Kadee Coupler colors

All Kadee couplers are black, to my knowledge. 

They make black, brown, and rust in plastic.  If you want anything else, you have to paint them yourself.

https://kadee.com/htmbord/coupler.htm#O-Scale

I use Krylon Ultra-Flat camo brown for my couplers, and sometimes spray some primer from far away to make rust spots. 

Thanks!

-Mario

Couplers on prototype railroads nowadays aren't painted.  Paint potentially hides damage/fatigue cracks in the couplers.

They are left in their natural color.

Rusty

Its an FRA violation to paint couplers and/or drawbars, has been for years. For some reason Santa Fe got away with it back in the day.

Kadees in O scale are black. You can paint them what ever color you want, but it does effect their operation if you use the uncoupling magnets.

740 or 805 are the best options unless you need the 746 extended shank coupler

LOS (my 3RS icon) is correct, regarding the FRA regs.  However, I would differ with him regarding the color of the couplers.  To me the look like a gun metal gray, presumably the color of the diecast material of which they're made, plus they seem to have a very thin coat of varnish to protect them from the elements.  I have seen the color gray on brand new coupler castings that have yet to see their first rain storm but that is all.

Like Mario, I give mine a light coat of paint.  However, I don't use Krylon camo because the paint appears to be a thicker consistency than the Fusion sub-brand that I use on almost everything else.  A light coat of brown followed by an extremely light dusting of black and a little red oxide primer finishes the paint job.  I did find that the paint hindered the couplers from sliding past each other when making a hitch.  Therefore, I apply a quick swipe on the outer (not pulling) face of the knuckle with a Q-Tip pre-moistened with some household furniture wax, let it dry, then give it a light buffing with a felt wheel mounted on my Moto-Tool and I'm good to go.

If Mr. Kadee is listening, it would be swell if the couplers did come pre-weathered with an ultra thin coating such as the good, hard varnish he now applies.  That would save time for the likes of me and assure perfect performance.  Thanks to likes of LOS. Mario, Rich Battista, CNJ#1601, et al, Mr. Kadee can now afford that yacht he's always wanted... at my expense.  Somehow SIRT continues to make The Claw look acceptable but I don't know how he does it and I've given up trying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o31UcPeiUCc

Laidoffsick posted:

Its an FRA violation to paint couplers and/or drawbars, has been for years. For some reason Santa Fe got away with it back in the day.

Not just the Santa Fe:

Googling Burlington and WP passenger locomotives shows quite a few with painted couplers.  While today painting couplers is verboten, if I would hazard to guess, silver paint might have been an exception back in the day.

Rusty

I'd fix the door first. 

Rapid Transit Holmes posted:

  However, I would differ with him regarding the color of the couplers.  To me the look like a gun metal gray, presumably the color of the diecast material of which they're made, plus they seem to have a very thin coat of varnish to protect them from the elements.  I have seen the color gray on brand new coupler castings that have yet to see their first rain storm but that is all.

Come walk around the rail yard for an hour with me. Couplers are 100 different colors due to the natural weathering process. I seriously doubt that Kadee will ever offer their couplers pre-weathered.  

I agree with Norm Charbonneau.

Norm Charbonneau posted:

I'd fix the door first. 

I thought Trevise had re-emerged on the forum.

It has always been a violation of law to paint any rolling stock trucks. However, locomotive trucks were not included in the ruling.  Couplers as well are not to painted.  Perhaps there is a new ruling as technology has advanced since the 1900s... Would be interesting to find out exactly what the requirements and rulings are as of today'.

Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

It has always been a violation of law to paint any rolling stock trucks.

Roads like the Burlington, Santa Fe, UP, NYC and others had silver painted trucks (and sometimes even couplers) on their passenger cars.

The trucks on Metra's bi-levels are still painted:

And UP's Heritage Fleet:

Rusty

Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

It has always been a violation of law to paint any rolling stock trucks.

Never heard THAT! It is, however, a violation to paint WHEELS (even locomotives). Please provide that "law" for us.

However, locomotive trucks were not included in the ruling.  Couplers as well are not to painted.  Perhaps there is a new ruling as technology has advanced since the 1900s... Would be interesting to find out exactly what the requirements and rulings are as of today'.

I see a lot of trucks painted black with the road # printed on them.