Painting Session 1

ModelWorks 4 inch Scale Burrell Agricultural Traction Engine

Caution

Sunday 7
I  have been thinking colour schemes all week and have decided to go for Dark Green.  I have decided to paint the perch and axle the main colour (green) though practice does seem to vary on this.  I have found examples where these are either painted the wheel colour or black.

I have decided to use  Hammerite Smooth Dark Green (from B&Q).  I had originally planned to use Phoenix Burrell Quaker Green.  The principal reason for opting for Hammerite is that I found the solvent from the Phoenix paint overpowering. I painted the following sample with my chosen Dark Green at the bottom. (1/1/03 I may have been overpowered because of a fault with my mask)

Phoenix Burrell Quaker Green top
Hammerite Soothe Dark Green Bottom

It is impossible to accurately photograph a color, but the above shows the relative difference.  I think the Quaker Green is a bit "Khaki" and I definitely prefer the "Darkness" of the Dark Green.  You pays your money an make your choice! I brushed the above sample and I must admit that I got a better finish with the Quaker Green.

I have been pondering the Burrell Quaker Green as to how it was used in full size practice.  Was it used as a contrast colour with another colour? Perhaps with Burrell Green (Light Green)? 

I don't recall seeing a Burrell in this shade of green. There might be a clue here.  I found this site yesterday it has loads of TE pictures sorted by manufacturer.  Take a look at No 3917 reg TA2374 Triumph on www.sharpos-world.co.uk/mainindx/road/index.htm 

Masking up
In preparation for spraying I applied masking tape to the bearing surfaces.

Primer
At this point I was still planning to use the Phoenix paint as so I applied a coat of their white primer.  I don't expect any problems covering this with the Dark Green.  This primer uses the same thinners as the Phoenix Gloss and it is this experience that convinced me that I get on much better with the Hammerite paints as I used on my POP steam wagon.

Thursday 18: Activity on the Burrell has taken a back seat to my POP steam wagon.

1st January 2004: I have spent the last few days preparing and spraying the body panels for my POP steam wagon. This has got me back into painting mode so I thought it was time to put the gloss coat. Today I have applied one light coat with my Kite spray gun.

I am a bit concerned that I have got white edges where the paint has not stuck to the corners.  The corners are not particularly sharp, the primer found them OK!  I shall give them special attention when I apply the next coat, I might even air brush them.

Friday 2: Decided to use my airbrush as I wanted to make sure I got the corners.  I set the airbrush to give a faint narrow line and slowly built up a good coverage one the corners.

Saturday 3: Time for the final coat with my Kite spray gun. This went on easily and I am pleased with the finish.  I am using Hammerite paint and today I found the data sheet(pdf)  and discovered that I should be recoating within 3 hours to avoid a wrinkled finish.  Luckily I have got away with it but next time I shall not allow so long between coats. I occasionally noticed this problem with my POP and I mistakenly assumed that it was caused by re-coating too quickly. 

I plan to store the painted parts for a while to allow the paint to harden.  I understand that in addition to the thinners evaporating the paint needs time to oxidize. This will take between 4-6 weeks.