Western Railroad Discussion > Progress report on the painting of SP #1006 at OERM

The two photos included show the SP #1006 as it looked today. All of the old primer has been sanded out,  The contractor is scheduled to spray on the fresh primer late today and finish tomorrow. Then they will sand the primer again and apply Bondo anywhere small dents appear. Dave and Tim will apply the base paint next week for lettering number and stripes.

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I would recommend using All Metal rather than Bondo. All Metal will expand and contract with the steel and is less prone to cracking. Bondo expands and contracts at a different rate an d tends to crack. I know from experience with my private car.

Posted from Android

Interesting to see that the SW1 shell is a white metal casting rather than one of those cheap black plastic things... ;^)

px320 Wrote:
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> I would recommend using All Metal rather than
> Bondo. All Metal will expand and contract with the
> steel and is less prone to cracking. Bondo expands
> and contracts at a different rate an d tends to
> crack. I know from experience with my private car.
>
>
> Posted from Android

Bondo or ever what the brand of filler is if good brand wont do what you say it will.  The problems come when applied too thick, surface not prepared properly and items like that. I know for a fact as used it on light aircraft years back along with cars and trucks over the years. All problems that I have seen were from how it was applied only.  Have seen many backyard jobs fail for those reasons mentioned.  Like paint if that engine was left in bare metal very long, hours in some cases due to humidity it will rust causing paint adhesion problems even a hand print touching it will cause problems.

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
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> Interesting to see that the SW1 shell is a white
> metal casting rather than one of those cheap black
> plastic things... ;^)

Good one, Evan.  LOL

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Like Stan posted, I have used the best products of Plastic body filler that are available and it still cracked on my private car. I started using a base coated of JB metal repair and then a layer of bondo over that to fill in the small holes and have not had anymore problems. I am currently painting the WP1503 at Portola. I'm using Imron non sanding primer and paint. I don't want to sand an engine twice.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/19 08:47 by 1ST_OUT.

If this locomotive were being restored to go back into  yard and local service for which it was originally built and would be operating on secondary track and be banging into cars for shunting, Then I would more concerned about the Bondo being a problem! Rather it will be moving at 10 to 15 miles per hour operating on our main line with passenger cars for the rest of its functional life. FYI, when SP #1774 was repainted back into its original  orange and black colors back in 1981 it was treated to much Bondo patching around it cab do to years of "rough handling". I was there when Dale, who worked on cars, applied the patches. None of those areas have shown any signs of deterioration. We are pretty easy on our equipment! SP #1006 is in good hands, but thank you for your concerns!

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
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> Interesting to see that the SW1 shell is a white
> metal casting rather than one of those cheap black
> plastic things... ;^)

Hobbytown of Boston kit!

I had a Hobbytown RS-3 back in 1973-74 right after I got out of the service. I remember it was heavy, noisy and required a lot of power, but it was smooth!