Question about roll marks

[Dragon88]

On one of my Smiths, the lettering and roll marks have what I assume is grime in them. They are filled in a little and darkened up, though unevenly. Thing is, I don't want to clean it out, I would like to evenly fill in and darken the lettering as it looks really nice against the nickel. What can be used to do this? Of course I don't want anything permanent, just something for presentation purposes. Thanks.

Dan

 

[tlr16]

I dont have a pic with me now but my shop owner puts some grease like on his and mine and it fills in everything gold. They also make some of the same stuff in a maroon color.

 

[john traveler]

There are Brownell's gold and silver fill-in paints used to achieve the effect you want.

What works for me, and is cheap, are the Testor's small bottles of hobby paints used for painting models. You brush on a bit of paint over the rollmarks, give it a couple minutes to dry, and wipe off the excess using a lint-free cloth barely moistened with paint thinner. You may have to experiment a bit to get the drying time right. When it is dry enough, a quick couple of wipes will remove the unwanted paint and leave enough in the rollmarks for nice contrast.

 

[Bob Smalser]

Try a stiff toothbrush and mineral spirits to clean, followed by a wax Crayola crayon or old-fashioned grease pencil in the contrasting color of choice. Just rub it into the lettering and wipe off with a soft towel wrapped around a backing block to level.

 

[Dragon88]

I think there's an old grease pencil in the team room at work, I'll try that tomorrow. Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

 

[Dragon88]

The grease pencil is working out nicely.