# My first serious attempt at a custom boxcar paint job



## OldNoob (Apr 30, 2016)

*A few weeks ago i picked up my first Aristo-craft car, a reefer. it was a good deal so i hopped on it. However it came with a custom paint job that i really didnt like.*








*The glossy yellowed white just wasnt doing it for me so i decided to try to do a custom paint job on it.
This would be my first serious rolling stock paint job.*

* It was hard to tell what was under all that paint but a number on the side identified it as an IPA food services reefer. A very nice design so i tried to gently strip off the unwanted paint by using a week mixture of castrol super clean and letting it soak for a couple days.*









*Sadly I could not get an even strip so i decided to abandon the restoration and pursue a full strip in 91% alcohol which worked really well and didn't damage the plastic at all.*










*After some mulling it over i decided to choose a local beer manufacturer label as for my new paint scheme. Black and a light Aqua was a very appealing look.
Masking turned out to be a bit of a challenge as my oh so reliable "Frog Tape" seem to take issue with sticking to the aristocraft plastic. I finally found some tape from 3M that worked well.*

















*Now I faced a dilemma,, spend extra to have custom decals made OR try to do it myself.
The companies logo was easy enough, i just picked up a couple of stickers from the brewery.
I decided to use vinyl and dry transfer for the lettering details. as they were readily available and somewhat affordable.*

















*In retrospect... getting custom vinyl stickers made would of been a better path to take even if more expensive. It was really hard to make the letters line up and the availability of various fonts is limited locally. If i do it again. i think i will have the decals custom made.

Now i have a question.
The dry transfer lettering seems very susceptible to damage. Should i paint over them with some testers Dullcoat?*


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## Great Western (Jan 2, 2008)

You made a first class job of cleaning up and repainting that Aristo car. It looks great.
I presume the Wilmington beer folk only own one or maybe two cars, that is if they are a small town outfit. In which case they probably painted the cars themselves within the limits of their staff which might explain some slight - and it looks very slight - misalignment of the lettering.
It all adds a little charm I believe, especially when you have made such a good attempt at a rescue.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Dont use testors dullcoat! it can turn yellow in sunlight.

Krylon clear spray paint is what most people use..it comes in glossy and "satin" finish, which is a semi-gloss.
I prefer the satin, I have used it over decals for years..one example:










IMO, not too glossy, not too flat..just right.

photo of can:

https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/5b....jpeg?odnWidth=797&odnHeight=797&odnBg=ffffff

I normally dont like to shop at Walmart, but I do know Walmart carries it.

Scot


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## Ironton (Jan 2, 2008)

I would definitely protect the car with a top coat of some sort. I would not use Dullcoat if you are going to use it outside. Some people have reported a change in teh coat when exposed to sunlight.

Instead I would use one of the rattle can UV resistant coatings. I use Rustoleum Painters Touch 2X which comes in various sheens, but you can use other manufactureres which are designed to resist the UV.

Hope it helps.


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

OldNoob;

What a wonderful car! You did a very fine job, and yes, you should find a UV resistant clear satin spray as an overcoat. The two already suggested are excellent.

I kind of regret that the brewery is not in Middle Earth. The car would make a nice companion for my Prancing Pony Ale car. (Although my car is not nearly as nice as yours.)









Best wishes,
David Meashey


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Excellent job.... no way I could do individual letters and get them to line up as well as you did.

Greg 912


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks nice. I have and still do individually apply separate letters to my locos for road name. Yes little time consuming but it was cheaper than having decals sheets made. Just wondering how much alcohol you had to buy so you could strip the car and why did you not keep using the castrol super clean. for stripping? BTW do not use dulcoat to protect the paint and decals. As mentioned will fade and dull in out doors. Ask me how I know. Later RJD


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## OldNoob (Apr 30, 2016)

Thank You everyone for the compliments and tips  . Going out to find some UV clear today.



aceinspp said:


> Looks nice. I have and still do individually apply separate letters to my locos for road name. Yes little time consuming but it was cheaper than having decals sheets made. Just wondering how much alcohol you had to buy so you could strip the car and why did you not keep using the castrol super clean. for stripping? BTW do not use dulcoat to protect the paint and decals. As mentioned will fade and dull in out doors. Ask me how I know. Later RJD


I used one 32 ounce container of 91%. Poured it into a large cooler and just let one car side at a time sit in the alcohol, in the cooler, for a few hours, then turned it to the next side. After i was done i used a paint strainer and filtered the alcohol back into a sealable container to use again for small stripping jobs.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Great paint job. Be careful with the clear coat. Test it to make sure it doesn't crinkle the paint. Don't ask me how I know. Several light coats are best.


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## OldNoob (Apr 30, 2016)

placitassteam said:


> Great paint job. Be careful with the clear coat. Test it to make sure it doesn't crinkle the paint. Don't ask me how I know. Several light coats are best.


Man i wish i had seen your comment earlier!.

*DO NOT USE rustoleum matte clear paint.* It destroyed my paint job and left a white haze on everything. And made the Vinyl letters let go! It even changed the color  

























It aged my car TEN YEARS!*
*


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

OldNoob;

Sorry about the bad experience. I found a handle with a trigger that snaps on to spray cans. It gives control similar to an airbrush. With the handle I can spray a very light coat onto the model. I think that I used the Krylon the last time I did a clear coat. 

I did use the spray handle and Rust-Oleum for the cinnamon finish on this ore car. I'm afraid that I did not get a photo before I weathered it.









Hope the "repairs" are not too daunting.

Regards,
David Meashey

P.S. This is the "before."


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## OldNoob (Apr 30, 2016)

Really nice job on the Ore cars Dave.


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## OldNoob (Apr 30, 2016)

Found some Krylon satin clearcoat and put a coat on . Thankfully that brought back the color and removed the hazy white apperance 
and filled in the crackle a bit.
I used to think of Krylon as a cheap quality paint but over the past couple of years it has out preformed Rustoleum just about every time i have used the two.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice! Looks great!


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## Ironton (Jan 2, 2008)

Wrong type of Rustoleum! I indicated "Painters Touch 2X" not the regular Rustoleum clear coat. Glad you could salvage the car.


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

Scottychaos said:


> Dont use testors dullcoat! it can turn yellow in sunlight.
> 
> Krylon clear spray paint is what most people use..it comes in glossy and "satin" finish, which is a semi-gloss.
> I prefer the satin, I have used it over decals for years..one example:
> ...


You just saved one of my kitbashed models from certain yellowing... The can of Dullcote is sitting six inches away from my keyboard as I'm typing this...

Thank you!

Robert


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