Model Railroading > Cleaning & Painting Rusty Handrails

Hello Everyone:

I have an old Athearn blue box kit of 3 tank cars.  All of the metal the handrails are rusty.  Do I need to clean off the rust (using CLR or something else?) before painting them or will model paint adhere to rust?  Also, does anyone know what size drill bit to use to drill through the handrail mouniting points - only 1 of 4 is open to allow the handrails to pass through - otherwise they're too long and the rails are off the tank sides.  I suppose I could clip them to size but I think their length inside the tank body helps to hold them in place.

Thanks in advance,

SkokieSwift



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/24 07:58 by skokieswift.

Two of the most-often used tools I have owned for decades are a dial calliper and a drill index for No. 60-80 drill bits.
If you car were in my shop, in less time than it takes to type this in I would have measured the diameter of the wire and selected a clearance (say 0.003" oversize) drill bit.
One thing to watch for on older cars like that is that the ends of the wire pieces have burrs on the end due to the factory shearing process.  
So add one more tool, a small, fine tooth flat file.
I think the chemistry of any paint will work with rust but you may want to try and knock down the larger rust areas with some fine sandpaper.
Show us your work when you can.

Thank you for the information.  Right after I posted that my first thought was that I need to get educated on drill bit and wire sizes etc and probably get some tools to help with that.

Thanks,

SkokieSwift

Steel wool will remove the rust from the handrail wire very quickly.