My First Restoration Project! (FINISHED)

Best thing for the rust is find a sand blaster or similar abrasive blasting place or service.  As for paint any heavy duty outdoor paint that is compatible with metals.  Prime it first. Ideally you should prime right after sand blasting and cleaning. 

Also note. The key to painting is the prep work. Proper prep and masking makes or breaks a paint job.  Watch YouTube videos to get the idea. 

If you sand blast it, get it powder coated and it will last forever

I'd sandblast and keep it stored inside away from moisture until it was primed. Paint depends on what end result you want. If you want it to last for years I'd recommend finding a PPG paint store and use one of they're PPG Global automotive paints. 

If you're on a tight budget I'd recommend a wire wheel brush in a drill and some rustoleum rattle can paint from the hardware store.

Is it still the original finish? Or was it once refinished by another collector?

If that's original - leave it alone - it looks great!

It's only original once!

agreed, if it's original defiantly leave it alone.It looks too good to redo.

The best way to start is to sandblast the sign. That will provide the best finish for repainting. I have been using aluminum oxide for my blasting media. I rarely use primer on my cast iron restorations. I have found it is not required. I use Rustoleum brush-on oil based paint on most of my outside railroadiana. I have also used POR-15 paint on a couple of pieces. However, it requires more prep and application time. It is also expensive but is supposed to last much longer than other paint systems. Most of my Rustoleum painted pieces will last 10 years on average outside before they need to be repainted.

Here are some of my restorations.

Sand blasting costs money. We are not restoring the Mona Lisa. The kid is a student. This is not rocket ship science. A simple wire brush treatment with an electric drill and rustoleum primer and two coats  with a spray can should be sufficient.

Roving Sign posted:

Is it still the original finish? Or was it once refinished by another collector?

If that's original - leave it alone - it looks great!

It's only original once!

The only time it was original was the first time it was planted trackside.  I'm sure it was repainted by Pennsy MOW crews several times over the years, therefore it's no longer "original."

It's like the legendary ax... The head's been replaced twice and the handle three times, but it's still the same ax.

Rusty

Roving Sign posted:

Is it still the original finish? Or was it once refinished by another collector?

If that's original - leave it alone - it looks great!

It's only original once!

I don't know if the finish is original. I'm pretty sure the sign was donated to the FWRHS.

The choice of paint will depend if you plan to keep it inside or outside.

If inside, then just spray it with rustoleum. Hold on to it until you can afford media blasting then automotive paint as Rusty suggests. I am surprised some get 10 years with Rustoleum outside. How long it lasts will depend on the weather in your area. I only get a couple of years with Rustoleum here. 

Pete

Brody, 

  Years ago, I used one of these to remove the surface rust on my circa 1920's Putnam Division Yard Limit sign. I picked this mildly abrasive wheel up at Wallmart and it attached to my drill...I think they are made from recycled plastic bottles and used mainly for auto body work. I was happy with how it came out and then clear coated the sign to protect it. This assumes you would want to keep the original paint, which was my goal. 

Tom 

Personally if me, I would follow the advice of the one guy on here who has done multiples of these, including the exact one you have.

1) Auto body shop for bead blasting.  Should run no more than $20 or so.  

2) Couple of coats of rattle-can primer.  If you get white primer, that saves a step. 

3) Mask off the white parts, and a couple of coats of gloss black paint.  

4) Couple of coats of clear gloss to protect the finish.  

Voila!  A factory-fresh whistle sign.   

Mitch 

Forum member TOMMY is right...you dudes tend to overthink a project until it is rocket building...LOL....

Brody;

One thing that hasn't been covered here and which, in my opinion, is key to the decision you have to make is what will the sign be used for after you restore it. Is it for you personally to display, or will it become a display item for the historical society???

If this is for your personal use, knock yourself out - strip it and repaint it. I would follow the recommendations of NJCJOE (whose restored pieces are stunning) or Mitch (who has done some amazing work restoring any number of engines, though I'd be carful if he suggests the addition of Gi-raffs).

