It's only a coat of paint

How many times have we heard that that said ? Given that its one of the things most likily to cause upset , what is the correct way to paint a locomotive?

In the past i have been involved with both spraying and brush / rollering the final finish but its not actually just a case of putting on layer after layer of paint , it takes time and a lot of work to get that finish right

Resently i painted the KESR P class into ROD livery that took about 8 weeks and involved removing all varnish and anything that could effect the paint , a though clean and de greese , not easy when you think how dirty engines get when in use, flattening back the paint removing all crests /transfers ,lining etc applying a barrier coat, then primer rubbing it back ,then another coat till you get a smooth finish , then several base coats and top coats rubbing back with finer grades of production paper inbetween each coat with a wet cut before the final top coat

I prefer to use the roller/ brush method with good quality brushes , in all with the P it took about 8 coats to get a finish i was happy with and as its a matt finish its harder to get to look nice

i know that everyone has different ways , and i remember reading somewhere that some groups had applied about 20 coats to their loco , so lets throw this open, , so whats better to spray the loco, or hand paint, and how much work does your group put into each time you change your locos paint job

 

It has to be hand painted with a brush, simply because thats how it was always done and the imperfections make the vehicle look right.

The problem is that the paint is what everybody see's and we all strive to produce the best finish possible.

A case in point is the NRM stance on Lode Star, that its unique, in having a genuine Swindon paint job, the skill of the painters and the imperfections in the finish are part of the loco and its history.

If you look at 71000 which was completely sprayed in Crewe Works after its last overhaul, it is/was such a 'perfect' finish, that to me, the loco 'looked' wrong.

If you look at any vehicle when originally in service they were far from perfect even when new, OK a preserved vehicle is under far greater scrutiny today but I sometimes think we are trying to make them look too good.

 

How much varnish did you use on the P? I read recently that when the Midland Railway introduced Crimson Lake in the late 19th century there were only 2 top coats of red followed by 5 coats of varnish!

 

as its a wartine livery no varnish was applied i would have prefered to have given it at least 2 coats to give some protection but as she has only 1 year left in traffic before she is due to come out, it was decided to leave her as she was , how ever there was talk of having it varnished, so this could well change