I am building an N-scale layout and am seriously considering painting the track (Atlas flextrack and turnouts). Acrylic paint seems to be a good choice as it can be easily removed from the tops of the rails (see Terry Thompson’s editorial in the latest issue of MR). I tried painting a small piece of track and the results looked good. However, my concern is how well the paint will remain on the sides of the metal rails. Will acrylic paint begin to flake off the metal after a several months, or will the bond be good for a much longer time? By the way, I do not have an airbrush so all paint will be applied “by hand”. Thanks in advance for your advice.
Joe Fugate has an excellent write up on weathering track in his scenery clinic. It requires a free registration but is very informative. http://siskiyou.raifan.net
He covers other topics as well
We use Whal Clipper oil. Put a little dap on a paper towel. Wipe the tops of all your rails. Paint away, brush or air. When you are finished, take a clean paper towel wipe down the rail heads. Any paint that got on the tops will wipe right off.
I personally think painting rail with a brush is easier and not much more time consuming than an airbrush, especially given setup and cleanup time. I used Testor’s enamel, and never had a problem with the paint coming off. The only problem I can see for paint adhesion is if your rail already has a bunch of oily gunk on it. If it does, you will probably need to clean the rail first with alcohol or something that doesn’t leave a residue.
Ever try a brown permant marker? I’ve seen those and paint “pens” at the local art store. If the brown marker ink sticks, you could just zip the marker along the sides of the rails. Of course, if want a mix of rust, oil, etc colors, a single color pen won’t do.
I had so-so results with a brown paint pen several years ago before I left the hobby for awhile.
I went to wal-mart - got a can of ruddy brown, black, and gray primer. Apply 3-in-1 oil with q-tip to rail tops. Spray the brown base coat, ties and all, both sides. then mist with gray and black. easy with the black. I like the effect best with the mist from parallel to the rail - aged ties. 2 years no issues. Only things i would do different is wa***hr track with a tooth brush - especially the solder joints! - and remove the atlas switch machines. Not sure how they were before but they seem warped. Not sure if from the paint or not. Besides, I think I would have preferred ground throws. Hindsight = 20/20.