silver paint match for Lionel Postwar 2343,2353 cabs

If you can find it, a perfect match on that silver is Floquil "Old Silver". It really has a perfect sheen to it for this color match. Check eBay as there are usually sellers on there with older Floquil colors.

When I restored this Lionel postwar tank car, and stripped the paint, I tried spraying several brands of silver on a piece of scrap aluminum or plastic. Krylon, Testor’s, and Rustoleum. When I found which matched other postwar Sunoco tank cars, I used that. It was the Krylon. You might want to try that.

Thanks to both Artie and Jeff.

Interestingly I used Floquil "Old Silver" -bottled-myself for years.. mine dried up- but hear it hasn't been around for a long time.. I found a cross reference from MicroScale Industries that lists the original Floquil colors on the left side of the page and then moves across the page to the right..they list new manufacturer comparable  as Model Masters #1402 - "German Silver Metallic"- enamel base with metallic "sheen",   Going to move that direction next. I live in a fairly large city but hobby shops don't want to mess with low ticket items like paint anymore. Forces you to the internet-where the pricing is high and so are the shipping charges- often more than the item itself.  Get to $20.00 bucks real quick.. Ripoff!

I used to paint back in the 80's- used Krylon paints because they were also very close to Lionel with good base coverage- and were easy to spray. They have vanished also- no more in Home Depot or Walmart or Hobby Shops. How come?

I also liked the small cans of Testors- their paint laid down nice and even with a hard surface - but they have gone absent also.

Restoration has been one of my favorite pastimes for years.  But the paint problems coupled with the lack of"O" gauge decals (Champ, Walthers, Microsale is iffy) makes it real difficult to "have fun" .

I don't give up easy. Some pics to make us all happy.

GrandpaChooChoo, very nice pics of some beautiful F3 units! Those look fantastic!

Nice pictures of F3’s!

easy way: take your engine to Menards (ding ding) have them color match the Silver in a small container of latex or oil-based paint.

I have done this with Milwaukee road engines to color match the maroon stripe and orange.

OR Home deepoh or any other paint store.

Thanks guys- Postwar Lionel F-3's are my favorites- have been for 42 years.  Years ago(1970's-80's) there was no MTH, Weaver, Kline, Williams.. so I scoured local neighborhood's garage sales & local classified ads. I operated in a 'cleanup, fixup mode' all the time and did "upgrade" collecting and selling. Also got into painting and restoration... Things were cheap. They had to be (I had a young family to support struggling in my early business career and saving for a house etc.) There wasn't any big money left over for trains. $100.00 was a huge, rare expenditure for me.

I stuck with it and have enjoyed the ride. There is a saying- "A  laborer works with their hands.  A craftsman works with their hands and head. An artist works with their hands, their head and their heart."  That's the difference in anything you decide to do. Passion. And the thrill of the chase....to find the next project.

We have a responsibility to preserve the past for future generations- Made in America by Americans- the best that ever was. Made to last- simple, sturdy stuff. Not high tech, expensive, finicky junk- that will not endure into the future (no circuit boards). Gotcha!

How about a car from that time period - say a 1955, 56 or 57 Chevy BelAir ? Same principles apply..

I am glad to be a 'baby boomer'- and posterity of the 'greatest generation' that ever lived - who went thru the Depression with nothing, started to recover from it, only to go off to WWII at great sacrifice again.  Wow.

A few more pictures of F3's to enjoy including the next generation...

Best Regards. 

@GrandpaChooChoo posted:

We have a responsibility to preserve the past for future generations- Made in America by Americans- the best that ever was. Made to last- simple, sturdy stuff. Not high tech, expensive, finicky junk- that will not endure into the future (no circuit boards). Gotcha!

How about a car from that time period - say a 1955, 56 or 57 Chevy BelAir ? Same principles apply..

I am glad to be a 'baby boomer'- and posterity of the 'greatest generation' that ever lived - who went thru the Depression with nothing, started to recover from it, only to go off to WWII at great sacrifice again.  Wow.

GrandpaChooChoo,

Quite happy for you. Very, very nice work.  Thanks for your comments as well.

Please take the following as constructive criticism, meant to be received with only the best of intentions.

Not to cause an issue, because we like to be neighborly on the forum, but just one question: What does 'Gotcha' mean?

(I too am a Baby Boomer, and also a proud son of the Greatest Generation. Unfortunately your diatribe on newer stuff is a direct smack in the nose to many, many, many of us who've designed and built that apparent crap that you have a problem with.  And not being retired yet I still work at it every single day.

Did your '55-6-7 get 40 MPG? Did it keep you safe in a crash? Was it friendly to the environment? Did it last an average of 13 years on the road in everyday use, and climbing, like modern cars do, even with all their "high tech" gadgets? If I recall, and I was about 10 years old at the time, I didn't see more than a mere handful of '55-6-7's on the road in daily use by 1968, 69, or 70.

Yes, Post-War items were solidly built, but by 1969 Lionel was in sad shape because the world had passed it by. If you don't like the newer technology it needed to survive then don't buy it, and you obviously don't, but please don't berate it.

I think that you'll agree with me that, in addition to being play toys, Toy Trains taught the kids that played with them basic fundamental and technical skills that they could use their entire lives.

For toy trains to do that in today's world, and to have done so over the last 40 years to get here, they've needed to go forward, and thank goodness they have. Maybe not perfectly at times, but they have.

And from where we stand today even more new things are needed in today's world, to teach today's kids and grandkids their future, just like they did in the Post-War period, and in fact just like they did when Lionel began in 1900.

I fully support our hobby in providing those fundamentals. Not only the old, but the new as well. As difficult as it may be, can you?)

Mike