Large Scale Central

LGB Forney Cab Paint Issue

Modeling
#1

I am on my second LGB Forney cab and have painted it with Rustoleum 2x Gloss Hunter Green and have let it set for about a week…this morning I applied a light coat of the 2x semi gloss clear. The front of the cab has some areas where the green buckled. The sides and back of the cab seem fine. Back story…I’m trying to create the Fred Gurley engine that runs around Disneyland. My first attempt yielded horrific results…mainly from my lack of patience and then freaking out when the new paint completely buckled and I ended up damaging the cab.

So, I’ve taken a deep breath and keep telling myself that all is not lost. But I would like your suggestions for repairing this buckling issue…should I immediately try and remove it with a plastic safe paint stripper? If so what kind? Should I let everything dry completely and then sand lightly and start over? I am all ears and eyes and appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

Thanks,

Richard

#2

I use the Rust-OLeum 2x all the time and have no problems, I would say your green paint is not totally dry and it’s raising up because the clear on top of it is affecting the drying process. I don’t know how much green paint you put on the model, 1, 2, 3, 4, coats, I only spray a light cover coat and then one wet coal and I’m done. Note here I never use the 2x clear, 2x satin for a clear coat, I use the Testor’s spray lacquer in the blue and white can, about $6.00 from Hobby Lobby, it sold at many other hobby store to. It goes on lighter where the 2x clears go on way too heavy and can cause the problems you are having. When I say heavy I’m talking the thickness of the paints makeup and how it sprays out of the can, in other the paint is too thick, it’s made too thick for modeling I think. Most from what I have seen is many put too much paint on there models and the thinner you can get by with the better.

trainman

#3

Thanks John…I put a light coat of semi gloss on the entire cab but only had raising on the front in a few spots. I have since lightly wiped it down with rubbing alcohol and sanded with an 800 grit wet/dry paper. I’ve managed get rid of most of the ripples. I’ll paint a light coat of green again tomorrow morning and then let dry well.

Question…since the sides and back already have a light coat of Rustoleum clear semi gloss do you think I’ll have any problems moving to the Testor’s spray lacquer you mention?? I’d let the entire cab dry for about a week at this point. I would think 100 degree temps would speed the curing process.

Thanks,

Richard

#4

Don’t understand the use of rubbing alcohol, I would have probably taken thinner on a rag and just wiped the paint off where is was bad, then sanded with 180 grit sandpaper and follow up with 400 grit. Myself I would have probably wiped the engine paint off completely with thinner on a rag and started over, but test the thinner on the plastic and make sure it doesn’t affect the plastic. Your have made the mistake of too much paint and now you want to add more, not to sure what you will end up with. As far as drying, spray enamel takes 2-3 weeks to dry, I don’t care what the can says on it, if you can still smell the paint with the engine up to your face, it’s not dry. The Testor’s works fine the first go around, but just adding it to your engine at this time I have not idea what will happen with all the paint you have on it. You can not just keep adding paint and expect it to work, it just doesn’t work that way. Remember this, paint drys from the inside out, not the outside in, yes you can touch the paint after a short time and you may think it’s dry, but it wet under that outside layer. This is where when you repaint, or add clear coat, etc. and you think it’s dry, but it’s not.

Watch this guy paint with Rust-Oleum paints, do pay attention to how much paint and coats he uses on his models, less is better, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pWrb1amyQU

trainman

#5

Hey John…hence my dilemma. I’ve received all kinds of advice And everyone has a different solution. Seriously I just want the darn thing to work. It’s Rustoleum 2x… both color and clear coat. Shouldn’t be a lot of brain science…but t frustrating when it doesn’t work after follo I gotta the directions . I’m good with the cure time of 2-3 weeks but then some claim it doesnt take that long. It’s been suggested to use rubbing alcohol to remove paint. So I’ve tried that with some success. It’s all confusing… but in the end I appreciate The suggestions

Richard

#6

Hey John…hence my dilemma. I’ve received all kinds of advice And everyone has a different solution. Seriously I just want the darn thing to work. It’s Rustoleum 2x… both color and clear coat. Shouldn’t be a lot of brain science…but t frustrating when it doesn’t work after follo I gotta the directions . I’m good with the cure time of 2-3 weeks but then some claim it doesnt take that long. It’s been suggested to use rubbing alcohol to remove paint. So I’ve tried that with some success. It’s all confusing… but in the end I appreciate The suggestions

Richard

#7

this morning I applied a light coat of the 2x semi gloss clear.

