Looking for suggestions on what to use to apply road striping to curves on WS Smooth It road surfaces painted with asphalt top coat. Dry transfer lines are the easiest with cleanest results for straight sections but not possible for curves.
I tried using the WS flexible guide and stiping pens but frankly was a total waste of money. The nib is narrower than 1/16", it doesn't transfer paint evenly and tended to smear using the flex guide. And you better plan on doing all the striping you need in one session because, as I found out, even cleaning the tip before putting the cap back on doesn't prevent the paint inside the nib from drying/setting up = one time use only.
On my pre-retirement layout my roads were bristol board mounted to cork roadbed where I painted the center of the road yellow, put down 1/16" striping tape over the yellow paint, brush painted over the entire road with Floquil concrete color and when dry pulled up the tape which left a clean yellow center line. But as I've found out pulling up the tape on a Smooth It road pulls the yellow under coat in places.
So...... suggestions please!
Over50 Looking for suggestions on what to use to apply road striping to curves on WS Smooth It road surfaces painted with asphalt top coat. Dry transfer lines are the easiest with cleanest results for straight sections but not possible for curves. I tried using the WS flexible guide and stiping pens but frankly was a total waste of money. The nib is narrower than 1/16", it doesn't transfer paint evenly and tended to smear using the flex guide. And you better plan on doing all the striping you need in one session because, as I found out, even cleaning the tip before putting the cap back on doesn't prevent the paint inside the nib from drying/setting up = one time use only. On my pre-retirement layout my roads were bristol board mounted to cork roadbed where I painted the center of the road yellow, put down 1/16" striping tape over the yellow paint, brush painted over the entire road with Floquil concrete color and when dry pulled up the tape which left a clean yellow center line. But as I've found out pulling up the tape on a Smooth It road pulls the yellow under coat in places. So...... suggestions please!
At my LHS, they sell a sheet of white and yellow road stripes. Basically a self adhesive paper label which is laser cut so that you can take each stripe (about 1/16 in) off. it has enough flexibility to taken curves. I have done at least 12" radius curve on my last layout. I think the product mentioned in the above post will be similar
See this: pretty decent ability to curve.
I use a white gel pen for mine.
The pens, which I get from a craft store, come in multiple colors. I do my roads with Durham's Water Putty and paint them with a wash of gray craft paint, so it's easy to touch up the edges of the lines if I make a mistake.
I use a ruler for the straight lines but I've got a French curve for the curves.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Get a hank of embroider's thread, carefully lay it where you want it, spot glue it to hold it while you are working with it. Duco cement works good on most surfaces, maybe Elmer's glue will do too. When you have it all laid out run a thin bead of Elmer's around the entire length to seal it into place.
LION has not tried this quite like this yet, but him did use 1/4" thick ribbon glued to the edge of the passenger platforms to emulate the textured warning track.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
1/16 Automotive Pin-stripe tape...comes in a lot of colors. It is Vinyl, will bend and stretch and sticks to almost anything. Auto-Zone carry's it.
Take Care!
Frank
The black fuel tank straps on this tractor are Automotive pin-stripes.
The real one...My 69 White Freightliner...the model is a Athearn kit bash.
Co-owner of the proposed CT River Valley RR (HO scale) http://home.comcast.net/~docinct/CTRiverValleyRR/
Thanks to all for taking time to comment - many options to consider (and why I asked here)! Knowing what I know now I would have skipped the WS Smooth It but will make the best of it because it's too much hassle to hammer and putty knife off the amount I have down.
Try using a pin striping brush or hire a striper to do it for you.
God's Best & Happy Rails to You!
Bing (RIPRR The Route of the Buzzards)
The future: Dead Rail Society
Over50Knowing what I know now I would have skipped the WS Smooth It
Like you, I started this road section with Smooth It but had some trouble. The first section cracked, probable too thin in a few places. I scraped it up and switched to Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty and like it better. I used the W-S Asphault top coat for the black, but just acrylic gray paint for the concrete. I received some Ariz Rock & Minerals concrete powder to try next.
