Several people have mentioned paint blistering. Paint blistering unaccompanied by other symptoms is not necessarily a sign that the underlying metal is deteriorating. It's more likely bad surface preparation at the factory. If the zinc is not properly cleaned, or if they don't wait long enough after casting, you can get all kinds of flaws in the paint. The MTH tinplate Hiawathas from around 2001 are notorious for this. I've got two of them, both have scaly, irregular looking paint, and neither shows the least sign of zinc rot. The problem was a lack of surface preparation.
That's very true and likely the same problem with the S2 tender shells.If it were a casting problem you would see cracks,scabs and slivers. I didn't see these when new since I wasn't into trains then and haven't examined many.Were the paint flaws noticeable when released or shortly after? Do they defects resemble the surface of an orange? I may have to pull ASTM B86-11 (Worldwide standard for Zinc and Zinc aluminum castings)and look at what it says about surface preperation for painting and coating. This spec. tells you everything you would ever want to know about Zamak die casting.
Ricky
