Painting Rail....

steamhead

Active Member
I've been doing the dreaded rail painting since yesterday....It's going OK, since I do 3-4 feet at a time and then do something else to help the ol' back and not have it be so tedious. It's coming along OK..

KevinR...The best way to see what it looks like, is to take some scrap rail and paint it..!! I did that with several Floquil colors and didn't like any. I'm using an acrylic - It's Folk Arts Nutmeg. A deep rusty color.
 

steamhead

Active Member
Charlie..Thanks for the heads-up.. I had seen this item before...Someone here had posted a link to it. I'm not too sure as to its ability to paint well. Have you tried it..?? Or any one else here..??
 

Kevinkrey

Member
Spent 20 min. tonight painting this one switch, I dont like the color to much though. The color is not as red as it is in the photo, it's light cinneman (I know I did not spell that right). If it took that long for one I think I will move to spray paint, little ata time because of poor ventilation. If spray paint will cover the ties too, how about a oily black/brown color? Any good dirty color spray paint colors?
 

Kevinkrey

Member
hamr stooges8 :v8:

I forgot to post the pics. Here they are. Actually, the pics do show the correct color. But unlike it would appear in the photos, there is no paint on the rail tops.
 

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doctorwayne

Active Member
Kevin, if you're using flextrack, don't paint it before installing it, as shiny areas will be exposed as the track is flexed. This will occur even if you're installing it as a straight section.
Twenty minutes isn't bad for your first try. You'll get quicker with practice, and you don't have to do them all at one session. I usually painted turnouts until I got tired of doing so, then switched to some track with no turnouts. This broke up the work and that straight track goes so quickly that you'll always feel like you accomplished a lot.

It's your railroad, but you might want to think about using a different colour, at least around the turnouts. Most prototype turnouts, especially the point areas, are kept well-lubricated, as this makes it much easier for a switchman to throw the switch. Often, the tops of the ties over which the points moved were greased, too, and this got carried all over the place, giving everything a darker hue.

Wayne
 

steamhead

Active Member
Well...Progress report...Got all of the rail in the yard finished over the ThG'ing weekend. Once I got the ball rolling it went fairly quickly. And yes, turnouts are a pain. :curse: I think I went through 13-14 of them in that yard. I just got to do the mainline that runs in front of the yard and the yard lead. That'll get done this weekend..!! On top of that I got a good start on the ground cover..!! :mrgreen:
 

Chartiers

Still plays with trains
I know I'm probably against the grain for most, but I spray paint my track and roadbed with Floquil Roof Brown from a can. Three passes on each two or three foot length at a time: low right side, low left side and straight down. I then immediately wipe the top of the rail with a clean dry cloth. I then leave it alone for a couple of day to really dry/cure before cleaning the top of the rails again.

I used this way on the last three layouts and find it to be very durable, and the rails can stand up to a lot of cleaning without the paint degrading.

I spray painted indoors and my track/roadbed is on a foam base, so I took ventilation precautions and a latex border to protect the foam from an overspray of Floquil which will eat the surface.
 

steamhead

Active Member
I think Fl's Roof Brown has to be the most versatile color anywhere..!! I've used it for just about everything...Depending on the application, I dilute it to a greater or lesser degree. I've used it to stain wood to an almost teak-like shade, to roofs (obviously), engine grime, and more. I did try it on rails (as I mentioned above) but didn't like the color for that...:mrgreen:
 

Chartiers

Still plays with trains
Gus: I think it is a little light when it initially goes on the rails, but it seems to darken somewhat during the building process. Could be because I use rubbing alcohol instead of wet water during ballasting and tend to go heavy on the use of scenic cement. Then again it could be my imagination.
 
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