Paint Match for GGD "Nickel" Finish

I would do what the real railroads did, and shoot silver.  Total mismatch to the stainless sides, but the railroads did not have the time or money to attempt a match.  Same with those stainless PAs - note that roof and underbody do not match the sides.  On the other hand, a model is a model, so experiment away.

Bob, the trucks are silver now. The only reason I am trying to match these trucks is I have six 3 rail cars with matching trucks and these two add on 2 rail cars which I am replacing with 3 rail trucks. Placed side to side they stand out like a sore thumb. Frankly I am not sure why GGD painted everything this color. There is a prototype car about 15 miles from me that looks silver just like most all Budd cars do. 

Pete

I think that you will find that the real railroads used "Bright Aluminum" paint and NOT "silver".

Tell that to Scott.

Pete

Okay - I believe there is no such thing as silver paint.

i use a lot of aluminum- bronze powder to create "silver" dope to block UV on aircraft fabric.  We call it silver dope, but it is really aluminum.

I believe silver powder would be far too expensive, and would probably be black anyway.

Opinion - er, concession?

If you don't like the look of "bright aluminum" trucks, try some black powdered chalk. Or a very light overspray of Floquil "weathered black".

Those SP "Budd" cars left over from the Sunset Limited had trucks that would blind you if you forgot your sunglasses.

Bob I have no problem with silver or this "stainless" color. I would just like them to be all the same color.

At this point I am actually considering swapping out all the GGD trucks with Lionel. The Lionel trucks are a couple orders of magnitude more detailed.

GGD Truck:

Lionel truck:

Pete

Pete;

Have you tried Floquil's bright silver (130101).

allan

Allen, I have six cars with the stainless colored trucks and two cars with silver trucks. My original question was aimed at painting the two silver trucks "stainless" rather than the other way around. I have a few Floquil silvers as well as aluminum paint.

Real aluminum paint goes on bright and shiny but in a few years dulls down flat. I have a lot of options but haven't committed to a solution yet.

Pete

That looks pretty close to a paint Testor's makes in their Model Master Line of metallics. They have a stainless steel, which I used to complete the detail on a Weaver CP British Columbia Hudson.  I would check that out before mixing paint or swapping trucks.  Of course it's hard to tell by photos, but it's worth a look.  

Nick

If I were you I'd check out Krylon's satin Nickel spray paint in their 'Brushed Metallic' line...

http://www.krylon.com/products/brushed_metallic/

I've used it several times when I'm seeking a more 'steely' or stainless steel appearance than the more common silvers and aluminums give.  IMHO, they're too garish to represent any of the steels.

That said, when I restore one of Lionel's 2500-series passenger cars, I repaint the plastic vestibule moldings...and sometimes the truck sideframes, if I'm so inclined...with Tamiya's Silver Leaf spray paint.  I like it for two reasons: It has the best quality spray pattern/coverage of any of the hobby rattle-cans (IMHO, of course).  Also, the color is very uniform and consistent, and it's a very good complement to the 'brushed' silver of that series aluminum car shells. 

FWIW, always...

KD

KD, Nick, Thanks for the suggestions on the paint to check out. Right now I am trying to decide whether to replace all of the GGD trucks with Lionels or just paint the trucks on the two add on cars some stainless color.

Here is pic of the GGD 2 rail truck next to the Lionel 3 rail truck showing the difference in detail as well as the color. The Lionel's sideframes are two piece with working springing. The GGDs are solid and the springs are only decoration. Very little needs to be done to mount the Lionel trucks. Just drill an off center hole in the mounting plate to accommodate the off center Lionel mount. No additional clearance holes have to made in the car subframe for the truck stud as is required for the taller stud on the GGD trucks. I made new mounting plates as I had the tools to cut and punch the holes but the existing mounts could have been used.

Here are two cars side by side showing the Lionel trucks on the left and GGD 3 rail trucks on the right. You may notice the GGD trucks are off center on the opening. GGD frames have two set of mounting holes and they come installed with the trucks in the outward position to allow running tighter curves. Moving the trucks inboard would center them and also close the coupling gap. Of course Kadees would allow you to do the same.

Pete

The best way to get a good match is to pick out the color you like and paint all the trucks