The Right Time To Weather Track

[Anonymous]

Hello Everyone,

First I want to thank you all for your response to my airbrush question.
With that out of the way now my next question is... When is the proper time to weather track? Should I weather it before I lay it or after it is all layed and nailed down? Is there any cleanup of the rails needed after it is weathered and any precautions needed in weathering turnouts.
I'm using Peco code 80 Flex track and Peco turnouts insul frog. Does anyone have a color mix that they find in weathering track work best to give it that old rust like look?
Thank you all in advance for your time with this. Everyone here has been great in helping me.

Louie

[cwclark]

I i would weather the track after it has been layed...the reason is that if you weather the track before you set it , all the ties will move just enough that there will be little unpainted spots on the rail where the track ties and plates where located before you manipulated the rails getting them into place....the colors i use are floquil rail rust and roof brown mixed intermitently and grimy black for the ties...also, don't paint the points of the turnout unless you do it with a small paintbrush and very carefully, paint in the joints of the moving part of the points can cause the points to stick and it can also insulate the rail causing a loss of current on the closure rails (the rail the points touch)....after you weather the rail, don't forget to use a bright boy to clean the tops of the rail real good...Chuck[:D]

[Anonymous]

you could save yourself some time and buy some pre-weathered Micro Engineering Track.

Jay

[darth9x9]

PAINT - the track first (before scenery, before ballast)
WEATHER - the last thing you should do.

Don't forget that weathering also needs to be done to the ballast so it is best to be done last.

[dknelson]

On the other hand if you do not have adequate ventilation in your basement or attic or layout room it may be safer to weather the track outside. Yes there will be little silvery spots and yes the ballast weathering won't match the track very well but safety first.
Dave Nelson

[IRONROOSTER]

My recommendation is to lay the track first and get it wired and operational. Paint can interfere with wiring and flexing. I bought some pre weathered flex rack which I haven't used because it is too difficult to curve - I'm saving it for some straight sections.
Enjoy
Paul

[KK4EJ-Randy]

I prefer to get everything down, wired and even operate some before painting, that way if you want to make changes its easier and alot less work if you have to rewire. Then when your happy, paint and do some weathering, a airbrush makes it fast, and then ballast and scenery. You can always go back and add touch up weathering later, adding things like oil spills, streaks, and spilled load ( coal, etc ).

Some people even use spray cans to get the basic color, but always remember safety first! And clean the rail tops.......

Randy

[Anonymous]

I have a layout and I work on three other layouts. In my case, I first added feeder wires to the rail, then painted some of them with an air brush before I laid them - these are track only to be used on the straight away. Adding feeders then trying to curve flex track can be difficult so the curved track was left unweathered and painted until I had them installed (which I now do). I will then hand paint them (more of a pain) because I already have my backdrop in and don't want to risk paint - from air brushing - landing on it.

I use a bright boy to clean the top of the rail. I'm not a Bright Boy fan but will use it that once to get paint off. Add masking tape, very tiny slim strips to the point areas of the turnouts.