On the subject, I too used the 1/16" pin striping (Great Planes, white) for road center and yellow for parking spots. Easy to apply. A bit shiny. I may weather the asphalt and concrete later and try a dullcote finish spray.
http://www.amazon.com/Great-Planes-White-Striping-Tape/dp/B0015NZMEA
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
My Layout Photos- http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/ajwarshal/library/
I used the WS flexible guide strip and the white striping pen with very good results. I have used the pen twice and had no issues of the paint drying;maybe just lucky?? I marked the center of the roadway with a sharp pencil and then shaped the flexible guide stip to align with the marks, keeping everything smooth (curves). I plan to redo some areas that I was 'testing' the system on but otherwise will do all my road marking this way.
I had considered the pin striping tape but don't want the thickness of it to show, whereas the paint basically has no thickness.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
First, make sure the road material (plaster, smooth-it, etc) is fully dry...a day or more depending on local conditions.
Then mask off the road where you don't want to paint stripes on (you don't have to press it down super hard).
Airbrush the color of the lines, yellow or white, lightly so it looks a little faded (it's easier to add a little more paint than remove a little). Don't have an airbrush? Dry brush the stripes...you know...dip a stiff paint brush in paint, then rub most of it off on a paper towel or something, then dab or sweep the brush over the masking tape stencil you made. Check out videos online on how to stencil a border on walls or floor...the technique is basically the same.
Remove the tape while the paint is still wet. I don't think it's super critical, but when paint dries, it makes a film that might tear if you try to peel tape when it's all dry. Pull at a sharp angle (sharper than 90 degrees) and pull slowly. If paint pulls up, either trace around the inside of the template with a sharp Xacto blade (don't push too deep, just score it so the paint will separate in the right place), or if the paint on the road is pulling up, use a different tape. I recently saw a masking tape for use on freshly painted walls...I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds like a good idea.
When dry brushing, the tape edge doesn't have to be as sealed as it does when you paint using a wet method where the wet paint can creep under the edge. Since you're using less paint, it tends to not bleed as much.
I add tar-filled cracks with an extra fine tipped sharpie, but you could just use a razor to scribe cracks if they haven't been filled with tar yet. There are lots of ways to make cracks, try it on a test diorama and see what works best. YouTube has a few good videos you can check out (I use it almost as much as I use Google).
Model Railroader recently had an article on how to make realistic roads...be sure to read that too for more ideas. For roads to look real, I think the correct width (including shoulders) has to be right or it just doesn't look right to me. Check google earth or a satellite image of your modeled area to see what the real thing looks like.
http://delray1967.shutterfly.com/pictures/5
SEMI Free-Mo@groups.io
This thread was well timed for me as I am extending roads I built earlier where they meet a new backdrop as well as adding several new roads. In the past, I have used fine tip paint pens (not WS) I purchased from Michael's to create very satisfactory road striping. This method worked well as long as the straight edge or French curve I used as a guide was held off of the road surface by applying a couple layers of masking tape to the underside of the guide and set back about 1/4" from the guide edge. This keeps paint from wicking under the guide and spoiling the nice clean stripe.
Fast forward to my current project and the paint pens no longer work! Borrowing the idea from this thread, I simply masked off the road surface using blue painter's tape and applied flat acrylic paint with a brush. Before painting, I used a Sharpie to mark the stripe length and separations on the painter's tape. I then used only the paint brush to define the ends of each stripe. This gives me a more "hand painted" look that seems more appropriate for a transition era layout.
I used the same technique to paint double line center stripes. The only difference was I applied a length of painter's tape to a piece of glass, then cut a narrow strip about 3 scale inches wide using a sharp hobby knife. I carefully applied this strip over the centerline of the roadway to define the inside edges of each center stripe. I then added two full width strips of painter's tape to create the outer edges of each stripe. Apply your paint, then carefully peel back the tape and you've got two parallel stripes 3 scale inches apart.
If you have trouble making the masking tape follow curves, just cut it down to a width of 1/4" to 3/8". A clean piece of glass makes a good surface for cutting (and storing) tape strips.
Hornblower
delray1967Don't have an airbrush? Dry brush the stripes.
A cosmetics sponge might work better than a brush.
Steve S