I’m in the process of rebuilding a layout, putting down ~400 linear ft of new Code 83 track. Somehow I doubt that a few jars of Polly Scale will be enough. And in these days of tight budgets, I’m searching for less-pricey alternatives.
I’ve used latex house paint before. While it’s great for covering broad areas, I seem to remember it went on a bit thick. Even the so-called flat latex paint had a bit of a ‘sheen’ on it that made model track look like…well, model track! But on the ‘plus’ side, I’m guessing there are light-absorbing textures available in certain colors that I just haven’t learned about yet; and a quart of latex will cover lotsa track!
Latex paint does seem to be a bit too thick and it is also a bit too glossy for my taste. I use a cheap dark brown acrylic paint in a rattle can. A few strokes along the rails is enough to weather the rails nicely. A can last a long way.
I’ll admit spray painting from a can is certainly easier! But I’ve never seen acrylic paint from an aerosol can - is that available on this side of the pond?
I use latex paint all the time. For the rails I use an interior satin latex from Olympic called (what else?) Rusty Rail. If you can’t find it here are the mix numbers. 105-8.5, 107-8.5, 109-8.25, 113-10.75. I use it thinned 50/50 with water.
I used a Testor’s paint brush. I tried the water-base thinner. It wasn’t much better than bottled water. Just more expensive. Max drying time with the 50/50 mix applied in a thin coat was 15 minutes, usually a bit less. Other rust colors I picked up are ‘Rustica’ and ‘Rusted Earth’. A half-pint can (7.2 oz, 212 mL) lasts a long time.
Fifteen minutes is great for drying time. I’ll have to try it, I got about 150 feet of track I just layed that I want to do before I start the scenery in that area of the layout. I guess I’m off to Home Depot…
If you mean painting rail sides: Someone here recently posted about using a paint pen and said it made the job a snap and gave very fast coverage! AM going to look into this meself, as rail painting ain’t at the top of my list of fun things to do on a layout. TTFN…papaHOsmurf in NH
Judging from the answers so far, latex paint should work just fine. However, I used Polly Scale to paint my rails and used, if I recall correctly, just two jars for over 200’ of track, and that covered both sides of all rails. I used a flat 1/2" brush with fairly stiff bristles, and found it to be very easy and relaxing work. When it gets tedious, cap the bottle, clean the brush, and take a break. For me, the marked improvement in appearance of the track was so satisfying that I didn’t take a lot of breaks - this activity gives great “bang for the buck”.
The track in the foreground in the photo below was painted using the ‘Rusty Rails’ satin latex paint I mentioned earlier. The track in the background has yet to be painted.
Well, thanks everybody who responded![8-|] I would have posted earlier, except my power went out from 6:30pm to12:30am.
I wound up going to my friendly neighborhood Ace Hardware and getting a quart of Benjamin Moore brand exterior latex, in the flattest texture available, in a color that resembles Grimy Black with a brownish tinge. It looks just like the sides of the rails on the nearby CSX Old Main Line IMHO.
I tried the Floquil pens but I was not favorably impressed with them. None of the colors were what I wanted and for the price you don’t get much. They work out to about $2.70 per pen. For less than 25¢ more I can get 7 ounces of the rust colored paint I use and quickly apply it with a dried out sharpie.
