Accucraft Edrig painting question

[Stuart51]

Hello!

My first post on here, I have recently acquired a second hand edrig from accucraft for what I hope will be the first locomotive of our new garden railway in the coming years. It has a few scratches on the smoke box door as shown in the photo. I was just wondering if I could get some advice on the best way to approach fixing this as I have never painted a live steam loco before and of course don’t want to muck it up!

Thank you!

Stuart

[Old Man Aaron]

Welcome to the forum!
That's some substantial paint mangling you have..

Sanding the damaged areas smooth would be your best bet. Make sure you clean the entire smokebox extremely well. Paint won't stick to an oily surface.

Then mask off the rest of the loco with low-tackiness masking tape - also known as "painter's tape".

Use a high-temperature black spray paint from the car parts shop. Engine enamel or exhaust paint - Just be sure it's glossy!
If you've never used spray paint before, it pays to practise on some packaging etc. from the rubbish bin.

I'm sure you'll hear from others less sleep-deprived soon.

Good luck!

[Stuart51]

Hello Aaron,

Thank you so much! would you spray paint the whole smokebox?

Thank you

Stuart

[Old Man Aaron]

Happy to help, I really enjoy painting and do a lot of it.

I'd say yes, you'll end up with a more consistent finish if you paint the whole smokebox and chimney.

Thinking about it in the morning now, I'd strongly recommend you remove the smokebox from the loco before working on it.
Paint won't stick to oil, and Accucraft engines are notoriously oily around the front end. You'll be surprised at how much you'll find seeped between the smokebox and footplate, for example.

Use a strong degreaser (again, car parts shops etc.) to dissolve the bulk of the oil, then wipe it down with meths on a rag to get it 100% oil-free.

Then give it a sand till it's dull across everywhere you can reach, wipe again with a new meths-soaked rag, let it dry and give it a coat of paint.

[Old Man Aaron]

Oh, I should add - check the instructions on the high-temperature paint can. Most require baking in an oven to dry properly. It will stink, so get it done before it's too cold to ventilate the house!

Engine enamel (intended for hot oily car engines) is the paint to use.

[Stuart51]

Thank you for all of this, really good advice i would have never known!

re the smoke box, are these easy things to remove from accucraft locos?

Thanks again for all your help!

Stuart

[Old Man Aaron]

I've never owned an Edrig.

I suspect there's a Summerlands Chuffer install video on youtube, showing how to remove an Edrig smokebox..

Failing that, just start removing screws from the front end until you work it out. These little engines are usually simple enough to work on.

[Stuart51]

Thank you ill look into that, thank you for all your help!

Stuart