Evening everyone, I just purchased a brass steam locomotive on a Face Book sale page and it arrives tomorrow. It is Japanese in manufacture and was made in 1963. Supposedly has little run time. I had another that I sold a year or so ago and have regretted it ever since so I am looking forward to this one. I've never painted a brass model of any kind and wonder what is the best type of paint for that application? I've painted and continue to build and paint any number of plastic models, trains and planes mostly as well all manner of r/c planes and boats so it's not a new concept but I would like to get this right without a lot of do-over. I'll post some photos of it when it arrives. For now I think I'll go out to the garage and try and straighten out the layout which looks as though a tornado went through. Thanks. Rick H.
Check out Brasstrains.com and their YouTube Channel, Monday Morning Express. They have some videos on painting and servicing brass models, along with their web show that features product reviews and interviews. I own exactly zero brass models, but I am a big fan of their website and channel.
I've personally have had luck with Tamyia spray primer https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/finishing/fine-surface-primer-l/ and use Tru-Color paint after letting it dry for a few days. Best of luck to you on this adventure. Make sure is operates well before you strip it down for paint.
You can’t go wrong with anything that is Tamiya. They make great stuff, even if their paint line is more focused on military models. Most steam locomotives are black, so you basically just have to find the best black or grimy black paint. Tru-color is a solvent based paint, but I prefer to use acrylic paint so I have never tried this brand personally. It is supposed to be good though. Badger makes railroad brand paint, although the bottles can be hit-or-miss. Sometimes they spray fine, other times they are thin and take many coats to get full color. I have had a few bead up and have to be re-painted, so for a basic color like black, you are better off with Tamiya, Tru-color, or model master.
