Thanks for the suggestion, Larry. I used that method to paint the cylinder wrappers on both the Black 5 and the Ivatt tank, using satin black to take the lining transfers.
Phew! Some fairly major recovery work has been achieved. I was re-assembling the chassis after basic painting and was struggling to get the cylinder/valvegear sub-assembly to fit on to the frames. Thinking that paint was causing the problem by reducing clearance in the locating slots and between frames and spacers, I forced the unit down into position with quite a bit of force. Oh no! Some of the rods had got trapped and become bent in two planes and also twisted in the case of the RH radius rod. My initial reaction was of total dismay at all that work ruined. However, having calmed down a bit, I set about trying to rectify the situation. Careful bending with tweezers and flattening between the jaws of some small pliers has resulted in acceptably straight rods and free movement. The paint's taken a bit of a battering, so some serious touching up is in order.
I think my heart rate has just about returned to normal, now.
Finished result:
Needless to say, after the straightening session, I was extremely careful on the second re-assembly and the whole thing slid together quite easily.
On looking at the photos, I see that the LH eccentric rod still looks slightly bent and this has now been rectified.
Dave.