Model railroading and clear coats?

Not always a stencil. Penn Central used vinyl cut lettering on many of its cabooses and passenger cars starting in the 1960s... and we did the same when we restored our PC caboose: http://www.rgvrrm.org/media/photos/trai ... c18526.jpg

-otto-

AHA! See??

Oooh, good comeback!

Hmmm... think of this now: you know those buses and cabs with all-over graphics? Advertising and stuff? I wonder if railroads will ever use that technology, or if it's just too costly. I think the MBTA used that on some of their subway trolleys. But imagine a boxcar or covered hopper will all-over graphics! What a sight that would be!

NellsChoo wrote:Woah, hold on a sec! How in the Wide World of Sports do you get paint to adhere to the model after applying the floor wax??

I didn't say "wax", I said Future Floor Polish.

Future is not wax. It is an acrylic clear gloss finish for floors. It airbrushes very well and dries to a hard, clear, glossy finish that decals adhere to beautifully. I've been using it for nearly twenty years, having gotten the idea from articles in Fine Scale Modeler and other scale-modelling journals. It's also the secret to sparkling canopies on model airplanes.

I've used clear gloss finishes from most of the hobby paint makers, but I keep coming back to Future. After the decals are on, settled and dry I follow up with Testors or Modelflex clear flat finish to kill the shine.

Does it work? You tell me. These models have been through the finishing process I outlined earlier - six to eight coats of finish:

Here's a faintly semigloss finish:
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/sue.ellen/p ... odels/5967

And here's a flat finish:
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/sue.ellen/p ... odels/3627

BW- very interesting method- and the final results look great!

-otto-

I didn't know Future hardens like that... makes sence! I have also heard about that technique, but not having worked with the product, I assumed it wasn't something you could paint over. Didn't mean to doubt you like that.