oldravendale
Western Thunderer
Is Brian going to weather it?
NO!!!!!
Mick - Just superb. I will use it, 'cause that's what I do, but it really deserves to be in a glass case.
Warren - lovely paint job too.
Brian
Is Brian going to weather it?
And they are bloody huge.
B
Cotton sheets is good,
By popular request the etch wheel overlays have been revisited and the latest incarnation has just landed.
My thanks to the folks at Finney7 for the surprise package in the post. The missing tender chassis parts and castings have duly been added to the rest of the boxed kit. Other than the fact that I've got lots of unfinished other projects to crack on with, I'm running out of excuses not to at least start the Bulleid tender.
Despite spending most of the day musing over toys bought at Telford, I did achieve some progress on the BLP.
All of the wheels were cleaned before the show, yet four days later they were beginning to rust badly, so I had to do something about it, blackening was the answer and with results bordering on marginal before, I set about the task again.
This time was slightly different, instead of applying the solution neat with a cotton bud I dropped them completely in a diluted solution, no idea of the ratio but 5:1 - 6:1 or something. Anyway, peering into the tub they started to darken and at a given moment I pulled them out and dried them.
At this point they continued to darken rapidly and then develop a greenish brown fur which when rubbed started to expose the bright metal underneath. So a quick wash in warm water and a clean with cloth I was back to the start with moderately darkened wheels. Strangely the wash in water enriched the colour and seemed to make the processed items more durable.
The second attempt was slightly different, observing what had gone on before, it appears that the darkening process really takes hold once the item is exposed to air after it's bath and then firms up when washed with water. So into the blackening solution bath they went again and this time removed out onto a paper towel to get rid of most of the excess water. Then it was straight into another bowl of clean water, where they sat for a few minutes whilst I prepared the final stage.
Final stage was to squirt some oil onto a surface and liberally coat a cotton bud with said oil, removing the wheels from the water, a quick dry and gentle rub followed by a good drubbing of oil. This I left for five minutes before wiping the excess off and refitted to the axles, also treated the same way.
View attachment 58740
Et voila, black wheels and axles, finally!
The treads need a little polish but I'll leave that until right at the end, so as to preserve the darkening layer for as long as possible; the thin layer of oil makes for a superb dust magnet
I'll do the driving wheels tomorrow and think about applying some brass blackening to the brass boss to tone it down, that'll have to be the cotton bud method but I have a plan I'll try that replicates the above minus the bath affair.
So, what was today's lesson, dilute your blacking agent, do not expose the component to the atmosphere with the agent on for too long (max 20-30 seconds) before soaking in water, apply a protective layer (oil) as soon as washed and dry.
We'll see if these last a little longer before corrosion sets in.
MD
Hi Mick,
Out of interest, how well has your wheel blackening process stopped the dreaded Slaters wheel rust developing over time? Anything you'd do differently after a year or so has passed?