Marx CV... Again.

Can't go wrong with adding a CV to the fleet! 

Yep, I've seen a few early electric CV's (on Eelbay) with the manual reverse motor in them.  The lever is distinctive because it has a squarish end, whereas a forward-only windup has a rounded end, and the not-so-common reversing windup has a 90 degree bend on the end.  It's one of the first things I look at to get an idea of the kind of motor in an early CV.

Your locomotive, so your choice on the repaint.  I wouldn't hesitate to repaint it if it were mine...

I'd get it running before deciding on repainting or not. If you can't get the motor running like new, there's no sense in making the sheet metal look like new.

On the other hand, as you work on the motor, you could just let the Commodore speak to you and tell you how it want's to be done. 

Well, updates are fun, so here's one for those that care! 

I put an order in to Robert Grossman co. for some stuff for the two E7 diesels seen elsewhere and this little guy including bearings (spun), axles (bent!) and brushes (nice to have spares!) I managed to pull everything apart and give it the degunking it deserved. Gears and wheels and non electric parts got the kerosene and brake kleen bath and electric parts got sprayed with the tv tuner spray. I even took my scratch pen to the commutator.

I prefer the brush design on this old old motor with the coil springs and pockets to the ones on the newer motors... It seems to have a more positive contact than just a little spring holding it down.

Anyways, here are some pics of stuff in a goo bath and after minus wheels. 

Update! I got my box from Grossman y'day and have been working on it throughout the day today. I stripped the old (probably lead) paint off the wheels and got them all cleaned up, then reassembled the motor, only to find that it didn't want to move in either direction. Let me clarify - it spun like the dickens but didn't move an inch. Being unfamilliar with the prewar pickup shoes, I had unwittingly bent the copper leaf springs under the shoes just a hair too far. Positive contact they did make, too positive in fact. So back apart the motor came, the shoe pad came off and got held up to a propane torch for a second or two, just enough for it to change colour and remain flat. Rebend, reassembled with a little oil and grease and testing with a clockwork CV body as I write this. Runs good in both directions. 

The body got the same weak envirofriendly paint stripper - which failed to do what it was supposed to, so it got the wire wheel treatment and a very pretty dark grey. I also painted the tender the same colour. Now just waiting on the decals. Fantastic little runner. 

The drag of shoes can be very noticable if sprung too hard. But at the same time pressure helps reduce resistance at any connection. A good balance is best

On the bright side I find the shoe constant contact is excellent. On passenger cars there is no light flicker where rollers do, that clued me to this fact. 

Some went to rollers to improve on drag imo.

It may be extra brush-dusty after a arm.plate dressing, for a few years. Watch for a need for more throttle; a quick motor dusting will likely cure it. It tapers off as plates and brushes break in again.

It's kinda hard to kill a Marx CV.

Need a petina? Try original Rust-Oleum, but cure it in freezer immediately after tack sets, warm daily, for about 3 weeks. It will develop a white haze that will eventually fade once out and warm (months to fully fade). After that, it will have more of a "semigloss", over polished gloss, or very slightly faded/hazy look.  

For adhesion and rust creep from deep black metal specks, etc. try etching primer on the next one. 

So it's been a 'fun' adventure. I was ready to post this a few weeks ago when I got the decals for the loco and tender all figured out. I did the loco and man... Did it ever look sweet. A few shots of clear and oooh, shiny! Alright, set that aside. 

I did the same thing to the tender too after sticking the water slides on it. But... Why is it bubbling? I used an automotive clear because paint is paint, right?

Narrator: Little did he know, all paint is not created equally.

So the clear ate the litho. From underneath the edge. It bubbled right up. Ugh. Strip everything off and start again, ordered new decals. Ok cool this time all bare metal, no more ratty litho. Brakekleen and spinny wire brush works a treat. Primer again, swell.

First coat? Drop the shell. Anger level very high. Sand the thing. Next three coats without incident. Decal arrives in the mail today, water slide action is intense. 

