Painting Track

[Daniel A. Mickey]

J. Mika wrote:
>
> I'm beginning to lay track (Atlas Code 100 Flextrack and Mark II switches) and
> would appreciate advice on the best way to apply paint to weather rails and
> ties. I've seen it brushed & sprayed, sometimes with rail & ties different
> colors and othertimes the same. Which colors would be best (for a Chicago area
> shortline)? Also, I've been considering masking the tops of the rails with
> pinstriping tape to avoid sanding off railhead after painting. Even though some
> cleaners are supposed to be gentle (Bright Boy?), the thought of putting any
> scratches on new rail bothers me. Thanks, JM

Here is what I like to do:

I like a gray all-over spray when the track is laid but not yet
ballasted. Individual ties can then be painted brown, and sometimes
greasy. Most of them will be uniform, however. Some nearly black "new"
ties might be present as evidence of recent repairs. Finish with a
diluted black narrow wash down the centerline to represent the grease
drippage from trains. Hand-paint the rails rusty brown on the outside,
and rusty black on the inside; if some of the rust gets onto the
tie-plates, that is good.

For me, how detailed I get depends on how close to the viewer the track
is; track in the background just gets the brown and gray with rusty
rails without too much other fuss.

If you have a little-used spur, it can be rusty all-over; just run the
edge of a hobby knife along the inside top corner after the paint dries
to leave a tiny conductive area to touch the radiused place where the
flange meets the tread on the RP-25 contour.

Spurs where messy commodities are handled can have some of the mess on
the track. (For instance, a place where lime is handled will be full of
lime covering the ties and ballast.)

I can not tell you about specific colors for the Chicago area.

I prefer to use water-base paint instead of solvent-based paint, because
I once had solvent-based paint make the tie strip very brittle so that
the rail wanted to break out of it.

Have lots of fun with this!

Dan Mickey

[J. Mika]

[GSStratton]

I paint flex track before I lay it. Cut a slot in an old manila envelope
a little wider and a little longer than the ties and use it for a mask as
you spray each tie a slightly different color brownish gray in a random
pattern. Hold the flex track so the ends of the ties are pointed at the
nozzle of the air brush while you spray the rails with some dirty rust
color. After the track has been glued down touch up the little shiny
spots of metal exposed by flexxing the track. Most likely touch up will
be required where wires are soldered to the rail anyway. For good
electrical contact the top of the rails must be cleaned up either with sme
fine abrasive like 600 grit paper or with a lacquer solvent if the paint
job is very recent and complete curing hasn't occured. If you are
interested in realistic trackwork you might want to compare several brands
of flex track and other codes.
gilpingil

[Paul Klinger]

I oil the tops of the track with ordinary 3-in-1 oil (to prevent paint
from sticking), then spray from a distance with rust-colored
spray Krylon primer. Don't overdo it - just a light misty spray
will do. After the paint dries, wipe off the tops of the rails
Paul Klinger

"Daniel A. Mickey" <dmic...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

>Here is what I like to do:

[Lawrence Boul]

>>> I'm beginning to lay track (Atlas Code 100 Flextrack and Mark II switches)
and
>>> would appreciate advice on the best way to apply paint to weather rails
and
>>> ties. I've seen it brushed & sprayed, sometimes with rail & ties different
>>> colors and othertimes the same. Which colors would be best (for a Chicago
area
>>> shortline)? Also, I've been considering masking the tops of the rails with
>>> pinstriping tape to avoid sanding off railhead after painting. Even though
some
>>> cleaners are supposed to be gentle (Bright Boy?), the thought of putting
any
>>> scratches on new rail bothers me. Thanks, JM
>

Painting is OK but my experience is that paint tends to flake off rail even if
the surface is well prepared. I now use liquid gun blue to chemically blacken
the rail. this is pretty quick to do, just clean the rail (using a solvent
or abrasive, and dunk in the blue for a few seconds- then wash with water. I
handlay my track so I am dealing with rail only). The resulting colour is
brownish. If this is not to your taste, you can paint over the top. At least
then if the paint flakes off you have the darkened n/s underneath rather than
a shiney surface.

Lawrence

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Disclaimer: The above is a personal opinion and does not reflect the
official view of AgResearch Ltd.
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