Comments on: Painting Track – Good or Bad Idea?

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 16:12:16 +0000

I cut 8″ to 12″ strips of blue masking tape just a little wider than the top of the rail and mask them off. Quicker and easier than spraying and cleaning.

By: Morgan Bilbo

Morgan Bilbo — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 14:52:34 +0000

The easiest way I know of is to paint before laying. Place the flex and turnouts on newspaper. Mask the points. Use any good rattle can paint. Color of your choice. I chose a dark brown. Others have mentioned Camouflage Brown. Above mentioned grey. Wipe the rails before they dry with a piece of soft pine wood. Dries within an hour to handle/carefully. If track is already down, the best way is with a brush. Use a couple different colors and paint ties so they don’t look “uniform”. (And yes, it’s tedious.) Later, when you start to think about ballast. That’s the time to use markers, brushes, etc. and touch up ties separately. And the sides of rails. Again, if you get paint on top, wipe off immediately. An alternative is to spread an oil/vaseline with a finger and after done painting, clean like you normally do – with alcohol. The only time I ever use an abrasive is if the rails are so grimy that the alcohol don’t clean. Finally, my last step is very lightly wipe graphite on about an inch of rail, every foot or so and use cars to spread it. And after that, just keep running trains. The more you run, the less trouble.

By: keith

keith — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 08:55:04 +0000

I use woodland scenics rust paintpen colours already mixed and look great if you want more rust in certain areas just go over again and again till you get desired effect

By: W Rusty Lane

W Rusty Lane — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 02:25:05 +0000

I use an airbrush to paint the ties and track sides. Usually a rail brown color.

By: ron scannell

ron scannell — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 01:01:36 +0000

I use a rattle can of dark gray. Spray 8-10 inches and then use a track cleaning stone on the rail top.

By: Jim Johnston

Jim Johnston — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:47:08 +0000

I use an acrylic base wash… A little heavier in freight areas than on main lines and darkest of all in car storage and repair areas. Just use a piece of plastic card on the top rail surface and you’re good to go.