paint for postwar Lionel steam locos

George Tebolt sells paint matched to various colors and manufacturers. Scroll down to bottom of page.

Larry

We cover this a lot here. A favorite is the Krylon 1613 satin black, but only if you can find the old formulation. The one you don't want is 51613. I also use Valspar tractor and implement paint. Its a good match for post war. If you airbrush Jeff Kane has black paint for the job.

Rob

Rob what is it about the 51613 Krylon formulation the gives less than desirable results?  BTW thanks for the heads-up.  That's good info to have.

The 51613 has a more shiny finish. I painted a 681 with it though and it looks at home with other engines.

Rob

Thank you Larry and Rob for the info on both Krylon and George Tebolt. I put this in my files also, as the many times this has been in the Forum, I always skipped over it because I had nothing to paint and never thought I would. Well, the time has come, and Forumites have helped, again.

There is also a paint called "SEM" that autoparts stores who carry auto body supplies may have. It is a nice satin finish. But the Valspar paint is the same in finish and you can get it at "Tractor Supply" places. Dr Tinker said to use Krylon Ultra flat black, then wipe on WD-40 into the paint with a brush and rub in with your hands. Supposed to be a match for post war paint.

Rob

Applying something like WD-40 or Armor All to a freshly-painted loco shell sounds really comical to me. There is also no need to hunt down some elusive 1613 satin black or special "post war" paint that requires an air brush. Plain old Krylon flat black can be made to look like original post war paint with out applying any oily over coatings, if you know what you're doing.

I repainted a postwar Lionel steamer with a satin spray paint purchased at Lowes.  I wanted the engine to look like the beautiful modern engines satin paint schemes.  It did.  But I didn't like it because postwar engine paint is not supposed to look like modern satin paint.  I also missed the paint chips due to the rough handling that most postwar engines receive.

Earl

All, thank you very much. I settled on the Krylon 51613. The finish is excellent. I can't believe how smooth and even it looks. I used it on my Scout 1110 (my first train set), painting everything except the cab numbers, which I taped off. I added green jewels to the classification lights. Thank you for all the suggestions. 

BTW, I have found that Rust-o-leum's Universal Flat Black is a perfect match to my modern NYC steamers and Diesel power, especially the Lionel PW flat-black trucks (like the GG1's).

I like the paint pens for touch up, and they make spray cans for larger paint projects...

Thanks,

Mario

I've found the Krylon Semi-Flat Black works good too. It's hard to find but well worth the effort.

This is SEM paint. Valspar tractor paint looks just like it.

nice smooth job. looks new!

This one was glass bead blasted and careful body work done before paint. The stack and numbers were taped off before blasting and saved. I removed the rough places on the cab corners that they all have. Sorry about the red x, click on the photo below.

Rob

Nice job! Rustoleum offers a satin black, but I've never tried it. I use Krylon satin black (not 1613 or 51513) or Krylon flat black. 

 if you know what you're doing.

And that would be? Could you share this with us?

It is in how you spray it.  I use Krylon alot, particularly in black.  I spray from a bit father away than you have to: 18 to 20 inches instead of 12 or 14, and in thin coats about two minutes apart rather than thick when I want flat or more towards satin.  The farther away the "drier" (toward flat) the finish.  It takes experimentation and practice, but you get to where you can control it.  I did several pre-war Marx refinishes that were closer to gloss, put on thicker and closer, and a number of Marx and Lionel postwar that were flat or satin, farther away and thinner, and it worked out well - but I practiced a lot first . . .