Wheathering the Rails

SHEEW!!!! THANKS for telling me(wipes sweat off brow)Josh, now i can sleep tonight.:thumb: had pictured you pulling the tape off and breaking the foam:eek:. NOT GOOD;). GOOD LUCK on your rails and roads! post pics too!:thumb: for the record though, i'm STILL, going to stick with wood;) tooth1 -Deano
 
That would be pretty bad huh. sign1 sign1

Im going to order the Foquil tomarro if I can't get down to the LHS so it might be till end of next week before any rail pics. Also ordered some things to finish the Mountains/Hills, and got the things for the wheathering, and I have to put in the track for the Coal Mine (Switches will be here on Fridy or Saterday.) I have quiet a few things to do over the next 2 weeks. Looking Forward to it tho.
 
TruckLover said:
Im going to order the Foquil tomarro if I can't get down to the LHS so it might be till end of next week before any rail pics. Also ordered some things to finish the Mountains/Hills, and got the things for the wheathering, and I have to put in the track for the Coal Mine (Switches will be here on Fridy or Saterday.) I have quiet a few things to do over the next 2 weeks. Looking Forward to it tho.
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OUTSTANDING JOSH!!!:thumb: :thumb: :D ...post pics!:D -Deano
 
Just found at my LHS that they sell assorted pieces of styrene in a bag...odd lots I guess they call them. Anyway...look for those bags since it was cheap and included several straight/flat pieces and hollow tubes...probably great for projects. Some of the thinner flat ones I plan on using for roads to try that technique out.
 
For road sides: The WS road kit contains tape with foam that looks like some of the door/window seal tape you can get but a bit finer. I've also used a bit of stripwood tacked down. I found a problem with Homasote that the surface wasn't smooth enough and the plaster ran beneath the tape. Next time, I put a smooth surface down first.
 
Humbrol enamel

my first applic
I am using Humbrol # 100 which is a red brown that goes great on Atlas N gauge track to give it a rusted look.

MICROBRUSH (R) are great wee applicators to put the paint on the rails. I use the "Superfine" size (white) which is smal enough to actually detail N gauge with ease.
 
Just picked up on this thread...here's my response to your original questions. I spray paint earth, tan, or brown colors to rail already installed. Before it dries, I wipe the tops of the rail clean (almost) with a paper towel. I come back later, uually the next day and use a Brite-Boy cleaner to finish up. If you paint flextrack before it is installed you will have to touch it up on curves after it is laid. For me it doesn't matter that the ties are the same color as the rails, on most of the prototypes near me it's hard to tell if there is significant difference. Here is a picture with some before and after.
 

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A few other things you can try for weathering rails.

- Put a little oil on the rail top, this way the paint will not stick to the top of the rail.
- I like burt umber and black craft paint, with a paint brush
- and my favorite after its done GOO GONE the top of the rail

Now is a good time to test the track to see if there is any left over paint on the rail.

NOW its time to balist the track, but thats an other story...

Have a good weekend.
 
Thanks Josh for the compliment on the gons. I have also used the oil on the rails as Jasbourre suggested...don't know if I saved more time or not. Usually the paper towel gets most of it if you don't let it dry first. Either way I usually have to use the Brite-Boy at some stage anyway.
 
I like burnt umber and burnt sienna mixture with some water to cut it down a bit. I added a very small amount of Rust color too but thought it too red. I also change the mixture proportions from time to time so I don't get a "too uniform" look. Even so, since I didn't decide to weather the tracks until AFTER I placed the ballast, I had to paint my rails with a 00 (double-zero) brush, and it seems to take about three coats to effectively cover the rails...(I'm only on the second coat right now as some of my flashed pictures will show). One day it will look right.
 
I use Wally Worlds cheap craft paints, straight brown from the bottle. Slather it on, let it dry, then clean the rail tops followed up with ballast.
 

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Thanks, guys. Yep, Herc, learned that from the club...sometimes the simple solutions are the best ones. The ties don't take the paint very well anyway so, by just working the ties more with the brush to remove more paint, it really does come out looking like you've worked on it all day.
 
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