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Terracotta spray paint recommendation

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romiin:
Looking for a terracotta spray paint. I know some of you guys are professionals, and use your own equipment to paint. but I am not ,and I am going to just use a spray can. Does anyone have a recommendation.   I see krylon and ace seem to have a terracotta. I might have to buy a few different ones to see what looks close. Just wondering if some has done this already. If not I will let you know what I find out. Thanks Loco

starfire700:
Lionel Terra Cotta is a difficult color to match with modern paint. It was used by Lionel in the late 1920's to early 30's, so is a lead-based paint. Lead makes the finish stronger, but also gives it a muddy quality. I believe lead was banned from finishes in the 1960's. Modern finishes are difficult to match to lead-based finishes because modern finishes lack that "muddy" quality. Modern spray-can finishes also are more primary type colors or metallics. The best you can do from a can, is take the piece you want to match to a big store like Lowes and match as close as you can to the color on the cap of the can. Auto parts stores should also have a good variety of colors to choose from, but may not have Terra Cotta. Have you ever seen a Terra Cotta Ford or Toyota??? Also, we all know the cap color and patina do not always match the paint color in the can. One way you can achieve a darker or muddy quality to the finish is to first paint with a black, gray or rust-color primer. Experiment with progressively thin to thick coats of your top coat to get close to the desired color.
Another reason you will have a hard time matching original Terra Cotta finish, is that Lionel always applied TC paint by dip-painting, which results in a thick, sometimes uneven finish that can include runs. Spray-painting results in different degrees of "orange peel" patina, depending on thickness and conditions when it is applied. Paints can be special-ordered in cans that can be used with a spray gun. I have never done this, but imagine the cost-factor would require a large minimum order, and your supplier may have the same problems matching a muddy color.

romiin:
 Thanks for that. Sounds like rather than trying to match, might have to paint the whole set. I'm just going to have to experiment. I'll try the black first. I know the local auto parts store will make spray cans with color to match, but like you said matching lead paint isn't the same. Time to play a little bit.

starfire700:
Yes, one alternative is to restore the whole set, then it matches, no matter what color you choose. Red, orange, silver, Blue-Comet blue, are some colors that are relatively easy to match. Black is not as easy as you may think, because the difference between gloss, satin, matte and all the in-betweens can make it hard to match.

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