Marker, If you know how to get the stainless "right" do tell.
I've seen this argument many times. As a member of the The Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society, I've had discussions with noted contributors to Model Railroader, not that that gives me any authority because it is an opinion. I agree about plating and even that is subject to differences between manufacturers. Andy Sperandeo was also a member, and because of this, a number of MR articles dealing with how modelers should deal with stainless reflect thinking that came from discussions of members of the society. The consensus seemed to be paint the cars whether plated or painted for a stainless match. Personally, I wouldn't paint a plated car, but may very well paint the GG SC cars to match the Atlas cars because the GG SC color sucks.
While you may feel that the Atlas CZ cars are too blue, to me the color is far superior to the GG SC cars. I think the real reason Scott didn't like the ESE color is the manufacturing rejection rate made it too costly. The reason I feel this way is because of the way Atlas finished the Western Pacific F units, which is the same color they used on the passenger cars.
The lower panel that is supposed to be stainless is nicely set off from the silver painted areas. At different times of the day, as the lighting changes, it has a good feel to it. The paint also seems to have a very fine finish with no metallic grain, yet does have a shiny reflective surface. With regard to the cars, the last car I received the Silver Rapids was perfectly finished. The paint had been applied much finer than the earlier cars I have. The Atlas choice may not be perfect, but I haven't seen anything is O scale that is better for a painted car that is supposed to represent stainless.
As you know, you can look at a lot of pictures and the stainless looks very different. When you saw the prototypes in person the color varied as a result of light and reflection of the surroundings. Stainless is subjective. I happen to think Atlas has done a good job. Show me something else that's better and I may fully agree.
The last process Golden Gate used on their aluminum cars to represent stainless is paint. I would be VERY DISAPPOINTED if they used the same color on stainless lightweight cars in the future.
Who is JD's and do they have a website
J.D. Trains in Saint Louis. Google it. Jeff's a nice guy.
