Painting cork.

[Anonymous]

I have decided to make a small layout on 2 doors that can fold up and store very easly. At first I wasnt going to add any secenery or anything but after visiting the train store I have decided too. I was thinking of covering the entire top surface of the doors with cork, and layign the track over that. I want to then paint roads, grass, and such onto the cork. I at frist was goign to use that roll of grass but that gets way too messy. I figure if I just paint the cork green and then use gray to make the roadways it should prob be pretty easy, pretty clean after it drys so I will never have a mess, and will look pretty good. I think it will give it that "toy" train look. I was wondering if any of you have experance painting cork. Will the cork just soak up the paint? What kind of paint should I use? Do I need to use any kind of primer? Thank you in advance for your help.

[lionelsoni]

I don't know about painting cork; but, if your intention in using it is to make the layout quieter, you might also think about how you will attach the track. There was a pretty clever idea mentioned in CTT some time back, using small (preferably black or brown) cable ties. You drill a clearance hole through the table under the hole in the track tie that you might otherwise use for a screw or nail and stick the cable tie through it from the top. The female end ot the cable tie stops it at the track tie. You then stick the female end of another tie onto the first one, under the table, and cut off the excess pieces. This holds the track down in a resilient way to avoid transmitting vibration through rigid screws or nails.

In your case, you might want to use screws anyway just at the joints between the doors, since alignment of the rails is critical here.

[Anonymous]

Was the reason for useing zip ties to make it quieter or just another way of attaching the track to the table?

[Anonymous]

Yes, you can paint cork. Use Latex paint and apply it fairly heavily, allowing it to thoroughly dry. More than one coat may be necessary because the cork will absorb a lot of that initial coat. However, that first coat seals the surface, making it far easier to apply subsequent coats of paint.

[lionelsoni]

It was to make it quieter. I think it is a pretty clever idea, although I have never tried it--I screw O27 track directly to plywood. For me, the noise is a nostalgic part of the fun. I thought I would mention the tie idea in case your purpose in using cork was to quiet the trains.

[Anonymous]

I will give the zip ties a try.