Repairing the paint on an EL16 from Roco

31 August 2025 12 min El16 Painting

Introduction

One of the windshield wipers recently fell of my EL16 model. I therefor decided to glue it into place, which unfortunately resulted in some spilled glue down the model. I then tried to gently use a wooden tooth pick to clear of the residual glue, but that unfortunately resulted in damage to the paint job and the running number. Bellow is an image of the damage to the model.

Let's see if it is possible to fix by reapplying some paint! I am quite inexperienced in terms of painting, so I therefor had to do a little bit of research before painting. I found this video from Quick Kits to be quite helpfull.

Finding the correct paint

There is a hobby shop nearby where I live that sell enamel paint from Revell. I therefor went down there to see if I could find any paint that match the model color. The closest I could find was paint number 90, 91 and 99. All of them are metallic paints in different variations.

The one I ended up using was item number 32190, which is the one marked with 90 on it's lid, after I had first tried with number 99. Color number 90 is way to bright for the model, so I had to supplement it with a matte color. Two of the colors I supplemented with was number 75 (item number 32175) and number 78 (item number 32178). I also had to add in a bit of color number 8 (item number 32108). Getting the correct color was not as straight forward as one would think. Read on to find out how I where able to mix an acceptable color with almost the correct shinynes.

Tools

I used the following tools for the paint job.

Revell Painta Luxus 5/0 enamel paint brush

Revell Painta Luxus 5 enamel paint brush

Masking tape

White spirit

Cotton swabs

Screwdriver flat 2 x 50 mm

Plier

Kitchen paper

P1200 Sandpaper

Mixing tray

Smal container

Soldering mat

White spirit is required for cleaning away the enamel paint from the brushes and other tools after you are done painting. It can also be used as a thiner if needed. You do not have to use paint brushes from Revell, but that is what I choose to use since I know it will work well with the paint and that the store I bought them in some time ago recommended them. Same goes for the masking tape. The soldering mat is not required either, but I prefer to have my model on the mat while painting, since its better to spil paint on that matt rather than on the kitchen table. It's also possible to use a plastic bag if you prefer. I used the screwdriver to pop open the lids for the paint.

You might want to use Latex gloves to protect your hands when painting. I choose to not use gloves this time, since I it was easy to hold the locomotive without touching the paint. The kitchen towel worked great for getting the paint of the brush, so I didn't need gloves when cleaning the brushes either. Use gloves if you feel the risk of touching paint is high. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

I used the plier for cuting the masking tape to the correct length. You could just break it of with your hands or use a scissor if you prefer.

First attempt at painting

The first thing I did was to add a bit of masking tape bellow where I was going to paint. The main purpose of the masking tape is to prevent paint from hitting the lights on the model.

The Revell paint must be shaken for 30 seconds before use. You might have to stir it a bit with a tooth pick too, especially the metallic paint, as shaking it might not be enough to properly mix the paint. I decided to not use any thiners, as it's optional when handbrushing. I diped my brush directly in the container with the metalic paint followed by brushing off most of the paint on a piece of kitchen paper. I then applied the residual paint on the model while holding it at an angle with my left hand. I made sure to have both my elbows firmly planted on the table to get as much stability as possible.

Make sure your model is as clean as possible before painting. You might have to brush of your model with a dust brush. You might also have to use a primer. I decided to not use one, as I haven't done any paint removal. The only removed paint is the one that got scraped of by the tooth pick. Bellow is a picture showing the model front after applying the metallic paint number 99.

The paint is way to bright to match up with the rest of the model color, but it's shinynes matches better. The next step I did was to apply some matte grey paint, number 75. I applied the paint without waiting for the metallic paint to dry. The reason for that is that I want the two paints to mix to achive a darker shade for grey. It's probably better to wait for the paint to dry, since it will give a similar effect. Make sure to have a clean brush before using a different color in order to avoid contamination of any of the paints. I did try to mix the two paints beforehand using a pipette, but that didn't work. Bellow is a picture of the model after applying the darker grey paint and before the paint is finished drying.

It's still not perfect, but I personaly think it has improved. I then let the paint to dry over night as the drying time for Revell paint is 8 hours. The next step I did was to apply a new layer of paint number 75. Bellow is a picture of the locomotive front before the paint has dried.

The paint is way to bright after painting, but I hoped that it would darken a bit while cureing. I then had to wait for the paint to cure over night once more. The result unfortunately ended up being way to bright. I therefor used a cotton swab diped in some white spirit to take of all the paint again.

Second attempt at painting

I asked for some advice from some of my railway friends before trying to paint it again. One of the suggestions I got was to use a larger paint brush for mixing the paints beforehand in a mixing tray. I where able to mix it using a large brush followed by applying it to the model with a smaler brush. The bellow image shows the difference in size between the two brushes. The brush to the right was the one used for moving the paint into the mixing tray.

I decided to try to mix one brush of paint number 90 and one brush of paint number 8. I used one brush of each color having the most shiny color in the mixing tray first.

The result was still not dark enough, so I therefor decied to try to paint with two brushes of number 90 and three brushes of number 8.

That mix ended up being way to dark. Bellow is a comparision showing the two different mixes. I will say though that the darker mix is better, as that simply looks like some dirt on the locomotive.

Third attempt at painting

The next step I did was to clean of the paint once more to do yet another attempt at painting. I used three different colors this time. Two brushes of number 90, Two brushes of 75 and lastly one brush of number 8. That gave the bellow color.

The resuliting paint looks like shown in the two bellow images.

It's unfortunatley not perfect, but it's closer thatn previous attempts. Let's do a comparision between this paint and the two other color combinations I tested out.

Enamel paint should always have two coats of paint. I therefor had to let the paint dry over night before applying a second coat of paint. I then used a 1200 grit sandpaper to get a smooth finish. Be aware that sanding can tear of way to much paint, so it should be done very sparingly unless the goal is to remove the paint.

The second coat did not turn out as well as I had hoped for. The shinynes looked good if you pointed a light at it, but it was a bit to dark if you looked straight at the model in normal light. I therefor decided to add another coat where I tried mixing two brushes of number 90, three brushes of number 75 and one brush of 8. That combination was also a bit to dark. I therefor added a new coat where i mixed two brushes off number 90 and two brushes of number 78 after doing some sanding. Bellow is a comparison of the two different paint coats. The third image to the right shows the model after a bit of sanding.

I have decided to not fix the decal for now, since I can live with the running number being partly torn of. I have seen CargoNet locomotives that is missing parts of their running number, so a damaged running number is not that far from reality.

The end result is defintely not perfect, but I sincerly belive that it is the best I will be able to achive without knowning the exact color combination used by Roco.

Final thoughts

It's defintely possible to do light repairs to paint jobs on your locomotives, but it's quite a long process of trial and error as you can see from this article. I have at the time of finishing this article spent almost a week to get an acceptable result. The best way to get a consistent result would be to repaint the entire model, but that would be much more work and you would also have to deal with all the decals. I would therefor say that spending the time doing repaints and painremoval in the damaged spot is a much simpler approach that gives an acceptable result. The key to suceeding with this type of repairwork is to take your time and keep going until you are satisfied with the result.