Marx Passenger Repaints

Yes, but beware, those tabs can easily break.  You will probably get 1 or 2 "tabs" then

they are gone.

Lew Schneider

Lew

Thanks for the info and warning.

Bruce

love to see before and after pics of your project!

Yes, Lew is right:  Get your work done the way you want it the first time, so that you're just bending the tabs to remove, then replace the body.  It's not going to "ruin" the car should one break, but the body wouldn't fit as tightly as it should.

When you take them apart, only straighten the tabs the minimum amount required to remove the body.

When you put them back together, instead of re - bending the tabs, you can give them a slight twist with a needle nose pliers. That action bends the tabs in a way that they have not been bent before and makes them less likely to break - if you don't overdo it.

I am still contemplating the refinishing process and will bear in mind the suggestions. I am lucky that the tabs have not been touched and are free of rust. The Unique Arts diesel was a case were the tabs had been messed with by previous owners, and I lost about half which made repairs tough.

The car bodies have what could best be called surface rust that is distributed like the measles in small spots. One technique is to use one of the rust reformer primers after a light treatment with fine steel wool. At one point I thought of having them chromed but now that seems like over-kill. Another challenge will be decals and while Marx passenger car names placed on the lower half of the body are plentiful, road names have turned up zero for passenger cars..so that aspect remains to be seen. Any other suggestions, comments? Believe me, I appreciate that two or three heads are better than one.

Bruce

Hello electroliner - You may have to search around for sheets of individual letters on water-slide decals or dry transfers.  That's how I lettered this car, the same body stamping as yours.

Oops! I was thinking of the six inch cars. These streamlined cars are almost impossible to disassemble and re-assemble.

Let us know how it works for you and good luck.

Bruce, I wouldn't be overly concerned about those tabs.  I just looked at one of the streamlined cars I worked on, and only 2 of the tabs are bent back all the way securely.  All the others are just bent to a 90 degree angle with respect to the body side, or just a tad more.  That's so they aren't visible from the side view.  Be sure and post photos when done.  What road name are you using? 

Here is a picture of a set I did for the NW mini J from Ameritrains.

Steve

The removal of the shells from the frames went without incident and I think it was due to my new invention, the Marx tab bender. I sharpened the end of a small slot screwdriver to a fine point and then bent a very small portion of the end to resemble a  tiny pry bar. It slipped under the bend tabs easily and I gently pulled them up and then straightened them with a needle nose vice-grips to get a straight tab. I was shocked to find that all the window strips were tabbed as well and the celluloid film was incredibly brittle but again, they removed fine if slowly... I gave the shells a scrubbing with Dawn and one of those semi-soft plastic scrub sponges..they were oily and pretty well gunked. 

Steve and TrainsR Me..those are some fine looking examples and I thank you for the inspiration to press onward. Anyone who wants to see the innards of the shells and the tabs to be fought, let me know. I used a chemical used for automotive use that neutralises the rust process, prior to primer. A great deal of it was ongoing underneath the surface. It turns rust black. You can see hairline scratches that were beginning to eat the metal.

Bruce

That photo is eye-opening.  That's what is lurking under "spidered" tinplate, huh?  Reminds me of the TV commercial some years ago where a "dental disclosing" substance, or some such, was used to show a poor slob how badly he brushed his teeth.

TrainsRMe,

One thing that your decal suggestion as well as your own and Steve's repaints prompted me to think about was the several roads I could use these cars on. I couldn't make up my mind. I went up to my library, thumbing through photos and then I found a book about the roads Pullman supplied cars for which was just about every single one of them and the cars were lettered for Pullman. This would fit any road. And then I began to think about any O Scale car I had seen labelled for Pullman. Not many. So they will become Pullman cars.

Bruce

Very good, Bruce.  That's a nice simple color to do, too.  I can't wait to see your photos.

Trains, that baggage car looks great. did you make that or was that an original Marx piece?

Thanks, Steamer.  Marx made a couple engineering samples of baggage cars, but I don't believe they ever manufactured any.  I made mine from a Santa Fe coach, a style Marx made that did not have window cutouts, just lithographed indentations.  The "windows" were filled in with putty.  Painted and decaled.

I had shots of the process, but sorry, they were lost when my last computer's hard drive died.

To make my graphics, I used a simple Excel sheet to get the basic format. Once you get the format down it is easy to change colors, lettering etc for different roads. I printed them on high gloss self adhesive sticker paper that is almost like a thin photo paper.

Steve

Thanks Steve..Now that the rusting process has been neutralized, I applied the first coat of sandable automotive primer yesterday and today began sanding for a second coat, and whats interesting is that the primer application brought out remaining rough spots or in very small areas spots where the primer did not adhere correctly, so fine sandpaper for a second coat was due to rough up some areas for better adhesion..the rough spots are evident in the photo. As they are, they almost look like PRR equipment..For three pieces of tin per car, Marx made a decent representation as compared to contemporary plastic cars back in the day ..in my book but enough to cause a living nightmare for scale folks.

Bruce

Their ability to create the fluting on the sides with ink was amazing.

Steve

hey Steve, sorry I missed you at work last week. Gret store, hope to get back there soon.

Steve

Reminds me of a real life example..a trick played on the eyes..no real fluting here either.

Bruce

Prior to applying a semi-gloss sealer

Lookin' purty, 'Lectroliner!

I have a couple of passenger cars in need of a face lift, but they don't have window openings, just litho to look like windows. Are there window decals available or is that a computer and decal paper project?