Repainting Pilot Wheels

[RkyGriz]

Hey guys. I have noticed that the paint(white in this case) has a tendency to wear off rather quickly on Anniversary Edition 4-6-0 pilot wheels. I was thinking of trying to repaint them with some white fingernail polish, as it's very durable. Is this a good idea or is there something better to repaint these with?
On another topic, please check out my Anniversary Edition double heading with the dummy  Anniversary Edition locomotive I bought on Ebay. I went and added a real wood load to the tender of the powered  loco. Please take a look and let me know how you think this looks. It's made out of nearly 300 1 1/8 inch wood sticks that were hand glued on one by one over a styrofoam foundation to simulate a full wood load. I based it on a real 1876 wood burner know as the Inyo, a 4-4-0 locomotive used on the Virginia & Truckee Rail Road between Virginia City, Carson City, and Reno, Nevada from 1876 to 1937 when it was sold to Paramount Pictures Corporation and became a movie, and latter, a TV star. Its'  starring roles included: Red River in 1948 with John Wayne and Montgomery Clift, The Great Locomotive Chase in 1956 with Fess Parker, and The Wild, Wild, West Starring Robert Conrad and Ross Martin. Today, it's at the Nevada State Rail Road Museum in Carson City, Nevada. It has been fully restored and is fully functional. It is ususlly steamed-up once or twice a year( Mostly during Steam-Up which is an annual event held at the museum during the 4th of July Weekend. I am a frequent visitor there as I live in Reno, and I never get tired of visiting with the Inyo and the rest of the equipment that's on display there. Anyway, here is the link to the youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK2KnD5FxKg
Thanks guys! I hope I haven't bored you with my little history of the Inyo!
Andrew

[jviss]

Wow, nice job!  I enjoyed the Inyo history, and you did a great job on the wood load in the tender - looks real!

I think the nail polish is a fine idea, maybe better would be a little jar of the Testors model paint, if it's still available.  It used to be commonly found in retail stores but I haven't seen it for years.

I just looked on eBay and Walmart on line.  The killer is the shipping, of course.  "Testors 1145 Gloss White enamel 1/4oz model paint new," $1.84, plus $3.00 shipping. 

[RkyGriz]

Thanks for your reply,jviss.I went to the local Wally World and found that exact paint, but after talking to my wife and a lady in the cosmetics dept.,I decided to try the nail polish since it dries hard. I'll see how it works, and then give the paint a try if it doesn't. Thank you for the comments on my handiwork and the Inyo's history. I love steam locomotives and rail road history, I find it hard not to get excited over her. She's really a beauty! Here's a link to a youtube  video  taken at Steam Up last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_5TC2h034w Enjoy!