somewhat desperate, I decided to try my Craftsman compressor. It seemed like overkill to use a 2 horsepower pump for an airbrush. I had also read that a compressor like this would produce air pulses that would ruin my attempts at painting. To my surprise everything worked great. I had airflow with the "kitbashed" compressor, but not enough. Apparently the drill cannot drive the compressor fast enough. The brush worked fine at the 45 psi the Sears unit was putting out...
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| Sears 2 HP Compressor |
The thing that really burns me up about this is that I've had that air brush compressor for years and have barely used it. When I finally get serious about painting, it goes south...ARRRGH!!!!
After hours and hours of fiddling it took less than five minutes to paint the first DL109 in New Haven "pullman' green. Rather than remove the shell from the spray booth and go for the next ALCO I decided to leave things well enough alone. I'll let the paint dry before I do anything else...
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| New Haven Class DER-1a (ALCO DL109) |
After painting I immediately sprayed thinner/cleaner through the brush. This helps keep the beasties passages clear. I do not like tearing an airbrush down after every use.
More adventure to come...
Regards,
Frank Musick
Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget
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The Average Eastern Railroad
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