track "weathering"

[initagain]

 

In some past threads, there have been pictures of some really incredible layouts, with scenery done "to the nines".  What caught my eye was the "weathering" of the track.  I'm an old-fashioned three-rail tubular track type of guy, and I'm sure that some of the layouts used this style of track.  What is the best way to give it that sort of "rusty" appearance.  Any suggestions?  And please don't recommend leaving it outside in the rain or snow for a couple of years.  Thanks in advance.

 

[Dave Connolly]

 There are a number of ways. You can use markers, paint by hand or use a form of spray. My own layouts trackwork was down for years and already ballasted. Many areas were a difficult reach. I ended up using an airbrush and a piece of cardboard to catch the overspray. I cleaned the rails of oil and would work on about 4 feet of track at a time. I shot the sides of the rails with Poly S  DRG&W Brown. I would then shoot straight down with some Grimy Black. You will end up with paint on the ballast as well. Not a heavy coat and it should look like ballast that has seen some use with oil stains and such. Then I would wipe down the tops of the rails. If your track isn't laid you have a few more options. You can find some spray bombs with the correct color. The key is choosing a more brownish color rather than the orange tone thats in most model paints.

[johnandjulie13]

I will second Mr. Connolly's suggestion.  I used the DRG&W brown to great effect, it really looks like rusted rail.  As Dave suggests, do not paint too big of a section at a time, otherwise you will find it becomes a little more difficult to remove the paint from the top of the rails.  I had to go through that experience to learn that unfortunate lesson.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Regards,

John

[Joe Hohmann]

I've used the paint "felt tip" pens on Gargraves for module sections. I would think weathering would contradict the reason for having "tinplate" track in the first place...ie. the classic/traditional  look. Joe

[asch]

I also use three rail tubular track. I added over 5000 hand made wood ties on my layout but did not weather the track...big mistake! One mynext layout the track will be weathered. I have done a few pieces of track by first spraying / wiping the rails with WD40. I then spray the whole section with red primer,making sure to get the insides and outsides of all the rails. Next I spray flat black straight down. I then slightly mist a coat of brown and a coat of grey to finish the process. I will mix the colors sightly depending on the track use (ie: the coal mine tracks will have more black and the yard tracks will be more rusted and grey overcoated.) when I finish the painting, while the paint is still tacky, I wipe the track with a clothe soaked with paint thinner. I then clean the top of the rails with a sanding block and add another coat of WD40, wiping it clean also.I found this keeps my track from rusting.

Hope this helps

Andy  

[chuck]

This is probably the easiest/fastest way for tubular track:

I've tried round sable brushes and even airbrushing.  Airbrushing gives a nice effect bit the prep time to avoid overspray adds up.

There is also a mini paint roller:

http://www.joesmodeltrains.com/news.htm