Painting over athearn BB shell


jasonelki

jasonelki

Milwaukee Roader
How do you guys go about painting over a shell like this? I'm looking to paint the shell all black and apply some Milwaukee Road decals, even though MR never had an SW1000 or SW1500 on their roster, thought it would be a fun project, maybe...

I don't think this model has decals, is it screened in some fashion? I'm worried if I paint over the shell the numbers, etc will show through.

Or do you strip all the paint off the model prior to painting? If the shell doesn't need any modification, would you still prime it before painting the shell black?

I may just keep it as is, but just trying to find out as much info before I begin!
thanks
 
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I strip all paint off including lettering, then paint, other wise, yes the lettering will show through.
Cheers
Willis
 
I use 91% rubbing alcohol. Let the parts soak for a bit, the paint will come right off using q-tips.

(thanks to those on the group for that)
 
I'm working on one now. A yellow and blue Santa Fe GP-9. The new scheme is black with white lines. I did a light sanding on the original paint and then airbrushed the entire body white. After it dried I masked off the white striping and airbrushed the entire body black. Today I'm going to do the touch-up of both the black and white. I have the handrailing to paint orange. Also I got dry transfer for the white numbers. I'm waiting for the decals for the lines logo.
 
dispatcher812 said:
I use 91% rubbing alcohol. Let the parts soak for a bit, the paint will come right off using q-tips.

(thanks to those on the group for that)
Click to expand...


What color are the shells after stripping? Are they that gray color similar to the undecorated proto models?

Was hoping to not have to strip all the paint, might just leave her in BN colors!!
 
That is an Athearn Blue Box engine, the shell will be black under the paint. You have many options with the BN paint. You could leave it BN, you can patch it for BNSF, or you can patch it for a leasing company or your own road if you wanted. Here's examples of them in different paint schemes.

101_0561.jpg


101_0560.jpg


100_3397.jpg
 
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The simplest prototype paint job that I've seen had a line painted through the "Burlington Northern" and the leasing company's reporting marks in white letters just above it. Should be very easy to do with dry transfers and there's no paint stripping needed.
 
wheeler1963 said:
That is an Athearn Blue Box engine, the shell will be black under the paint. You have many options with the BN paint. You could leave it BN, you can patch it for BNSF, or you can patch it for a leasing company or your own road if you wanted. Here's examples of them in different paint schemes.

101_0561.jpg


101_0560.jpg


100_3397.jpg
Click to expand...

Did you just patch right over the existing lettering or did you remove those first. And is it masked off patches or lighter green decals?
 
ChevelleSSguy said:
Did you just patch right over the existing lettering or did you remove those first. And is it masked off patches or lighter green decals?
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Chris, Yes, just patch right over the existing lettering, numbering as the prototypes do. The patch itself is from the Micro-Scale set MC-4254 "Burlington Northern Santa Fe patches for renumbering diesels". The different shades of green really make them stand out like in the previous 3 pictures.
 
I've stripped paint of with household cleaner "Pine-Sol" and it worked great. So great that I left some hard to strip painted items in it over night and when I returned the next day they were gone. DON'T leave itmes in overnight. I've also heard other use brake fuid to strip the paint.

Dave
 
wheeler1963 said:
That is an Athearn Blue Box engine, the shell will be black under the paint. You have many options with the BN paint. You could leave it BN, you can patch it for BNSF, or you can patch it for a leasing company or your own road if you wanted. Here's examples of them in different paint schemes.

101_0561.jpg


101_0560.jpg


100_3397.jpg
Click to expand...

Very cool Jerome, interesting projects and options for me.
Happy Birthday by the way!
 
ChevelleSSguy said:
Jerome. Dont you get the profile of the logos behind the decals showing through or does it lay flat?
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Chris, not after a couple of coats of gloss-coat to seal the decals in, then weathering, then a final coat of dull-coat. You'll never notice the original lettering and numbers under all of that.
 
railBuilderDhd said:
I've stripped paint of with household cleaner "Pine-Sol" and it worked great. So great that I left some hard to strip painted items in it over night and when I returned the next day they were gone. DON'T leave itmes in overnight. I've also heard other use brake fuid to strip the paint.

Dave
Click to expand...
you have to be careful with brake fluid..its really harsh...and you can't do kato units with brake fluid..you will end up with a big soupy colored mess..it eats the plastic. There are a coupel companies that sell strippers for models but I cant remember off hand who makes them..I personally use 91% alcohol..took me a few soaks to get the paint all the way off..i used a tooth brush to get the stubborn areas
 
Also, be sure you wear gloves when you work with any of these. I used the Pine-Sol and lost layers of skin after I was done. The skin dried up for days.
Dave
 
You could also use commercially available stippers like Chameleon:

http://www.chameleonproductsonline.com/

Or Polly Scale ELO:

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/flo/flof542143.htm

Jerome, do you bother taking off railings and grab irons when stripping a shell? I would imagine that it would be hard on some models to get the window glazing out too because some of them are glued in place.

One thing I have always wondered is how you guys deal with the number boards especially ones that are back lit, as far as getting the old decal off and finding a translucent decal to take its place?
 
Brad, if and when I have to strip one, I remove everything that I possibly can. Makes it easier to get into all of the nooks and crannies to clean out the old paint. A flat blade X-Acto blade will get most windows out, if not, replace them with clear sheet.
 
wheeler1963 said:
Brad, if and when I have to strip one, I remove everything that I possibly can. Makes it easier to get into all of the nooks and crannies to clean out the old paint. A flat blade X-Acto blade will get most windows out, if not, replace them with clear sheet.
Click to expand...

Plus some of the above mentioned strippers will discolor the clear windows, so it is always best to take the model down to the basic shell.
 
NWCanuck said:
You could also use commercially available stippers like Chameleon:

http://www.chameleonproductsonline.com/

Or Polly Scale ELO:

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/flo/flof542143.htm

Jerome, do you bother taking off railings and grab irons when stripping a shell? I would imagine that it would be hard on some models to get the window glazing out too because some of them are glued in place.

One thing I have always wondered is how you guys deal with the number boards especially ones that are back lit, as far as getting the old decal off and finding a translucent decal to take its place?
Click to expand...

thank you..chameleon was the one I was trying to think of last night
 
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