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Most of us have seen these Vietnamese made Lionel autoracks- the biggest offense with these autoracks is the yellow that is supposed to be the subdued TTX mustard yellow, but is more like a highlighter. I decided to try to do a color correction on the NS autorack I bought, instead of sell it.

I disassembled the car- popped the screens out by hand, unscrewed the flatcar section from the body. Vietnamese assemblers had stripped one of the screws that held the truck to the chassis, so I taped it up in preparation for paint. It was easer to keep the roof on the car body and just tape it up for paint.

I used Rustoleum red oxide primer to paint the body. I kept the doors of the autorack on, and just masked the area of the doors painted white. I cut small pieces of tape to cover the reporting marks and information stenciled on the car body- a long and tedious process. I decided the color looked good, so I didn't paint the car body the same color as the chassis.

I was unable to find a spray paint that was close to TTX yellow, so I went to my local craft store and found this inexpensive water- based acrylic paint. I elected to apply it with a brush, since watering it down would have made the color so opaque, it would have required several coats to cover up the bright yellow plastic. It's hard to see in this pic, but the mustard yellow I used does knock down the brightness of the yellow plastic.

After the paint dried, I unmasked the car body and removed the tape strips that covered any lettering. I probably could have done a better job, but it passes from a distance. I will have to touch up the white as well. I admit I did rush the masking process- more time and effort there will yield better results.

I reassembled the car by re-installing the couplers and truck onto the chassis first, before screwing the body to the chassis. Keep track of your screws and c-clips- it was a PITA to do, but I got it done. Overall, I am happy with the overall look of the car.

Geno

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