http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSQNKtXiJJA&feature=plcp

At 200x; the clip was originally over 15 minutes. Shot Friday evening 12/8/12 by yours truly. Post-production work by Bert Brander, one of our members.

Howard P.
Xylol, NJ

There is something soothing and satisfying about watching something being spray painted.

WOW, Howard...

Excepting a few details (paired windows, green paint, no masking of white stripes), you have transported me back to the 1965 "spectator gallery" in NYC's paint shop at North White Plains, as a well-worn 18xx or 19xx coach made its "Nth" visit for Bondo and Dulux!

NICE - and, thanks!!

They make it look so easy. Of COURSE it looks easy, because they haven't shown the hours and hours of masking, prep work, gun clean-up, etc.!

I've done this stuff professionally, and even suiting up is time-consuming, but once you're in it, it's Zen-like. The mentality has to be "Once I open the can of catalyst and you hear the compressor kick on, DO NOT DISTURB until I run out of paint!"

Howard, will one coat do the job, or is s/he going to have to go back and lay a second coat?

The second coat was applied this past Sunday 12/9. The masking came off later that day and boy does it look sharp.


Hal R.
Retired shoulders and elbows NY.

That's because spray painting is a totally "right brain" activity. It's all about spacial relationships; the distance to the work, width of the fan, amount of overlap... you do all this stuff without "thinking" about it, or so it seems, because the right brain has no capacity for language... you just look, and DO. If you are talking to yourself about what you are doing, you are working waaay too hard, because you are trying to add another layer of complexity that your brain really doesn't need.

You just need to "become one" with the work... just remember to extricate yourself before the catalyst kicks in :-)

Very nice looking paint job. How do you deal with over spray when you paint below the belt rail?

Thanks for all the nice comments.

Like any paint job (at least any GOOD paint job), the surface prep is 95% of it. The car was primed (8 gallons) after the surface prep was complete. The yellow stripes were done first with brush, two coats and masked, then the black girder sheet below the windows was sprayed, two coats and masked (the plastic sheeting). Then the green commenced this past weekend. Inside the vestibules first (ugh, I hate spraying vestibules; at least the doors were off the car!), then the outer end sheets, then the sides.

The second coat of a color is the real bear, especially inside the vestibules, as it is so tough to see what is being covered and what has been missed. Good lighting helps a lot.

The paint is Sherwin-Willliams High Solids Industrial Enamel, custom mixed to match CNR chips supplied by Kent McClure of Monticello Railroad Museum. There is no catalyst in this stuff.

As Dennis and Alex mentioned, once you get into the zone (Zen?) of the painting, it seems that time is arrested and all that matters is the flow of the paint, the pattern, the zzzzttt of the spray gun, the arm and body movements. I DO love that (borrowed) scissor lift.

There will be some hand-touch up and other odds & ends to finish over the next couple of weeks. This was originally going to be a real quickie job, but it is much better this way, with some effort put into it.

It was very satisfiying to unmask late on Sunday after the second coat of green tacked off and see the almost-finished product. Lots of smiles and "wow" comments from the guys. A freshly-painted car or locomotive is always a morale boost for everyone. More photos will follow as the work progresses and lettering is applied.

Howard P.

Jason Hartmann peeling masking tape off CNR 5114.



We had CNR decals made from 1954 blueprints; this is an earlier sample placed "for effect" after the lower masking was removed. The final decal has a better yellow match.



Middle of one side-- masking is off the windows and it starts to look quite spiffy. The interior was painted last year. Car was numbered 4990 while in Montreal commuter service, and we returned it to the original number of 5114. The CNR coaches at RMNE were a very generous donation in 1997, from a long-time supporter and friend of the Museum, Thomas V. Brown.

I'd like to thank Kent McClure at Monticello and to Steve Hunter at RMEO for their help in researching the 1954 CNR paint scheme and colors.

Howard P.
(who is looking forward to getting 5114 outside soon, for a finshed portrait!)

What a GREAT looking paint job!! Thanks for posting, Howard. Looking forward to more...

Stephen

Looks great!
Must be a guy thing. I hate prepping something for painting, the marking and whatnot (ten times more hate when it's a model, where the marking has to be much smaller and tighter), but yeah, when that even color is covering up just like you want, there's that nice even (if you do it right) field of virgin color going over an area that probably looked very poor and now looks new. Few things give you the same level of satisfaction. And when you yank the masking off and assuming that worked out well, it's a great feeling knowing it's the right color now.
I have a large group of O scale narrow-gauge models I'll be prepping for a mass rolling stock painting session soon, and in an odd sort of way I'm really looking forward to it!

This has to be my all time favorite passenger car scheme. Can you describe, or better still, post a picture of what she looked like before restoration?

She's beautiful, Howard!

I can't wait to see the final result.

Steve Hunter

OK, some "before pics"---

4990 was our probably our crummiest-looking operating car; it was simply referred to as "The Beater". This photo shows it mid-train crossing Jericho Bridge behind Flagg Coal 75 in June 2012. About 10 years ago, the CN light gray letterboards and lower sides were rollered with dark green.



4990 in Thomaston Shop, August 2012. Needlescaling of old paint has commenced around windows, belt rail and in vestibules.



RCD scaling the east side window posts and belt rail. Window sashes are out for repair by carpentry dept.



It's quite a difference. It is not a restoration; it is a repaint and overall sprucing up of the car, including some amount of metal repair.

Howard P.

Slightly outside of this topic, but since there was some minor participation by this responder, I feel obliged to add to this thread.

Hell yes! Whether needle scaling, spiking ties, operating equipment with repeated motions, and the ultimate - firing a coal burning locomotive by hand - you are definitely in the "zone".

Well, now that the left brain has cut in - add in operating/running a locomotive. You just need that "seat feel" to do it right. OK the left brain is thinking about the change in grade coming up, but you can't think too hard about that or you might screw things up.

I used to get into a zone when I would fire up the hotsy and start washing 1522. I enjoyed seeing the crud disappear. And also nobody came around and bothered me for fear of getting put to work.