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Weathering track and ties

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  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Weathering track and ties
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 25, 2003 4:41 PM
I have sort of a problem maybe some of you can help. I am in the process of wheathering my N scale track and ties. I used my badger airbrush with rail brown. I Sprayed both sides of the track , and then went over the top of the rail with modelflex cleaner on a rag to clean up. Everything looks clean, but when I try to run my Loco, it sputters around. I tried a bright boy to help clean more but all it did was strip the paint off the sides when I kept rubbing back and fourth. Anyone have any suggestions???
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, October 26, 2003 12:03 PM
First off.....do you know if the track is the problem? How do your engine wheels look? Might be worth while to go ahead and clean the wheels on your engine just to make sure.

As for the painting on the track? What type of paints are you using? I have been using water base paints and then simply go over the rails with either a bright boy OR rubbing alcohol.

Both methods seem to work pretty well for me.

One other thing that I just thought of. Your solder joints. How do they look? You might verify that your joints are ok.

Craig
  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: US
  • 725 posts
Posted by Puckdropper on Sunday, October 26, 2003 2:23 PM
If the tops of the rail heads are clean, it may not be good enough. Clean the insides of the rails too. Power is picked up not just from the top, but from the sides.
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, October 27, 2003 11:05 AM
Common problem when you first paint track. Keep cleaning your wheels and track until the problem goes away. Next time put a little vasoline on you finger tip and wipe the tops of the rails before you paint them. Or use a marker masker pen. This makes the paint come off quicker and easier. FRED
  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: Omaha, NE
  • 10,621 posts
Posted by dehusman on Monday, October 27, 2003 12:55 PM
How are you getting power to the rails? Are you using flex track or sectional track?

If you are relying on the rail joiners to carry electricity between the sections of rail, some of the paint my have soaked into the rail joiner and "insulated" the joint so that it is not a reliable conductor.

For reliability you should used flex track as much as possible and drop a power feeder from every (or at least every other) piece of flex track.

Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com

  • Member since
    August 2003
  • From: Midtown Sacramento
  • 3,340 posts
Posted by Jetrock on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 12:28 AM
One problem I ran into when I airbrushed my track was paint getting into the switch contact points--I had to do a bit of scraping. I coated my rails with a light coat of 3-in-1 oil before painting so it came right off the top and I didn't have any continuity problems except where paint got into the switches.

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