This question is regarding N scale but could also be HO scale. First of all, what is the best color or brand to use for painting track? Second, can you paint the rails as long as the surface (where the train wheels pick up the current) of the rails remain paint-free?
I never really considered doing this but layout photos in Model Railroader look so realistic when track has been painted.
Medium brown is good, and one of the favourites reported here most often is "Railroad Tie Brown" by Poly Scale. Some fellas just spray it all with Krylon medium brown.
Track is part of your modelling effort, and the more you put into it, the better it looks.
I brush painted all my rail. Took a couple of evenings. I used Floquil rust. It does good things for the looks, including making code 100 look as small as bright and shiny Code 83.
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David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
I use Floquil paint Markers it works good and gives the track a nice look!
By all means, paint your track.
For HO, I use a #4 fine shader brush and Model Master Acryl "Panzer Schokoladebraun", thinned about 50:50 so that it lets streaks of black show through on the ties and leaves gaps in the paint on the rail. It's close enough to a rust color that you can get away with it on the rails themselves.
Go over your railheads with a bright boy or similar cleaner afterwards to restore connectivity with your locos' wheels.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
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upjake This question is regarding N scale but could also be HO scale. First of all, what is the best color or brand to use for painting track?
This question is regarding N scale but could also be HO scale. First of all, what is the best color or brand to use for painting track?
Since prototype rail varies in color, there is no single best color. If you're modeling a contemporary railroad, I'd suggest you go look and see what colors they are. Main track rail seems mostly blackish with brownish (or the opposite) tones to me, while less-frequented spurs tend more to rusty. A lot of rust-colored model paints appear too red to me compared to the prototype. Be your own judge. Regardless, don't paint all rail a uniform color.
I don't believe the brand makes any difference as long as you like the color. You'd think one would need to clean the rail before painting, but I've neither done that nor regretted not doing so.
Best to remove paint before it sets wherever you want electrical contact. My practice is to wipe it off with a paper towel every foot immediately after handpainting that portion of the rail.
Mark
markpierce You'd think one would need to clean the rail before painting, but I've neither done that nor regretted not doing so.
You'd think one would need to clean the rail before painting, but I've neither done that nor regretted not doing so.
I think this is a non-issue if you're fairly regular about cleaning your track. On the other hand, plenty of ties have a little spur of wood sticking up here or there, so if you get some gunk in your paint, that doesn't detract from the realism.
It's been a few years since I last painted track. If I remember correctly I took about 3/4 of a jar of Floquil's rail brown--I had that much around from another project-- and to give the appearance of aging--and rusting--I added about 1/4 of a jar of Floquil's reefer orange and then diluted it down with a few drops of Floquil's reefer white.
To keep the paint from adhering to the top of my rail I treat it with a light coating of petroleum jelly. When my paint is dry I wipe it clean with a cloth and then Brite-Boy it with a vengeance.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
R. T. POTEET To keep the paint from adhering to the top of my rail I treat it with a light coating of petroleum jelly. When my paint is dry I wipe it clean with a cloth and then Brite-Boy it with a vengeance.
That's much, much, too much work for me. Just wipe it off while it is still wet.
markpierce R. T. POTEET To keep the paint from adhering to the top of my rail I treat it with a light coating of petroleum jelly. When my paint is dry I wipe it clean with a cloth and then Brite-Boy it with a vengeance. That's much, much, too much work for me. Just wipe it off while it is still wet. Mark
My layouts have not been exceptionally large so the amount of track to be cleaned after painting is not really that extensive. I suppose that if I had a couple of hundred feet of track I might do something differently like wiping the paint off while still wet. My petroleum jelly method is, admittedly, just a little labor intensive.
Heres a little recipe i learned from one of Dave Frary's scenery how-to books. First, prime the track with Polly Scale Roof Brown. Next, paint the sides of the rails a mix of equal parts Rust and Roof Brown. Tip: do this before you ballast, makes life a LOT easier. After that, heavily dry brush the tops of the rails a mix of two parts Earth to one part Reefer White. As a final touch, hit random ties with black India ink relief washes, and a few other with Floquil's Flo-Stain Oak and Driftwood. looks great even on Atlas code 100 flex track.
