I just saw this in the product section of MR[wow]
Rusty Rails painter. Plastic paint bottle with attached metal nozzle and application wheel for painting sides of rails. Available in sizes for O and HO/N/Z scales. $14.95. Joe’s Model Trains Co.
Have any of you used the product? And if so, does it work well?[%-)]
Thanks,
Wow, that would be very useful! Never heard of it, but I’ll be watching for it!
I tried it several years ago on my HO layout (I’m now in On30) and discovered that the wheel worked very well on code-100 rail (and looks great) but not so well on smaller size rail. I haven’t tried it since [and once you have opened the system and started to saturate the whell, you have to use the entire thing, as far as I can tell … it dries incredibly fast and clogs up the delivery tube to the wheel]. Right now I am intrigued by Floquil’s weathering pens instead and wonder if I should try them instead.
Jim
http://www.joesmodeltrains.com/Rusty%20Rails%20Painter.htm
Looks like it would work!
I used a similar tool for painting lane marking stripes on slot car tracks. Way easier than a brush!
Rotor
Jag; if you don’t want your’s you could send it to me![swg]
All kidding aside, I am considering buying one, as I use code 100 rail, quite a bit of it, and I need to get it all painted eventually.
I use it on code 83 rail. It works great! It is much faster then a brush and dosen’t leave little shiny spots on the lee side of spike heads as a brush does on the first pass.
Because it guides itself on the railhead, it is possible to easily paint the far side of the rails in those cases where they are visible from a different asile but to far to reach from that asile. This is very difficult to do with a mirror and a brush.
I use it with Poly Scale paints and clean everything very well after use. If I’m painting rail that has been in place for a long time unpainted, I first clean the web with a pipe cleaner dipped in solvent. I light touch of lacquer thinner dosen’t affect the tie plates.
I have one and have used it in a limited way. I think it works good on code 83. You do have to clean it really good afterward, and because of that, I don’t use it for small sections any more. I am waiting now so I have quite a bit of rail to paint before I use it again.
You do have to be careful that you don’t loose the little parts when taking it apart for cleaning.
I tried it, and its ok, nothing great. Had to do it over again, I wouldn’t get it.
I used it on code 100 track and it worked great. Much less time consuming than with a brush and my hand is not steady enough to work with the fine of a stream on my airbrush.
I have one. It’s OK. I’m not sure if I’m using it correctly though. The wheel loosens up and wobbles…it doesn’t distribute the paint all that well as I have to go over some areas more than once. But then maybe it’s me. I use acrylic paints. The instructions are not very clear…at least for me…LOL. The idea is great especially for long runs and so far it still works better than hand brushing. My opinion!
Tom
Isn’t this at least the second go-around for this product in the new product announcements? The theory is intriguing but i can well imagine having to replace the wheel regularly if I understaood how the thing works.
I have used the Testors/Floquil weathering pens. They work well (the wick came out of one of them and now I have to dip in a Qtip for the paint). The choice of weathering colors is also very good. But frankly you could go broke trying to weather an entire layout of track using them. They are pricey, I think. What they are perfect for is touching things up or catching spots you missed. Also if you paint your rail first (or use Micro Engineering pre weathered rail) and now need to weather the rail joiners to match, they are perfect for that. They are also good for special effects like where mud is thrown up on ties spikes and rail sides at roadbed soft spots. I bought all the color choices and use all of them. The smell is a bit strong by the way – might make you feel a little, um, altered.
Dave Nelson
“Dave’s not here, man”
i used it on one section of my layout. If I recall correctly, 47 feet of code 100 (2 sides) took 42 minutes to do, including rail cleanup afterwards. Saved a whole bunch of time. Had to change the sponge applicator once and readjust it twice. Looks great too! Ken
Thanks all for the replys. Guess I’ll be ordering one!![:)]
I’m in Tom’s camp…It kind of’ works, but then again, not so well. On the other hand, I may not be using it as I should. The directions are VERY vague!
I agree that the wheel wobbles too much, when loose enough to turn freely, and the paint dries on the wheel and in the tube if you are as slow as I am! Perhaps I’m just too old and slow to be using such “high tech” devices!
I have had some success, after much frustration, and will keep plugging away with it as it does seem to work pretty well on long segments of rail…When everything is turning and the paint is flowing as it should.
I have discovered two things that seem to make this thing work better.
First of all: I use two small side pieces as opposed to the large and the small. The one larger one that was on the top when I got it wouldn’t allow the paint to get to the foam wheel and would collect on top of the plastic disk…Which seemed to do a great job of painting the top of the rail with NOTHING on the side! With the two smaller disks on either side of the foam…It works pretty well, as long as I keep the darn thing rolling!
Secondly: The locking nut needs to be “set” so the assembly doesn’t get too loose or too tight. I have experienced frustration on both ends of that spectrum! To the point of asking myself “What goes through your head? The rail looked OK as it was…And now you’re doing what?”
All in all…I do like the look of the weathered / rusted side rail. Sooo…In a nut shell; I’m using it and am at times happy and at others not so! Perhaps I will master the technique someday.
Any additional tips for better operation are surely welcome!