# USAT GP38 Southern Pacific grey color?



## diesel54 (Dec 6, 2017)

Hello all, I'm making some mods to my USAT GP38 SP, and have an updated 3d printed plow that I"m going to install. I'm trying to find paint that closest matches to that of the grey on those SP's. Does any have any recommendations? Thanks!


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## trainmanfw&sw (Nov 4, 2020)

Being a model railroad painter for over 40 years, I can tell you that paints especially model railroad paints which many are not available anymore there colors never matched and that's from one bottle to another from the same manufacture. If your looking for a spray can color to match, good luck, I myself would take Testors in the small bottles and mix colors till I got what I wanted, then use my airbrush to apply the color. I've modeled SP over the years and I can tell you that no two engines looked the same color of gray, except the day they left EMD. SP had the dirtiest engines of any railroad, so color shouldn't make much difference. 

trainman


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## diesel54 (Dec 6, 2017)

trainmanfw&sw said:


> Being a model railroad painter for over 40 years, I can tell you that paints especially model railroad paints which many are not available anymore there colors never matched and that's from one bottle to another from the same manufacture. If your looking for a spray can color to match, good luck, I myself would take Testors in the small bottles and mix colors till I got what I wanted, then use my airbrush to apply the color. I've modeled SP over the years and I can tell you that no two engines looked the same color of gray, except the day they left EMD. SP had the dirtiest engines of any railroad, so color shouldn't make much difference.
> 
> trainman


Got it, thank you very much.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Diesel54,
When mixing paint, the mixed wet paint will probably look a different colour to when it is dry, so it may be a long process to match.
Cheers,
David Leech, Delta, Canada


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

Diesel54
The color is S.P. Lark Dark grey. My favorite is Polly Scale acrylic stock number F414182. Bad news is the Polly Scale line is discontinued. But you may still be able to find some. Other railroad model paint manufacturers also make it. Polly Scale is a real good match.
No plow on this GP38 but the pilot was brushed with SP Lark dark grey after making the mods..










Here is one more. The scarlet sill strip ( USA Trains R22111 GP9 Diesel Locomotive, Southern Pacific ) on this GP9E that USA insists on using was over sprayed with Polly Scale SP lark dark grey. The long hood and most of the rest is stock USA paint.
The plow and pilot are also SP Lark dark grey.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

diesel, I totally agree with previous statements. You may find something close @ Tru color. Have a lot of RR colors, I found my Tuscan Red there.


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## Mikie (Nov 7, 2013)

Coincidentally, I have a bottle of paint sitting right in front of me. I mostly use it as touch-up paint for my USA Trains Southern Pacific Geeps. The color is 16-40 S.P. Lark Dark Gray and it's made by Badger Modelflex. It matches _perfectly_ to the original paint on the locomotive. https://usaairbrushsupply.com/products?keywords=southern+pacific


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## trainmanfw&sw (Nov 4, 2020)

That is water base paint, probably ok for a plow, or touchup, but as far as painting models it gives poor results. 

trainman


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## Ted Doskaris (Oct 7, 2008)

diesel54 said:


> Hello all, I'm making some mods to my USAT GP38 SP, and have an updated 3d printed plow that I"m going to install. I'm trying to find paint that closest matches to that of the grey on those SP's. Does any have any recommendations? Thanks!


Sometime agoI found when working on a USA Trains Southern Pacific NW2, or maybe it was an S4, that had paint pealing off, Tamiya German Grey XF-63 was a virtual match.
BTW, I have not participated or posted anything on this Forum for about 4 years until now, and it looks so different! Forgot my password, too.
-Ted


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

Trainman,
I have been using Polly Scale acrylic paints for my models for years with great results plus some other brands on occasion. I'm a firm believer in acrylic paints.. So I beg to differ with your comment about poor results. Maybe you are not applying them correctly.


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## trainmanfw&sw (Nov 4, 2020)

This somewhat explains the differences between the paints, I grew up using enamels and acrylic lacquers, so for me water based paints are for wood and plastic models that can be painted with a brush and flat/dull finish are what I want to achieve. For my highly detailed models I use the enamels and lacquers as they adhere more to my liking and thinner coats don't hide the detail of the model. This is pretty much known to modelers, but if you want to use other paints and you get the results that work for you, them go for it. Scale Model Basics: Acrylic vs Enamel Paint – Model Space Blog 

trainman


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

Trainman,
How in the world can you say that a acrylic made for models will hide detail? At least that sounds like what you are saying. No use arguing about it. You are new here and I think a bit arrogant. I'm done with this post string.


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## Mikie (Nov 7, 2013)

Ted Doskaris said:


> BTW, I have not participated or posted anything on this Forum for about 4 years until now, and it looks so different! Forgot my password, too.
> -Ted


Same here, Ted! Just got tired of the non-train-related stuff on the other board. I'm more into running trains, along with nice diesels and collectible rolling stock and electronic sound/battery systems. Oh, and nice trackwork! Don't care about builds with ice cream sticks and toothpicks.


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## diesel54 (Dec 6, 2017)

Awesome. Thanks for the replies. I’m going to try out the Tamiya German Grey idea. As I don’t have an airbrush, I’m going to get the spray can. Will the Tamiya TS make the plow come out too shiny?


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## Ted Doskaris (Oct 7, 2008)

diesel54 said:


> Awesome. Thanks for the replies. I’m going to try out the Tamiya German Grey idea. As I don’t have an airbrush, I’m going to get the spray can. Will the Tamiya TS make the plow come out too shiny?


The *T**amiya German Gray XF-63* is flat finish. (The letter "F "in the "XF" designates colors are flat finish)

-Ted


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## Mikie (Nov 7, 2013)

Fuuny. I started a new thread yesterday and it still hasn't posted. The message says "Awaiting approval before being displayed publicly", and the title of the post is crossed out. Why? There's nothing derogatory in it. It does contain a link to Greg's website - is that why? And how long does it take to approve a post? I understand the Admin/Mods screening posts for bad stuff, but this is a little ridiculous. Been a member here since 2013, and I come back to this little inconvenience.


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## diesel54 (Dec 6, 2017)

As an update, I ended up getting a spray bottle of Scalecoat II paint in SP Dark Gray, and it was an exact match. I'll post pictures of the updated plow painted. Thanks.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Mikie, we have been requesting that new members be restricted from posting links for a while (a few posts)...

We have been hit by a lot of spam lately, and the new member posts a link in his/her/it's first post, so moderation of new members is done on many forums, not just this one.

I'm guessing that the new implementation is taking a little fine tuning, but it is NOT ridiculous, and i'm sure it will be "fixed" for you soon. I supposed other than the last few days, you have not posted in a great while...

Also, how much did you pay towards the salaries of the administrators? huh? Ahh nothing? So look at it in the perspective of our hosts as a business.... you cannot expect to be cleared right away, they don't have a large staff since the site is free.

Greg


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## Ted Doskaris (Oct 7, 2008)

To get back to possible paint to use, Tamiya also has _spray paint Ts-4 German Gray_ Item# 85004 (100 ml spray can) MSRP: $7.00.










BTW, Minuteman Models, who appears to have acquired Scalecoat Paints _created by Quality Craft-Weaver_, shows "Scalecoat II is a solvent based enamel paint that is designed for use on Plastic. *All Scalecoat paints dry with a gloss finish unless specified*"

-Ted


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