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raynerd:
Arnold, sorry to get in late, caught up in my own build. It looks really lovely! And the transparent steam chest cover looks great!!

Chris

madjackghengis:
Hi Arnold, I went back a bit, over your post on acount of your mentioning the dissatisfaction with the paint and the column, and reasured myself it was aluminum. My time in the Marines, working on aircraft, taught me to use the paints designed for aluminum, as they are concocted to deal with the fact that aluminum oxidizes on contact with air, and for paint to do well, it must address the oxidation. We used an alodyne solution, which is now in paint meant for aluminum, because it etches into the oxide, and makes for a smooth coat which adheres very strongly and gives a consistent film thickness. It makes all the difference between having rattle can paint with runs, and a smooth coat that looks professionally applied. The colors you selected offset well with the iron flywheel, all painted up, and the brass and bronze fitments, the engine looks and runs very nicely, and very well controlled. :beer: Cheers, Jack

arnoldb:
Thanks Gents :beer:

John, that's a beautiful job you did on the mine engine :bow: ; I've seen photos of it but never actually realised you added reversing and ball races to it! And I like the bling :thumbup:.

I'll also slowly start to add more bling to some of my engines; up to now it was hard enough just to build them to actually work. The building is getting easier and the tool finishes better, so it's slowly becoming possible for me to add the additional eye candy; there's something new to learn with each engine. Its also getting easier for me to visualise all the parts and how they fit together before I make them; and I think that contributes a lot to making less booboos and to think how I'd like the engine to look when done. This one actually came out pretty close to how I wanted it to look before I even started it :D.

Cheers Jack :beer: - the column is actually a bit of hot-rolled 10mm flat bar that I cleaned up, same as the base. I just could not get the same near-mirror finish on its paint though. Both received the same treatment of primer - flatted down with emery and more primer till it looked good to me. The blue rattle can did a good job on the base; about three thin coats that it added evenly and flowed together easily, but when I started on the column, it just gave me sputters on thin coats and orange peel on slightly thicker ones. And on a single thick coat, it ran. I made sure to clean out the nozzle after each application. So for future painting, I'll rather try out the airbrush with multiple thin finishing coats that I can mix up as I like. Paintwork is all new to me, so I'll be experimenting a lot :lol:

Kind regards, Arnold

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