Good Model Painter for Lionel Passenger Car Roof Re-paint

CLARIFICATION UPDATE: the car in question needing re-painting is Lionel #6-29110 - SP Daylight Aluminum Streamlined Observation car. This car is normally part of a 4-pack Lionel #6-29115. See photos.

Ken- YOU are!  Mask off sides, sand lightly, and spray with a can of appropriate shininess!  Will come our perfect! JohnA

Yes agree with John. I would suggest that you sand the spot smooth, mask off the sides anything not black and use Tamiya semi gloss black spray paint for plastics, very light misting coats over the problem area wait 15 minutes between each coat. If you aim for the problem area then the paint will blend in with the black paint already on the roof and save doing all the roof. I paint all the time and find the Tamiya paint goes on silky smooth some of the best paint on the market.

Thanks John A and kj356 for your replies with confidence!

kj356: What grit sand paper? -Something super or ultra fine I would guess, and even then sand very lightly just to (a) remove what looks like small amount of rough stuff (glue ?) and (b) help paint to adhere to something.

No priming needed? Just use Tamiya semi gloss black spray as mentioned?

You said for "plastics" but is not this body aluminum with coat(s) of paint already on it - see the orange coming through below the black?

Zoom in on that picture fellas, …..that’s a pretty ugly spot,….if y’all just sanded it down, you’d be left with a divot,….painting over a divot doesn’t hide it,….that spot is going to need some filler, and a blend in,…if you look close enough, you can see black paint missing, then red orange paint missing, and what looks like a crater in the middle,….to make a better repair, lightly scuff the area, fill, smooth, blend, prime then scuff smooth, and refinish the the entire roof for a seamless finish….

Pat

Thanks harmonyards for your view: What is a good "filler" product to use? I assume the filler layer would be very very thin. before any scuffing/sanding.

Does an average person (like me) have the skill to do this right without making the car look worse?

This doesn’t look like an awful job for the average DIY project ……

JB quick weld is a good filler for that small section, ….when working with fine detail models, I like to use super fine paper …..nothing lower than 800 grit,…..so I’d first lightly scuff the damaged area, making sure nothing is sticking up. Then fashion a filler spreader from thin plastic. Mix a tiny amount of JB Weld and spread it JUST IN THE REPAIR AREA …..let that cure overnight ……next day, fashion a small sanding block and use 800 grit and block sand the repaired area only, …blending your repair into the surrounding black ……attempt not to cut through the existing black finish…..keep checking from different angles, and examine your work. Use the sanding block and follow the contour shape of the roof ( the crown) …..once your satisfied you’ve leveled the area and it’s blended in, check your work with a small straight edge ….passing the straight edge over your repair area looking for voids or hills ….repeat the filling process if you have a void, or block sand more if you have a hill,…..once your satisfied, now lightly scuff the area a little bigger for the priming process,…..for the DIY at home, I’ve been told the Tamiya primer is a good product ….now mask off the entire roof and mask the car body so no overspray can land on your car body …..only prime the area you repaired!!….probably no bigger than a quarter or half dollar sized spot??…now let the primer dry overnight….now use a finer paper, and scotchbrite…….( gray scotchbrite is best for modeling ) …use 1000 grit paper (wet sanding is best now)  and lightly wet sand the repaired area and the rest of the roof …this will blend the primer spot seamlessly into the rest of the roof,…..wipe off excess water, and dry with paper towels, …you should now have a perfect smooth roof with just an unsightly gray spot,….admire your work, …looking at different angles for imperfections,…..use the scotchbrite to LIGHTY SCUFF the rest of the roof, and the areas that you can’t reach with sand paper …..if you’re satisfied with your repair, be sure it’s completely dry, and you’re ready to top coat….carefully mask off your roof, using fine line tape first, then put masking paper ( printer paper works fine ) and tape up to the fine line tape to mask off the rest of the car,…..shoot medium to light coats of color, allowing the coats to flash off so the next coat doesn’t land on completely wet paint……color to hide your repair …allow to flash, then go for the money shot, and put one fell swoop coat over the entire roof for that perfect finish……job done, pour cup of coffee and enjoy,…..😉

Pat

* forgot to add ….once you’ve masked off your roof for final color, use a paper towel just ever so slightly damp with alcohol, and wipe the roof off clean as a final prep, …wipe one time, in one direction only, …..never back and forth, as you don’t want wet alcohol disturbing your repair …..very very slightly damp, is just fine…..we’re just looking for the paper towel to pick up loose dust, etc,…be sure there’s no dust or sanding debris in the nooks and crannies before you paint…..

Pat,

Thanks so much for going into extra detail. I will consider this DIY project given the advice I have received, unless I find someone experienced enough to do it for me.

Ken

Ken, the critical part here is less about filling the hole but masking the car off for painting. Most masking tapes can peel off the silver line next to the roof. I would suggest a liquid masker that can be removed with water after painting. Microscale makes one called Micro Mask. I would apply it down to the orange window band so both lines and the lettering is covered. Those are whats most at risk when removing the tape. Some lining will tolerate tape but you won’t know that for sure until its too late. BTDT.

Pete

Norton,

Liquid mask - I never knew. And your tip about the line/lettering is valuable - if those get screwed up i would rather live with the roof spot. Thanks!

-Ken

Micro Mark also sells a liquid masker but not sure its water soluble. I use it but only peeled it off.

Pete