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I have a few of the tin passenger cars that are scratched and chipped.  I have 2 types, the solid red ones with the doors and windows highlighted in paint and the darker red ones that have the window's cut out.  what do you normally do with these types of cars?  do you try to match paint and patch it in?  if so, what brand/type of paint do you use?  has anyone just repainted them?  I'd be curious to see what my options are.  I can't imagine repainting and then trying to get doors/windows painted back on.  thanks, jeff

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There are no standard Marx reds for repaints, especially given the various conditions of the cars due to exposure to sunlight etc. What I have done is to take them to an automotive paint store and have them scan the color to come up with an acceptable match. Most will have to be custom mixed, however, the paint techs know how to tint the formula to tweak the color match even further. The paint they produce could be used for full repaint or touch-up. As for the window treatments, stripes and logos, possibly you could photograph them and produce a decal from a color printer to reproduce the scheme.

Dawn dishwashing liquid is fine, but instead of immersing the cars, I take just the foam up to rub on the car.  Facial tissues are gentle for that.  Also, I have used Nu Finish car polish to bring up the sheen.  If the washing alone doesn't do the trick, try a little of the Nu Finish in one area.  If that doesn't bring back enough shine, you may have to go to the finest grade auto rubbing compound.  Unless, of course, you don't mind sacrificing originality and just want to spray them with clear gloss.

 

For the nicks, I should think you could mix up a match using paints like Testor's or Tamaya.  For total repaint, I think Jim O'C has your solution.  Hope this helps.

Last edited by TrainsRMe

i did the dawn and i'm going to have to move on to the wax.  i bought 9 in the lot.  i think 5 or 6 will clean up ok.  on 2 or 3 the paint is rough and i believe it's rust coming thru.  they may buff out.  i'm missing both couplers off of 1 (joy line couplers) and 1 of the plastic couplers is broke.  i got some bent axels too.  i'm going to be looking for "parts"...

Originally Posted by chinatrain99:

.  on 2 or 3 the paint is rough and i believe it's rust coming thru.  they may buff out. 

 

If they look "spidery", it is rust.  But now that you have them you're going to take care of them properly, and I don't think it will progress any more.  The Robert Grossman Co. can help you with axles and knuckle couplers.

 

The guys have given sound advice on preserving and renewing the original lithograph finish.  However, I thought I would include an option if you do happen to get a car that is too far gone for conservation.

 

I stripped the litho and rust off some cars and painted them red.  I then printed out my own graphics on decal paper and applied them to the cars.  The graphics were made using the simple "Paint" program that comes with Windows.  I know it's not for everyone, but it is an option for cars that are in very poor condition:

 

A painted car body with decal printed, trimmed and ready to apply:

 

PassCarPainted

 

 

The finished car:

 

PassCarNviewFinished

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  • PassCarPainted
  • PassCarNviewFinished

Litho will come off with alcohol, but since these cars were rust buckets, I went old school and used an angle grinder with a wire brush cup wheel.  Overkill?  Yes.  Effective?  Oh yeah!  It takes a light touch, and always keep the brush rotating away from the edge of the metal, never toward the edge.

 

As a side note, one of the cars actually had a hole rusted in the side.  I soldered a tin patch on the back and used to Bondo to fill the remaining depression.  It was a good car to use for the project.

 

The complete train... sorry for the poor quality picture, taken a few years ago with an old camera.  The observation was originally a 6" tin caboose:

 

 

FinishedPassengerTrain

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Images (1)
  • FinishedPassengerTrain
Originally Posted by chinatrain99:

James, that looks terrific!  I'd love to have a copy of your design.  A guy could even personalize the car and add your own kid's names!  I'll try to keep things as original as I can but there's 2 or 3 that may need repainted. 

 

This is the type of stuff that makes this forum so great!  Thanks to everyone!  jeff

Jeff (and everyone else that is interested), I am attaching the basic passenger car graphic that I used.  I think anybody should be able to right click and select "Save As" to save it to their computer.  Now, the bad news:  The cars I used have smooth sides; they are actually rusted out tenders.  As such, I doubt that my graphics will line up with the embossed or punched windows on actual Marx 6" passenger cars.  However, it should be possible to make a graphic that will line up using "Paint".  The graphic I am posting doesn't have any lettering; you will need to add your own using Paint.  My cars are custom lettered using my last name at the top and local town names on the passenger cars.  If you use the graphic, no guarantees that it will print at the right size. You will need to do some test printing on plain paper and tweak the size using the percentage adjustment in the print options.  Also, it is a pain to apply that big of a decal, but if I can do it, anyone can.

