Continuing saga of the Lionel 317 bridge...Last question

[traindaddy1]

DJSPANKY:  Thanks .........You got me thinking.

[traindaddy1]

8NTRUCK:  Interesting thought.   Thanks.

After the "Black Friday" surge is over, I'm going to the paint store and look at samples of the various finishes. 

PS ...Talked to the local "sage".  (He knows everything about everything and is not afraid to let you know it) His "advice" is Rust-Oleum Gray Satin Finish Spray.

 

[8ntruck]

I'd lean towards a semi gloss.  To me, that would go with the toy train vibe.

[traindaddy1]

RTRAINCOLLECTOR:  

You know I had considered that option also. 

The Lionel 316 and 317 bridges are identical except for the color and  I do have a 316 already on the layout with its original silver paint.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[rtraincollector]

you could do it in silver also

[traindaddy1]

RALPH:    DAVE632:   Thanks for your suggestions.

ALANK:   Actually, since the bare metal doesn't really look that bad, I had considered doing something along that lines.  My hesitation is that the layout is a traditional postwar O27 with Plasticville accessories. By doing a weathering job, it would be sort-of stepping out of the character (only my opinion) of a toy layout and stepping into a "real scenic" little railroad which someday I just might do.

Thanks, again.    We'll see!

 

[alank]

why not just clear coat the bare metal and give it a weathered look

[Dave632]

I agree a flat paint would look the best.

[Train-O]

An elemental flat, or gray flat finish.

Ralph

[traindaddy1]

Well, I inspected the "aged" gray and discovered that it was a re-paint, not "aged" at all. 

SO, I stripped off all the paint to the bare metal. The result was that the bare metal's color is very close to that of the rails on Lionel's traditional track and really does not look 'bad' at all. 

Now, the question:   Should I desire to do my own re-paint, should the finish be gloss, satin or flat?  (I've asked and received several different opinions. One of my neighbors suggested a metalic finish rather than the three mentioned.)

As always, thanks for your suggestions.