Painting Brass Model Trains

While we retired the painting side of our business in January 2024, there's still a very strong need in this hobby for a true professional to demonstrate the best ways to do this kind of work SAFELY in 2026 and beyond. There are plenty of poor examples of how to do this on social media, YouTube, hobby publications, and various websites. Frankly, y'all deserve better than that. I learned from true professionals. Then I took my expertise to Korea where I taught professional painting and set up the factory paint shop at Ajin Precision Manufacturing. As my students in Korean learned, there's simply no replacement for real expertise in this field. If y'all want YOUR paint results to be as good as the factory painting coming from Korea, then please follow along. Eventually, if you're detail oriented and process minded, you should be able to get there too!

I'm pulling content from some of my Facebook presentations to show how we did painting in our shop, in the hopes that some of these lessons will help others to create far better results in the future. At the outset, if you're interested in learning how to paint brass models, the most important part of doing this work is STAYING SAFE TO PROTECT YOUR GOOD HEALTH. That is 100% up to you.

To give you a good head start towards the SAFETY part of the equation, I'm inserting a few links from our LINKS page. These presentations are key to staying safe in your own home or work shop. Taking short-cuts here should be avoided. Your good health can be easily compromised by the primers, paints, chemicals, processes and tools involved in brass model painting. Our hobby has lost dozens of great model painters due to safety complacency. They're not here anymore, so don't be like them. Instead, be more like me. I've painted thousands of brass models and at 67 years, still enjoy a happy, healthy life. To that end, here's your recommended starting point...

Click on Paint Spray Booth Safety to access my complete presentation on this topic. Briefly, using those tiny, inexpensive fold-up paint spray booths is just a BAD idea. A paint spray booth is NOT a convenience; it's a SAFETY device. If it isn't large enough to capture paint overspray, if it doesn't have a filter large enough to grab all of that overspray, and if you're not changing the filter FREQUENTLY—then you are breathing in paint mist and chemicals that can KILL YOU. Please don't do that. Before you buy your next brass model (or two or three) invest in a GREAT paint spray booth that will both protect your health AND give you much better paint results. For serious amateurs we highly recommend the Pace Industries 36-Inch Deluxe Paint Booth available HERE. If you're a true pro shop needing something larger, you can go wrong with the spray booths available from the Paasche Airbrush Company by clicking HERE.

The top of this page shows yours truly wearing a 3M paint mask with fresh paint filters. Click on PAINT MASK SAFETY to access my complete presentation on this topic. If clogged spray booth filters and poor air flow are bad for you, then wearing a paint mask with EXPIRED paint filters is WORSE for your health. Those filters begin to expire the instant the bag is opened. If you bought a paint mask and haven't used it in a few months (or longer) then THROW AWAY those original paint filters. Then buy and install fresh ones. Keeping the filters inside a sealed plastic bag helps to keep the fresh. We recommend using them for one (1) month maximum. Then throw them away. Have extras on hand. Don't open the bag until you're ready for another pa9int session. Step and repeat. YOUR good health depends on YOU having and using a process to stay safe.

To get professional results when painting brass model trains y'all need to understand that you're painting METAL. Metal is very different than plastic. Metal must be prepared properly before trying to prime or paint it. Or the primers and paints won't stick. And since most brass models have been over-sprayed with a clear lacquer to keep the bare brass from tarnishing, before you can do ANY soldering repairs the clear coat needs to be removed too. The best way to prep brass for soldering repairs, primers and paints is to first, grit-blast the brass parts inside of a blast booth that includes a matching vacuum system to vent particulate matter to the outside atmosphere. There are also important considerations for your air supply. Click on GRIT-BLASTING TOOLS and SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS to access my complete presentation on this topic.

Having painted models for some of the best-known model railroaders in the world, we understand what these kinds of customers want from a professional paint job. These two models were done for Francois Pinault. Plain old custom painting won't do here. Anyone can call themselves a custom painter. The real question is, if you're the one painting models for clients, are you using professional processes to guarantee professional results, models that look great, and run PERFECT ? These very rare Climax models run perfect AFTER being painted. That's the acid test. Our position in this space affords us the luxury of receiving LOTS of work to re-do, work that was done by other custom painters, and then their client called us to re-do or repair what wasn't done properly in the first place. If you think you're getting another project from a high-end client after messing up the first project—think again. Our goal with this page is to help everyone to get better results whether or not you're painting for clients. YOUR task, is to ascend to a higher level of brass model train acumen and paint competency. Failing that (and that's OK if you choose to stay at your current level of ability) then you will remain at a "custom paint" level of service. Pro-level is different.

Here's a factory-painted model that I weathered for perhaps the most-capable (and most-particular) importer of all time: Bill McKown of W&R Enterprises. Bill's review of this model on receipt netted this response: "Well, I have to admit that I finally found someone who does better weathering than I do. The model is absolutely superb! It looks exactly the way the prototype looked. You nailed it right on the head. Congratulations from the person who is probably the most particular customer you will ever have. Thanks a million!" The fact of the matter is that Bill was the most particular customer I ever had. He sent me a dozen images and 3 pages of instructions for every model I ever worked on for him. That was Bill's way, and he sent me dozens of models to weather for him.

The point of this image is to stress that if you want to get to a higher level of capability and competence, then y'all need to open your mind, take advice, and try new things. Otherwise, guess what? Everything stays the same as it is right now. I was lucky when I was young, getting to learn from lots of old heads who knew what they were talking about. Now, it's my turn to do the talking, and since I know lots of other shops are reading this, any flak I receive will be well worth it since I already know my communications are improving results in many paint shops throughout the USA. If you hadn't thought about it up to this point, consider that you might be able to do the same thing one day (my hope) if you apply yourself and learn to take advice from someone who knows the highs and lows of this profession. If you embrace constant learning, you'll be aces on this stuff too—likely in a shorter amount of time than what I endured (decades).

STOPPING POINT FOR NOW.

FYI—As of June 1st, 2026, this page is currently a work in-progress. As time permits, I will continue to add to this page. Expect a great deal more information. But if you have a question in the short term, drop us an email through our CONTACT US page and we'll get back to you soon as we can. We wish you the best success painting your own brass models. It's WAY MORE fun when the results are stellar.

Strive for stellar. That's our advice.

Cheers!

Jeff Lemke