Painting vehicle exteriors

In this example of  the work involved in a repaint we study  two DMCs (51568 / 52053) that were repainted at the East Anglian Railway Museum before they went on hire to the Keith & Dufftown Railway.

Note that the work involved will differ between various vehicles and the paint types used.

Thanks are due to Diesel Unit Preservation Associates for allowing this feature. Pictures courtesy of Stuart Mackay, Juliet Nicholas and Lawrence Beeching. 

Sanding
Random orbital sanders are recommended for this. Here we used air operated ones with 60 grit self adhesive backed discs, which made for easy changing. Care has to be taken to ensure that the white lining and it's adhesive is properly removed. The vehicle was then washed with a hose.

Prime
The vehicle was then given a coat of red oxide primer. Although etch primer should be used on alloy, there was not much exposed metal and where it was it was well keyed.

Fill
The purpose of the primer in this case is to provide an even surface to show where filling is required.

Sanding
The vehicle was then sanded again with finer discs, this time 180 grit was used.

Research
Often when sanding you will come across areas that will end up looking something like the picture below. From these you can tell all the liveries the vehicle was painted in from new, how many times it was painted, the shades of colours used, the exact position of lining and whether it had a black edge, etc.

Continued on page two