Good Evening,
I have a layout of all O27 track and switches. I want to paint up the track for more of a hi-rail look. I have hand made all of my own track ties from 1/8' balsa, and painted those up black. I want to know what I can do to create a "blackened" third rail like Gargraves. I was thinking a rust-colored paint marker for the outer two rails. I'm just not certain what to use for the inside "hot" rail. Any advice or suggestions would be awesome. Thank you.
The only must do here is to keep the top of the rails clean and shiny. That also goes for the track pins and open ends. Any way you want to paint them is ok. A paint marker, brush or spray can. Just clean the top of the rails when you finish. Oh yea of course the track must be clean too, before you paint.
"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks
Charter Member- Tardis Train Crew (TTC) - Detroit3railers- Detroit Historical society Glancy Modular trains- Charter member BTTS
before you weather the 3rd rail, you might want to try pretreating with Blacken-It.
You might even try Gun Bluing. It will darken the rail but won't insulate it from the electric current. There is a kit made by Birchwood Casey that is easy to use. They also make a product to darken brass Brass Black
I have seen a great tutorial on You Tube for doing this with Lionel FasTrack. I have not done it myself but it appears to be somewhat easy. I believe the one I watched used diluted black paint for the center rail sides and a rust look for the outer rail sides. As SJ pointed out, make sure you keep the tops of your rails clean. If you search You Tube, I'm sure you will find it. You could also search the forum here and probably find some information as well. I’m sure this topic has come up before in a thread. If you haven't seen it, there is a "Search Our Community" box on the right of your screen.
Joe
This is no help with tubular track; but I thought you all might be interested in what a two-rail fanatic I once knew did: He went to the trouble of electroplating brass rail with iron, rusted it, then ground the rust and iron off the top of the rail head.
Bob Nelson
PhilaKnight You might even try Gun Bluing. It will darken the rail but won't insulate it from the electric current. There is a kit made by Birchwood Casey that is easy to use. They also make a product to darken brass Brass Black
Works well.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
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