Can anyone suggest the best matt black enamel or acrylic paint for brush painting a locomotive, footplate, smokebox and chassis etc.
The main bodywork will be sprayed a suitable colour but don't fancy all the masking to spray the matt black.

A few tips about getting a nice smooth finish would also be helpful.

Thanks.

It's a skill not easily learned, Roy.
Prepping is important.
Thinning will probably be required and more than one coat.
Good brushes, too.

Perhaps experiment on something before committing.

Hi Roy.

For enamels, which I prefer, you should use Humbrol or Revell (preferably Revell given the formers variable quality of late), both of which are suitable for brushing. Railmatch and Precision are more suited to spraying. For brushing thin 10% thinners to paint. Don't mix it until you're ready to start painting.

As Peter has pointed out preparation is everything.Ensure that everything is smooth, clean and dust free. Just before painting I usually wipe the surface with white spirit which gets rid of any remaining grease, after which avoid touching the surface. Those surgical gloves from Boots, etc are handy.

Use good quality brushes which means Sable for a quality finish. They are expensive but they will give you the best results if you take care of them. I use Diana Kolinsky Sables from Daler-Rowney for both my artwork and modelling but if you cannot stretch your budget that far, the Aquafine Synthetic brushes from Daler-Rowney are a very good substitute.

Apply thin coats, brushing in one direction then 'smoothing' across at right-angles using just the tip of the brush, working wet paint back into the previous section.
Don't be tempted to overbrush which will defeat the paints self-levelling and cause brush marks. Apply paint, smooth out and leave it! Don't get tempted to 'dunk' the brush into the paint and try cover it all in one go. pick up paint on about a quarter to a third of the bristles at most.

Aim for as thin a coat as possible and build colour up gradually, allowing at least 24 hours between coats.

Practice on a few pieces of various shapes first until you get a feel for the brushes and how the paint flows with varying paint/thinner ratio's. You'll soon pick it up and be able to achieve a finish close to airbrushing.

Take care of your brushes. Remember, sables are designed for watercolour painting, not enamel. My routine is to dip the bristles into white spirit (dirty stuff is OK for this!) and gently wiping on kitchen roll until no more colour comes off. Dip into clean thinners (Bristles only) for a few seconds. Finally wash it in a solution of washing-up liquid/water alternating with rinsing under the tap (cold not hot water which can loosen the glue holding the bristles!). A final rinse then leave to air dry. It may sound fussy but treat them right and they'll last for years!

Regards

Bill

Hi Roy, I've just done finished painting a loco doing exactly what you are wanting to do. I will be posting the results later this evening on my layout thread. You will be able to see the results by clicking the link under my signature below and going to the last page.

Contrary to many I much prefer acrylics, especially the Games Workshop range. Their 'Chaos Black' has a nice matt finish and will do the job for you. The paint flows beautifully and covers really well and you can thin it easily with a little water.

Hope this helps.