 

Again, I realize this option isn't for everyone, but something to consider if you would like to customize a 6" tin passenger car.  If anyone decides to do a custom car, I would love to see the results!

 

 

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  • MarxPassGraphics
James, thanks again.  You've been more than generous.  I printed the pic this morning on paper and cut it out.  it's about 1/2" too long.  the doors are a little wider, windows, ect which made it too wide.  I'll use that as a model to "shrink" them a little. 
 
Originally Posted by WindupGuy:
Originally Posted by chinatrain99:

James, that looks terrific!  I'd love to have a copy of your design.  A guy could even personalize the car and add your own kid's names!  I'll try to keep things as original as I can but there's 2 or 3 that may need repainted. 

 

This is the type of stuff that makes this forum so great!  Thanks to everyone!  jeff

Jeff (and everyone else that is interested), I am attaching the basic passenger car graphic that I used.  I think anybody should be able to right click and select "Save As" to save it to their computer.  Now, the bad news:  The cars I used have smooth sides; they are actually rusted out tenders.  As such, I doubt that my graphics will line up with the embossed or punched windows on actual Marx 6" passenger cars.  However, it should be possible to make a graphic that will line up using "Paint".  The graphic I am posting doesn't have any lettering; you will need to add your own using Paint.  My cars are custom lettered using my last name at the top and local town names on the passenger cars.  If you use the graphic, no guarantees that it will print at the right size. You will need to do some test printing on plain paper and tweak the size using the percentage adjustment in the print options.  Also, it is a pain to apply that big of a decal, but if I can do it, anyone can.

 

Again, I realize this option isn't for everyone, but something to consider if you would like to customize a 6" tin passenger car.  If anyone decides to do a custom car, I would love to see the results!

 

 

 

2 have the white highlights on the frame and cut out windows

 
1 has the cut out windows, slot coupler and 1/8 of the hand rails.
 
3 are slot coupler with "yellow" solid windows
 
1 slot coupler "yellow" solid window observation with gold rail
 
2 are plastic coupler (1 broken) with "yellow" solid windows
 
 
 
Originally Posted by Jim O'C:

The joy line couplers are easily available. but, for originality, they would have had the steel wheels. Not that it matters on a repaint. Are the frames the early joy line-type with the white journals?

 

Jim
That NYC set is the only original Faux Toys file I have. The rest of my graphics are by Wayne Beachey and Trey Assel. Someday I will "unwrap" my circus set and scan the pieces. I do have a number of original wrap boxcars, but they also would need to be unwrapped to scan them. My "Over Priced Load Of Li.nel" boxcar is a good attention getter.
 
Steve
 
Originally Posted by Jim O'C:

Steve, I would be interested in any other faux wrap pdfs you might have. the auto loader, hiawathas, circus cars, sp daylights? Was very sad to see the company go into permanent hiatus. They had some great stuff.

 

I bought 9 passenger cars on an auction site on the bay for a little over 10.50 each.  there was 1 pic of the trains and it wasn't that good of a picture.  I went by the rep of the auction house and their grading of "very good" condition.  when they came, I had missing tabs, bent axels, poor paint, broke/missing couplers, and some dents.  most easily repairable but the poor paint.  yesterday, I sent them back.  so, if you see the auction out there again in the next month or so, bid accordingly, it's a pretty rough lot.

Originally Posted by Steamer:

anytime some one has bare minimum pics, I always ask for more. sometimes it seems like the seller doesn't take a pic on purpose. Sometime when I get additional pics my fears are verified, sometimes not.and a few times I get an excuse to why they can't take additional pics, and I take a pass.

 

Yes!  If a train posting doesn't show 6 shots of a piece, I won't bid unless it is someone I have dealt with before and trust.

 

and I've had this happen with cars as well. When I lost my road runner to a fire, I was looking on the bay. Found one for a good price within driving distance. Seller had a lot of pics, but none of known areas for rust. I e mailed for more pics, and sure enough swiss cheese.

why can't people just be straight forward? In china's case, I like projects, and if the seller had shown the bad areas, for that price, he probably would have had a happy customer(me) instead of a return.

Last edited by Steamer

I've bought things from this place before and always had good luck.  when I brought up the issue initially, they suggested a partial refund.  I thought, if they knock some off, I'll take a chance.  No response, no response, and then eventually an email on how to print the return label.  as I was packing them up last night, I knew I was making the correct decision.

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Ste 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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