If this is for the historical society, I would try to keep as much of the piece original as possible. I must respectfully disagree with Rusty. The fact that the sign was repainted during it's service on the PRR doesn't mean that it isn't "original" - what you have represents the condition the sign was in when it was removed from service, and I think you would want to maintain as much of that condition as you can. I think you would want to address any serious rust issues and take some steps to stabilizing the metal so that it doesn't deteriorate any further.

Good luck with your project.

Welcome back Brody!

A few things not yet mentioned.   It's an old piece and likely has lead paint.  Be sure and use a little protection if you sand or strip it and be sure to wash hands well after working even if you use gloves.

Also, railroads didn't usually take down lineside signs and put them through some fancy process.   When they got rusty and worn looking often they got a coat of paint in the field which usually meant slopping some new paint over top of what was there.  

It's just my humble opinion but I'd say that if it will be displayed outside that you should clean it up  and repaint it with that in mind.    Sandblasting is nice but not really necessary.     An electric drill and some inexpensive wire wheels run at slow speed can do wonders on a budget. 

The choice of paints comes next.  Protecting the base metal from starting to rust again even if you've done a basic stripping is key.    Clean and prime is key! Short of true industrial "technical coatings" a decent can of Rust-oleum "industrial" primer and paint from the local hardware store or Home Depot/Lowe's would do fine.    And again, in my humble opinion, brush painting is fine since that's what it likely got on the Pennsy.

Looks like a fun project.  Wished I was lucky enough to have one  

Progress...

Good start, just make sure your wearing a dust mask or at least a bandana over your mouth and nose to avoid breathing the dust.  Gloves and eye protection too.  Safety precautions are paramount.

Looks pretty good to me.  Make sure before going to prime the surface to clean it with something like lacquer thinner or mineral spirits to make sure there isn't any kind of chemical residue on it, also to pick up any paint dust or dirt there, you want the surface as clean as possible. I agree with what others have written, if you think it is relatively smooth and clean, priming it with something like spray rustoleum then using Rustoleum paints to paint it will work fine and won't break the bank, and I suspect will be fine for displaying, in real life railroads signs are not things of beauty, they were in the elements out there doing the job...so anything you do likely will be fine and will show an authentic pennsy sign, though it might look a lot better than it did in its working life

Primed and ready.

First white coat down. One to go.

The wild things are good company though.

Railfan Brody posted:

First white coat down. One to go.

The wild things are good company though.

Nice job, Brody... hopefully the company doesn't get into the paint  

(d'awwws at tribble, er, cavy)  ;-) 

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

(d'awwws at tribble, er, cavy)  ;-) 

Well, someone has been nipping a bit too much of the quadrotriticale lately...

Apples55 posted:

Well, someone has been nipping a bit too much of the quadrotriticale lately...

Ergot cogita sum?  

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Apples55 posted:

Well, someone has been nipping a bit too much of the quadrotriticale lately...

Ergot cogita sum?  

Truly a fun-guy, Mitch!!!

I finished the whistle post. It has come a long way from what it was!

                                   Before                                                                                  After

Nice job.  It looks great.

Bravo!  Looking good! 

Fabulous work, Brody. Looks as good as the day it was first installed.

Very nice. Enjoy the satisfaction you're feeling and soak it all in.

Very nice job Brody.

Looks good. 

nice job!

TexasSP posted:

Very nice. Enjoy the satisfaction you're feeling and soak it all in.

I sure am enjoying the satisfaction. I just caught myself staring at it with pride for a good 15 seconds! 

Railfan Brody posted:

TexasSP posted:

Very nice. Enjoy the satisfaction you're feeling and soak it all in.

I sure am enjoying the satisfaction. I just caught myself staring at it with pride for a good 15 seconds! 

Oh, go ahead and stare at it for a full 60 seconds!  You've earned it!   

Mitch