Can I ask why? If you’ve already got a good coat of semi-gloss green paint, why use the clear semi gloss on top?

I only apply clear coats when I am trying to make it glossier or duller. The Krylon UV protected dull coat is my usual overspray.

#8

Pete, fair question. I’ve applied Stan Cederleaf‘s decals and his instructions call for applying a clear coat to seal The decal. I thought why not hit the entire area for a bit of extra coverage. So this is the only reason.

#9

I would say you are putting on too many coats of paint, did you watch the video and see how much paint he applied to the model, not much. Your clear coat coat to seal the decals should be light also. Now I have no idea on what you did or how much paint is on the model at this time, like I said, adding more paint and the paint is not dry under what you are painting will just result in more problems. I’d strip it all off and start over it it were me with a paint stripper that will not affect plastic, yes I would test it somewhere on the engine underside to see what happens. The solvents in the paint are most likely not cured (dyed) in the paint, thus you are trapping them in when you apply more paint. Take your fingernail an push it into the paint, if it leaves an impression your paint is not dry down under the top layers. Sorry, it’s the only advise I have for you, Iv’e only been painting models for 60 plus years and Iv’e had everything go wrong that could have gone wrong over the years, painting is a learning experience for sure.

trainman

#10

Rustoleum paints can be very problematic with re-coat times. We use it at work for small jobs. One of my helpers was tasked with painting a 2" x 3" piece of acrylic with their Smoke Grey. Even after following the re-coat times, waiting 48 hours between coats, he still got that orange peel effect because the the base was not completely cured. He repeated this failure abut 6 or 7 times finally giving up! When doing the same job I find that spraying second and third coats within the re-coat time of within 1 hour yields good results. Most Rustoluem paints say re-coat within 1 hour or after 48. The after 48 assumes ideal humidity conditions and that the previous coats were even and relatively thin. If you go sooner, before the 1 hour, the solvents are still active and don’t react with the finish.

Personally, I shop for paints that say Re-coat any time. All Krylon used to be this way, but not so much any more. Most lacquer paints fall into this category and most enamels do not.

#11

I successfully removed the paint, cleaned everything up and have repainted using very light coats. It all looks good and now will let it cure for quite awhile before I do anything else. I appreciate all the advice and experience!!

#12

Richard Mynderup said:

I successfully removed the paint, cleaned everything up and have repainted using very light coats. It all looks good and now will let it cure for quite awhile before I do anything else. I appreciate all the advice and experience!!

Great, I think your on your way to success, here is the paint I use for clear coats, both dull and gloss, it doesn’t take much, one coat works for me. I do usually paint over the Rust-Oleum base color in three days The reason I don’t use Rust-Oleum clears is because they are too thick and drying times become a problem.

trainman

#13

Richard Mynderup said:

I successfully removed the paint, cleaned everything up and have repainted using very light coats. It all looks good and now will let it cure for quite awhile before I do anything else. I appreciate all the advice and experience!!

Great, I think your on your way to success, here is the paint I use for clear coats, both dull and gloss, it doesn’t take much, one coat works for me. I do usually paint over the Rust-Oleum base color in three days The reason I don’t use Rust-Oleum clears is because they are too thick and drying times become a problem. https://www.hobbytown.com/testors-spray-3-oz-dullcote-tes1260t/p272290?msclkid=1632153092871198b3c54a2f837e4e4a&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=HT%20-%20Shopping%20PLA%20-%20INSTOCK%20-Desktop%20-%20Performance&utm_term=4584688614100626&utm_content=cars%20%26%20trucks

trainman