Painting Session 2 continued
Tender & Hornplate Painting

I have been using a white general purpose primer and I am wondering whether this is of any benefit.  I don't want to change approach mid way through so I will continue.  

I need to decide exactly what to paint black and what to paint maroon.  I shall probably paint the inside of the hornplates and spectacle plates black.  ie the only maroon will be the top outside of the hornplates and the front outside spectacle plate.   

Having studied my pictures of the ModelWorks control model I am not convinced that this is the best colour split.  The front spectacle plate is alongside a black hornplate.  Most models I have seen paint the top inside of the hornplate the main body colour.

Sunday: Any colour you like.  I have been trying to take a picture of my test can for a few days and depending on lighting conditions and camera I get various colours - this does not

The top is Buffer Beam Vermillon from  Phoenix,  the top band is Burrell Maroon also from Phoenix, below which is a band of Hammerite Soothe Aubergine.

I have chosen the Burrell Maroon supported by Vermillon for the "Red" bits and of course Black.  The Aubergine was too Purple,  perhaps Hammerite Red Wine would have been OK.  Maroon Examples

I am surprised how much paint I am using.  I am halfway through my second 250ml Maroon can I expect to use several more before the Burrell is finished.  Will luck I should have enough to finish the Hornplates but shall get another can before I tackle the front axle.

I sprayed the top half of each hornplate Maroon down as far first rivet line (both sides).  When the paint is quite set I shall mask off just above the rivet line and spray the remainder black. 

I am getting more accustomed to my spray gun.  I have found I can throttle it right back and build up the paint air brush style.  I used it to spray the tender water lever support right and built up the colour over tens of passes.  I am finding the smaller parts easier than the larger items such as hornplates.

Monday: checked out the Hornplates today, and one is not quite up to scratch.  Rather than spoil the job I shall be lightly rubbing it down and giving it a recoat.

I also gave the spectacle plates their first gloss coat.  Finish is good but not quite thick enough.   The picture right shows darker rings around the holes.  I am coming to the conclusion that two thin coats are the way to go.

Thursday: Gave the spectacle plates their final gloss coat.

Wednesday 11 Aug:  I spent the evening masking up the hornplates in readiness to spray the bottoms black.

The edges I did with low tack masking tape and then blocked in the middle with card.  To make certain that paint does not soak through  I added a layer of newspaper.

I have decided that I want the inside top black to match the inside of the tender and boiler.  This meant that the masking was more complicated than it could of bean.

Saturday 11 September:  Now that kit 11 is out of the way I have turned my attention to fitting the tender accessories. 

Way back in the beginning of June I removed the filler lid, as instructed, and have been working on the filler and lid separately ever since including when I performed my finial trial assembly.  Just before permanently fitting them today I reunited filler and lid and bolted the assembly to the tender.  I was upset to discover that the hinge was tight and that the paint was rubbing off.  The only solution was to remove the filler, and use a file to reprofile the hinge. I will of course have to repaint the lid.
 

Friday 24: While I have not updated the site for a while I have been busy.  The last time the front axle appeared it was green.

Another lesson I had to learn the hard way was to cover the completed items with dust sheets.  I found that the mist from the spray gun can travel a long way and settle on exposed horizontal surfaces - I had to give the tender another final coat!

The painting of the cylinder block is described within the main kit 11 account.

I have now got over the problem with the water filler and fitted all the accessories to the tender. All that remains to be done it to give it a final leak test.