restoring brass hoppers/update

From my attempts at stripping  The glass beads I got from my local commercial stripper worked great but with brass being softer than the old walthers tin that I warped in the process. I would call or show up at a local stripping shop and ask for some walnut shells they might just give you a coffee can for free. When I stripped my VW bus was forewarned and thusly spared the consternation of ripples in the lager side surfaces, but alas I didn't think of that on the toys I was playing with at the time. Call around save some gas and I'm sure somebody will help you out locally

I happen to have a customer who sells sandblasting media so i get the ripped bags for a few bucks.Mostly black beauty for custom loads.. I havnt had a chance to go down there yet to pick his brain and pick up some media.

Once again, be careful. Black Beauty (aka Silicon Carbide) is the most aggressive form of media you get. Great for getting the rust off a frame of a car that has been sitting in a swamp for 50 years. Not so great for thin walled brass models.

Pete

Thanks for all the input guys, very much appreciated.........

well heres what i ended doing so far  as advised........

1) soaked in crown paint stripper in a 5 gal bucket some 2 hrs-36 hrs  time didnt matter.

2) brushed with soft paint brush and round brush to remove paint(came off very easy except nooks and crannies.)

3)  let dry sandblasted them on 45-60 psi gun about 3-4 inches away with 220 grit white aluminum oxide to remove tarnish and paint in crevises...

Good so far....

Patrick,

A fine job!    Any issues or concerns afterward?  May I suggest a good rinse with distilled water and or goof off to insure the aluminum oxide is washed off and you are good to paint!

*after insuring your model is dry

Yup, good so far Pat! All the dialog often becomes secondary to getting in there and doing the duty. I really like grit blasting as a paint prep, and I bet you do as well after actually doing some.

Keep the pictures coming.

Bob 

I actually put the entire car into the dishwasher on a cold water rinse cycle a few times and then "dry" it using an alcohol or acetone rinse. 

Brad,

no issues yet...thanks for the phone support...

Bob,

you got it... just do it...  I was really appreciative to get these cars... never did it before and sometimes the unknown makes simple things seem huge..  at no time did i feel the car could of been damaged during blasting..pretty easy actually..

mwb,

on rare occasion i cant distinguish between your sense of humor (which  i enjoy)and expertice.. sometimes a mix...

but sounds good to me ...to see wifes face when she opens it up and sees a load of hoppers ,she ll say ....... "Thats  nice --the one time you decide to use the dishwasher , you have trains in it.". She ll be snapping for sure.will be a good laugh.

Guess i might as well put them in the oven too........She kicked me out of the dining room last year where i set up my model building station , this will be payback..

Totally serious this time.  Too lazy to hand wash stuff with a toothbrush trying to get into all the tight spaces.

Looks good Patrick - like Martin I also use the kitchen dishwasher just before painting.  One last tip - I recommend handling the washed car with sterile gloves on (I buy them in bulk at Costco).  The oil on your fingers will transfer to the brass surface and may impact the paint bond.  

Ed Rappe

Patrick,  You do not want to display any ability to wash or to cook.  This would be a severe tactical error.  Your project is looking good.  I have learned a lot from lurking here.  How many hoppers are you doing?  Pat B.

I ended up taking the sandblast cabinet down to work were we have a huge air compressor and airlines  lines run for manufacturing.heat and dont have to worry about a mess like here at home(to cold in garage).I stayed a few hours after work and sandblasted all the hoppers.....

Wife finally went to bed so..Into the dishwasher they go.............

I have some decals that say blt by:  Bethlehem steel and also Virginia Bridge company- I tried researching to find out which cars these decals should go on but the pictures just arent clear enough to make out lettering. A have a coal hopper book and it dosnt state either.However in the pics i did find some have the tag and some dont.

 I also had to put 3 rail trucks on this one. I have some with  2 rail wheels on them and there is one switch and a curve on my layout the 2 rail hops right off. Any suggestions?

Originally after putting the decals on and dried ,some decal edges completely disappeared and some you could easily see where i cut. I was worried about that ..After dull coating i was surprised how the decals blended flat right into the car.

started painting and decaling

They look great Patrick!  Looking forward to seeing them in person

Patrick...don't know how I missed this the first time...  You are doing a wonderful job!  The restoration and overall weathering looks perfect to me.  I am a hopper fan as you know...remember all those PRR hoppers that traveled from your place to mine a few years back!!?

Alan

Yes , wasnt it 26 1/2  H21 hoppers   or  26 3/4 hoppers. LOL

26.675 to be exact!!...LOL!!

I have enjoyed them ever since!  Thanks so much for the great deal...

Alan

Nicely done -- those older cars do really clean up nicely if you are willing to put a bit of effort into it.

Alan,  I understand 26, but .675 hoppers ??  Load them up with some of this snow and haul it off. 

Patrick,  This has been a great thread.  I have learned a lot about restoring brass.  I may take on a steam locomotive.  Thanks for starting it.  Regards, Pat B.

Dont thank me........ thank  all the  experienced guys  above ..they walked me right through it ..this was my first shot at it ... the decaling is extremely time consuming for me cause its a learning process.but what isnt when your trying to make something nice

WOW, very nice Patrick. I always enjoy your projects and attention to detail.

Very Nice work Patrick!

It is clear you have a lot of time invested.  Thanks for sharing.

Thanks guys.... i posted some better close ups

Looking great Patrick.

Regards,

Jerry

Excellent results...great job Patrick.

The finished product looks great Patrick, but the family dishwasher? Really?