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
I agree with Cap'n Gee. Ballast, then paint. If you have ever walked a length of rails that have been spiked in place for more than a few months, you will readily see how rust-stained the plates, ties, and ballast are near the rails. This can only be duplicated, if accuracy is important, by placing the ballast first.
-Crandell
CTValleyRR markpierce You'd think one would need to clean the rail before painting, but I've neither done that nor regretted not doing so. I think this is a non-issue if you're fairly regular about cleaning your track. On the other hand, plenty of ties have a little spur of wood sticking up here or there, so if you get some gunk in your paint, that doesn't detract from the realism.
I was referring to the sides of the rails, where I want the paint to stick permanently.
analog kid Heres a little recipe i learned from one of Dave Frary's scenery how-to books. First, prime the track with Polly Scale Roof Brown. Next, paint the sides of the rails a mix of equal parts Rust and Roof Brown. Tip: do this before you ballast, makes life a LOT easier. After that, heavily dry brush the tops of the rails a mix of two parts Earth to one part Reefer White.
Heres a little recipe i learned from one of Dave Frary's scenery how-to books. First, prime the track with Polly Scale Roof Brown. Next, paint the sides of the rails a mix of equal parts Rust and Roof Brown. Tip: do this before you ballast, makes life a LOT easier. After that, heavily dry brush the tops of the rails a mix of two parts Earth to one part Reefer White.
I presume your locomotives run without obtaining electricity from the rails, or do your paints conduct electricity or is your railroad a static display?
selector I agree with Cap'n Gee. Ballast, then paint. If you have ever walked a length of rails that have been spiked in place for more than a few months, you will readily see how rust-stained the plates, ties, and ballast are near the rails. This can only be duplicated, if accuracy is important, by placing the ballast first. -Crandell
Painting after ballasting can lead to paint on the ballast, an effect I don't want. If desired, a thin wash of paint would be better for coloring ballast. Regardless, whether one paints before or after ballasting, the paint will get on the tie plates and spikes.
I have a slightly different issue when it comes to painting my rails. I am using Micro Engineering code 55 flex track with weathered rail on my layout. The rail is already chemically blackened with a chemical solution that does not inhibit electrical conductivity--I can run trains on the weathered rail no problem without fiirst having to clean the rail tops. However, I am using Atlas code 55 track for my turnouts and the rail is not weathered, so I need a way to get the Atlas rail to match the ME rail. For this, I plan on using an electrical lubricant called Neo-Lube which will blacken the Atlas rails to match the ME rails. I have seen other modelers do this with excellent results. By the way, the reason I selected the weathered rail in the first place is because I am using concrete tie flex track and that would be a bear to paint without getting paint all over the ties. Jamie
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markpierce CTValleyRR markpierce You'd think one would need to clean the rail before painting, but I've neither done that nor regretted not doing so. I think this is a non-issue if you're fairly regular about cleaning your track. On the other hand, plenty of ties have a little spur of wood sticking up here or there, so if you get some gunk in your paint, that doesn't detract from the realism. I was referring to the sides of the rails, where I want the paint to stick permanently.
Actually, I was aware of that. I apologize for being unclear in my answer. I was probably rushing, for whatever reason.
I clean my track weekly or thereabouts with denatured alcohol on a shop towel. I concentrate on the railhead, but I also wipe down between the rails. I did not specifically clean the track just prior to painting. However, occasionally I get a little tuft of dust that doesn't get picked up by the shop towels. If you happened to pick up one of these on your brush, you could just push it down onto the ties.
markpierceanalog kid Heres a little recipe i learned from one of Dave Frary's scenery how-to books. First, prime the track with Polly Scale Roof Brown. Next, paint the sides of the rails a mix of equal parts Rust and Roof Brown. Tip: do this before you ballast, makes life a LOT easier. After that, heavily dry brush the tops of the rails a mix of two parts Earth to one part Reefer White. I presume your locomotives run without obtaining electricity from the rails, or do your paints conduct electricity or is your railroad a static display? Mark
I have the same book, he means the ties. I paint the rails and ties before laying the ballast.
I use Polly Scale DRG&W Freight Car Red for my secondary tracks, and I've started applying a rust wash and grease streak to the ballast.
For my mains, I use Polly Scale Zinc Chromate Primer. Eventually, I'll work the rust wash out to the mains as well.
Nick
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