So today I left the 15th annual Cabin Fever Expo in York, PA lightheaded
because of the engine exhaust fumes but not empty-handed. I've used the
occasion as an excuse to buy myself a mechanical toy in the past but this
time I felt emboldened (or it might just be all the fumes again) and
bought a machined Steam Engine Kit #5 by P.M. Research that requires
assembly.

Now my challenge is to deburr, de-flash and paint the cast parts before I
can begin the assembly. I know that for most of you hardcore machinists in
the group would not consider it a challenge but I haven't done anything
like that before so that'll keep me busy for awhile.

The question naturally arose: "what paint to use?" The young fellow
selling the kit to me was honest and said he's just running the booth
until his dad comes back from lunch. And I badly needed some fresh air and
could not hang around for much longer. The assembly manual says: "Use
proper metal primer" and mentions no actual paint.

So, what would this respectable group recommend for the primer and the
paint? And where do you get it, is this something a mere mortal gets at
Michaels or A.C. Moore - type craft store or is this a special order
paint?

There won't be any actual steam there (compressed air) so there isn't any
high-temperature requirement but I really want to use the right stuff
because I sincerely hope this won't be my last project of this kind. I may
even get around to buying a lathe and a mill at some point in the future
and do a project that requires machining (long shot at this point tho).
That's what visiting a show like this does to people

Also, I've heard/read/seen on TV that (some) metal paint requires baking.
As much fun as it would be to mess with it in a home environment, I don't
think I'm properly equipped for that, so a self-drying paint would be my
preference.

Thanks for any information, tips or comments!

--
DA in PA