I build my asphalt roads with Durham's Water Putty, which drives quite hard and doesn't easily chip. It's a light tan color. Then I mix up a water wash of gray craft paint. It might take a couple of coats. I always use straight, plain GRAY paint because it's very repeatable.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I've used a number of different paving materials including Durham's Water Putty which creates a very hard surface. Lately I've had good success with tile grout, both powdered and ready-to-use in a tub. I like it because it has a good long working time but still creates a nice hard surface.
Asphalt can be made as dark or as light as you want and still be realistic. When it is first laid, it's almost pitch black but within a few months will turn charcoal gray. After a year, it has pretty much faded to a light gray. For my roadways I go for the aged look but I have a few parking lots made to look like they were recently paved.
To get the faded look of older asphalt, I initially paint them a medium gray, then apply white weathering powder. After the powder is applied I use a dry paper towel to blend it in. Lastly I create the dark oil streaks down the center of each lane using grimy black, again using a dry paper towel rub to blend it into the surface.
Here are a couple of examples:
Getting back to Durham's Water Putty, one of my earliest paving projects has started to crumble. I spread a thin layer of it directly over foam board, about 1/16". It held up well for a long time but now it needs replacing. The foam board itself is only 1/8" thick and I'm thinking of removing it and repaving directly over the plywood. I'm wondering what techniques others may have used to pave over foam board before I make the decision to remove it.
You'll find several great tutorial ideas for painting asphalt on Luke Towan's YouTube channel.
Hornblower
Has any one used smooth 15lb roofing paper? It is made out of asphalt or similiar already has texture built in it. Actually different either side. Works very well.
Outlaw7 Has any one used smooth 15lb roofing paper? It is made out of asphalt or similiar already has texture built in it. Actually different either side. Works very well.
I see several problems with using something like that. As they absorb moisture, paper products are prone to warping and peeling if they are not glued down firmly. The other problem is that asphalt paving doesn't stay black for very long. Unlike asphalt shingles or tar paper roofing, it fades dramatically within a few years to a light gray. Unless you want to model freshly paved roadways everywhere, I would stay away from anything that is black.
Takes gray paint very well and can also make it look like concrete road. As to water absorbtion I hope my roof doesn't hear.
What I did for the paved area for my industrial area/team track was this: A layer of the same cork sheet used for the rest of the yard. A couple coats of a paint called "Asphalt." (I don't remember what manufacturer is was from. It came from a certain big box store with the 23rd letter of the alphabet through a color card match.) For an expansion area I couldn't get as good of cork so that area got a coat of spackling tofill in all the holes and then was painted with the same asphalt paint. It has gotten some weathering/aging with "Pavement" from Apple Barrrel colors.