Painting Track

[traiNscale]

so as suggested in the other weathering topic. here are my weathered tracks.
still a work in progress, and not finished yet.

 

[logandsawman]

I took some track photos the other day, it was evenly overcast so no shadows to warp the image:

The track in the foreground is ribbonrail on the BNSF mainline. The background is an old siding with sections. The white dots are snow. The tracks do not look nearly that rusty, buit more of a dark gray brown. I will look for a rattle can with something similar, today at the hardware store they had a "camo" color that looked very close.

Someone previously mentioned some type of camo paint.

Here is another photo showing the ties better:

In our local, the ties look pretty similar. The dusting of snow makes for good contrast.

more later, Dave

 

[Kentuckyjed]

I took some nutmeg brown and burnt umber and blended to a rust color similar to that in the picture, I used a small brush and applied to the ties and track and wiped off the top of the rails. It turned out better than I thought it would. After the ballast was applied it looked even better.

 

[C&OMtnMan]

I took some track photos the other day, it was evenly overcast so no shadows to warp the image:

View attachment 206662

The track in the foreground is ribbonrail on the BNSF mainline. The background is an old siding with sections. The white dots are snow. The tracks do not look nearly that rusty, buit more of a dark gray brown. I will look for a rattle can with something similar, today at the hardware store they had a "camo" color that looked very close.

Someone previously mentioned some type of camo paint.

Here is another photo showing the ties better:

View attachment 206663

In our local, the ties look pretty similar. The dusting of snow makes for good contrast.

more later, Dave

You have flexibility in color choice; a dreary gray day will result in the rails looking dull and gray. A brightly lit day will have things looking a bit more brown. If you want to depict newer rail, (say, a newly added siding) it’ll have a fair amount of orange to the color.

 

[CambriaArea51]

The last track section I did I use a spray can.

Rust-Oleum Stops Rust 12 oz. Weathered Wood Roof Accessory Spray Paint 285217 - The Home Depot

Add extra protection to any surface in your living space without any effort by applying this unique Rust-Oleum Stops Rust Weathered Wood Roof Accessory Spray Paint.

www.homedepot.com

 

[C&OMtnMan]

I fairly recently completed some/most of my test areas for track ballasting and rail/tie weathering.

Here are some pictures:

Before ballasting or cleaning the railheads:

 

[michaeljoe]

In the ....Layout Design and Construction..... area, I have posted......."First time ho layout".....
On post #20 I have ......pictures...... of my painted track rails inside and out. I used a tiny brush to paint the rails by hand.
It was very time consuming, but that's how I did mine.
I also did the ties, to make it look like rust from the rails.
Better pics. on original post .

 

[logandsawman]

In the ....Layout Design and Construction..... area, I have posted......."First time ho layout".....
On post #20 I have ......pictures...... of my painted track rails inside and out. I used a tiny brush to paint the rails by hand.
It was very time consuming, but that's how I did mine.
I also did the ties, to make it look like rust from the rails.
Better pics. on original post .

I painted some of my track with a brush on earlier layouts, I think that yields premium results.

Dave LASM

 

[Canalligator]

One other way to get clean rail heads is to run a bar of soap over it. When the paint has dried, wipe it off with a wet cloth. I haven't done this myself, but I saw it on the Chadwick Model Railway YouTube.

 

[logandsawman]

I have been meaning to add a photo of my finished painted track. The track and ties were spray painted with a can of automotive primer after they were fastened down to the road bed. The mainline was ballasted with a commercial ballast, and the siding was finished with natural sifted fine sand.

Here is how they look, no additional paint was applied other than the base coat of primer:

After applying the spray of primer, the top of the rail was immediately wiped dry using fingernail polish remover (Acetone).

A different method used on previous layouts, and for detailing, is the tidy track paint pen. Here is how that looks:

The top needs to be wiped clean with this as well, and the tie plates can be cleaned up as well some. It is not very precise but has a realistic rusty look. Is much more time consuming than the other method.

Dave LASM