Howdy,
I just picked up a gaggle of some old shurzenwagen metal passenger cars and the metal swiss coaches with the operating doors. These have been sitting in a basement uncovered and have a ton of dust on them. When I say a ton, I mean 40 years worth. What do any of you recommend to clean any of these with? The are also about 10 of the old metal donnerbuchsen that need a good clean-up and some rust removal on the roofs. What is best to remove the rust and is there a solution I could use to neutalize the rust before repainting? Thanks in advance for any advice!!
Ted

I mean the body and not the roof.

Sea,
What type of primer would you recommend for the roofs?
Ted

I second what Thom said on cleaning - I've had good success doing exactly the same. I also use isopropyl alcohol, especially over rusted areas and to get rust off axles - has worked pretty well for me.

I have worked on a 4037 and a couple of 4022/52's I got off ebay - I hand sanded with very fine grit (1000 grit I think) where the bodies were crazed, and then repainted the areas with Testors Model Masters paints, 34079 plus some black, appropriately thinned and then airbrushed. I was able to get an excellent match; I'll try to post a photo tomorrow (have to borrow a camera) and let others be the judge just how close I came. . .

I have repainted roofs, including an old 3rd class thunder box, but I'm not completely satisfied with how those turned out. I sanded off the small amounts of rust down to the bare metal, and painted over that - no rust has reappeared. I'm not happy with the color of one roof, and the texture of the others (tried using Model Master steel and then clearcoated) - I must do more experimenting on this.

Fred

Ok, edited this to attach my first attempt at posting a pic - this is the 4022 whose body I mostly repainted - I masked off the stenciling. The roof is completely repainted, following a photo reference. I'll work on the picture sizing

Edited by user 20 January 2012 00:01:02(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Ted,
Looks my photo took above. Here's the 4037 I partially repainted - looking close under a bright light you can see the color mismatches, but I think it looks like weathering - at least that's my story. It's this roof I wasn't thrilled about on the finish - Model Master aluminum (or steel, I forget which), followed by Dullcote - the finish looks rough in person but it's actually smooth to the touch. (Actually looks pretty good in this photo.) So, at least an example of a minor restoration attempt.

Phred, that is some nice work.

Ted, Thom,
Thanks. Time to find some more old cars in need of repair I think, but next time I'll take "before" pictures to go along with the "after" pics.

Mike,
Really nice job on the 4015 - looks great, and thanks for the tip - I'll look for an equivalent clear zinc coating over here.

Fred

Hi and Welcome to the forum, Neil.