 It was worth it in the end. Cool looking grey and black and brushed/polished domes. Happy with it, now I've got another prewar CV that just needs some black paint. At least that's what I keep telling myself. 

Nice job, it looks great!  Last year when I restored my **** Gate Bridge I thought I was safe using the same brand for both color and clear.  First pieces came out great, applied the color then after it tacked up I applied the clear coat.  At one point I ran out of clear so I went out to get more.  A few hours later I was back, but after the first pass of clear the color began to bubble and blister.

I was beside myself, then I read the can;  apply within 2 hours or after 48 hours.  

Apparently, these “primer and paint” spray bombs contain a solvent mid-coat to promote adhesion. Letting the paint cure for two days did the trick, but how frustrating the lesson was.  

Samplingman posted:

Nice job, it looks great!  Last year when I restored my **** Gate Bridge I thought I was safe using the same brand for both color and clear.  First pieces came out great, applied the color then after it tacked up I applied the clear coat.  At one point I ran out of clear so I went out to get more.  A few hours later I was back, but after the first pass of clear the color began to bubble and blister.

I was beside myself, then I read the can;  apply within 2 hours or after 48 hours.  

Apparently, these “primer and paint” spray bombs contain a solvent mid-coat to promote adhesion. Letting the paint cure for two days did the trick, but how frustrating the lesson was.  

Thanks! 

Yeah, sobering lesson. It was the same brand and everything too. 

Here is a red swing peg, was originally black. It was dip painted just like an original by a friend Walt Hiteshew. Red swing pegs are extremely rare so this is as close as I’ll get.

Steve

SteamWolf:  The CV looks great!  I can appreciate the troubles painting them; I've dropped a freshly painted loco in the dirt on a couple of occasions.  Regardless, the results appear to be well worth your efforts.

And to follow up on Steve's post, yes, a red swing-peg is hard to find.  Even though this one is in rough condition, I was very happy to add it to the collection... it's one locomotive that I won't repaint because of its scarcity:

Paint isn't  all the same and some can be set for years and have a new topcoat react.  Most primers are cross compatible. Lacquer, enamels, and soft acrylics all have different properties, chemical carriers, etc.

Lacquer lays thin, has a "hot" carrier that can melt/react with some plastics/paints. Easiest to cover with other paints safely, but checks can happen with a hot enamel topcoat

Enamels lay thicker and tend to have a durable hardshell coating.  The  carriers tend to be a med-med hot so are more plastic safe.

Acrylics are usually soft and cool, they don't non-acrylic topcoats, they like most plastic.

As the different paints lay flat and cure, they also pull at the surface. Some with great strength; stronger than a softer paint   Some others carriers penetrate the basecoat breaking it's tension or having an oil/water like separation occur, etc etc.

Confunsion really sets with "acrylic enamels", and laytex, oil based paints and some other curveballs. But stick to reading and matching paint types; it's on the labels, try to stay with one brand too; especially if you use a short cure before topcoating. Testing is always worth that overnight wait. (although sometimes a crackle/gator skin can take days.

Super thin, nearly mid-air drying coats to build up a layer can help adhesion and finish where it's dicey

Adriatic posted:

<SNIP>

I usually tend to stick with the enamel spray cans and put several coats on very lightly.

I didn't know paint pulled at the surface as it dried. I guess it makes sense, just never thought about it.

Thanks for the reply, I learned something new today! 

that turned out great! Personally, I probably would have left the original paint, unless it was worse in person. I redid my 262E, looked really good in pics, but it had received a repaint, with a brush, had runs and the paint was flaking. But here's the thing....the Marx CV is common, AND...it's your train, do it to make YOU happy.

Steamer posted:

that turned out great! Personally, I probably would have left the original paint, unless it was worse in person. I redid my 262E, looked really good in pics, but it had received a repaint, with a brush, had runs and the paint was flaking. But here's the thing....the Marx CV is common, AND...it's your train, do it to make YOU happy.

Thanks! Yeah, it did turn out really well... The original paint was just done. The pics in the first post might not tell the whole story, but it was the most ratty shell I think I've seen in a long time.