who to repaint a lionel 726

Out of curiosity, which one?

Len Carperelli, L&L Model Train Restoration.  (201 438-1266)  Typically he is the Orange Hall at York, on the left side an aisle or two before the end of the hall.  He has restored for me a 2383 Santa Fe F3 and a set of 2400 series passenger cars.  They all came out terrific.  It takes a long time to get them done but that is the nature of artistic work. 

The other option is that if you just want to keep it black you could remove the handrails and air brush it or spray it yourself.  A good satin black will be fine and then there are rubber stamp kits to reapply the numbers if you want to do that.  This will obviously be more cost effective. 

It is the 2nd 726 without the smoke bulb, went to the generator. Has the big weight inside. Got it over the weekend from an ad.

I like the idea of repainting it myself. I have other "nice" 726's, so this can be a "runner". Doesn't have to have a million $ finish. Anything is better than what it is. It's pretty bad.  What kind of paint do you think?  When I was  a kid I repainted a few and they were too glossy. Where to get the stamp kit? Should I get it blasted? I don't have one.

Any tips on shining up the drivers?  The drive rods are rusty so I will replace them.

Also, I pulled the motor apart on a napkin. Got all the little balls out of the front thrust washer area. Picked them up with a small magnet for storage. When I pulled the armature shaft out, there was no balls in the rear thrust. My book shows there should be. Could they have disintegrated?

I know this all sounds like I should sling it in the dumpster, but the Lionel god's would not like me throwing out a 726 of all things.

Thanks,

Matt

quote:

I know this all sounds like I should sling it in the dumpster

Not at all. I'd be glad to have it.

I've done a few steam engines. I like the satin black paint that is marketed by Charlie Woods. I did one Berkshire in gray, with a dark gray boiler front and black steam chest/cowcatcher.

To polish the nickel rims, I'd start off with wire wheel in a Dremel. using gentle pressure, followed by a metal polish. I tend to use Simachrome or Flitz.

Before spending the money on a set of rods, you might try doing the same to the originals. What do you have to loose?

I never heard of any bearing balls that Lionel used disintegrating. A previous owner probably lost them. Fortunately, they are readily available. I'd suggest getting a few of the thrust washers that surround them. They might be gone too.

Here is a service manual page on your motor.

I used Zip Strip to remove the paint on my old beaters, and then used Krylon Semi-Satin Black, which is almost a dead-ringer for the original Lionel color and sheen.

The hard part is the numbers.  If they're still good, try taping over them before paint removal.  You'll need to leave some space to feather in the new paint into the old, so don't tape right up to the numbers!

Jon

quote:

The hard part is the numbers.

I used Janice Bennet's dry transfers. (no longer in business, but I think someone else is making them now).
I have a Berk that was repainted by someone else with the numbers taped off. In some light, it looks great, in other light, the box is quite visible. To me, the appearance of the dry transfer lettering is preferable.

+1 What Jon said. Striping and painting is not difficult. The numbers are the hardest part but with practice can be mastered. For the tin plated parts I bought a brush plating kit from Caswell. Works great and not much more than replacement rods and valve gear.

Most repro rods are now nickel plated and don't match the oxidized tin of the originals.

Note the nickel repro eccentric rod:

The shiny rods above are originals (below) that have been replated with Caswell Tin. In time they will oxidize and match the originals.

Pete

Rubber stamps are available from Joe Mania at... 

www.jlmtrains.com

Jeff Davis

MattR,

If you would rather use water-slide decals for the cab and tender try,                           

www.lbrenterprisesllc@yahoo.com 

God Bless,

"Pappy"

Thanks for all the input.

1 more issue, the cab  was bent on 1 corner. I slowly tweaked it back. Got it real close. Then like the dope  I am, I gave it "just a bit more".  Well, you know what happened. 

It is a clean break and matches back perfectly. Any recommendations on re-attaching it?  A JB weld kind of product maybe? We use it on our Caterpillar equipment and it is amazing.  I have had a Cat D6 crankshaft main running with it for years.

I will also stop by our local machining/weld shop to see if he has any thoughts.

Here are a few pics of my mess.  I also removed the discs off the wheels to shine up and do a cleaner job painting the frame.

Matt

I agree JB Weld is the way to go.  You may need to lightly sand or putty it a bit when you are finished but it should be OK.  It won't be perfect, but it will still be a good looking runner and if you do a good job the repair will actually be a point of pride.

BTW, I don't think you are sill at all for rehabbing the old locomotive.  It's a fun project and these trains shouldn't be thrown away.

Buying a rubber stamp, white ink, and finding a sheet of glass and the hassle is not worth it. I use rub on dry transfers on all restorations and most people could never tell that they are not originals. There are many good paints for the boiler job. My favorite is SEM automotive trim paint, or Krylon 1613 satin black.

Rob

I agree with oldrob and many others---Krylon 1613 semi-flat black is the way to go

Available in Krylons industrial line---not every Sherwin-Williams / craft store carry that line of spray---it is available online

Good Luck