The five or six layouts I’ve had over the years typically ended up with the fascia being a shade of green or brown or white. For the layout currently under construction, I was undecided as to what to do with the fascia until I read an article - or a posting on this Forum (I just don’t recall) that suggested using a flat black.
I thought I would give it a try and picked up (at Walmart - believe it or not!) a quart of Krylon “Chalkboard” black latex paint. Apparently it is used to refinish chalkboards and although it is black, there is a trace of blue in it.
I finished the first coat and frankly the result is remarkable. My wife says it focus’s your attention to the layout surface, and not the woodwork. As I’ll be mounting a few black Atlas switch controllers, a couple of Loconet UP5s & a handful of toggle switches on it, they should blend in nicely.
A second coat will be added tomorrow, and trim will be added at some time in the future.
Sorry, no pictures yet, as I want to lay more track beforehand.
Absolutely use black. It will make everything else more vibrant and jump right out at you. The decorating experts that tend to wonder in and out of my house say “black for sure and a satin coat will add class”. We will see!
Mobilman, perhaps you could post a picture or two. I finished installing my fascia a couple of months ago, and have been pondering the same thing; what color to paint it.
I just got the second coat applied and am installing controls, etc. I really don’t want to post a picture until I get the “junk” cleared off, etc.
The paint I used is quite substantial, and covers anything and everything. I believe it was about $9 a quart - and well worth it. My wife is not a model railroader, but appreciates the hobby and is well versed in color, etc. (she does computer graphics and has been schooled in color and the like). Anyway, she feels it really does a terrific job - much better than the white I had previously, and the earthtones on a previous layout.
I do know that years ago when I went “clubbing”, most all of them had everything above eye level painted flat black. A lot of restaurants do that as well, and it just makes the pipes and beams and other stuff disappear.
By the way, I suspect I’ll paint the legs & supports and other under the table benchwork that shows black too - but that is sometime in the future.
Hey, give it a try. If it doesn’t work, you can always paint over it.
One thing to be aware of when using flat sheen paint for the fascia–it will scuff up rather easily. Since the fascia gets bumped and rubbed by operators quite often, this is why I went with a satin finish. I prefer black or any dark color that complements the scenery tones. Jamie
Well, I learned something about the “Chalkboard” paint yesterday. It does show mars more than I would like. I experienced this while installing a couple of Digitrax UP5s.
Anyway, I reneg on my recommendation for Krylon’s Chalkboard paint, and I will pick up a satin finish or comparable “regular” black and paint over it.
In my case, the black is still the way to go, but with a different type of paint.
The Free-mo modular group I belong to gets Home Depot’s Satin Black (like pianos) for all the member’s module fascias. They really stand out at shows. John
