Hello;
I want to paint my track after it is layed and was wondering if there are any precautions for painting the turnouts. These are the custom line n scale turnouts for a ground throw or under table machine.
Thanks
Bill
Bill,
I’m in HO with Shinohara/Walthers turnouts. All I did was put a piece of masking tape over the throwbar area to keep paint out of it and off the electrical contact area where the points press against the running rails. Painted, then I stripped the tape off and things worked fine once I cleaned the paint off the head of the rails.
There is a probability function with turnouts of any particular kind or make when you alter them. You may do no harm, and you may do harm. Painting is one of those things that can do harm, particularly if the paint manages to get between any intended electrical continuity items. If you look at the points rails, and if they are loosely hinged with smallish joiners where they meet the closure rails ‘this’ side of the frog, and if their contact with the stock rails is iffy or intermittent, you can expect problems. If contaminants of any description get into the throwbar area, expect problems.
I also cover the throwbars and am careful spreading ballast, and I rarely paint forward of the hinge for points rails. The stock rails are something else, but points rails must be carefully painted.
I spray the track after it is laid(and before I ballast). Brush painting around turnouts is an invitation for electrical disaster. The paint gets into the rivets or rail joiners that connect the points to the closure rails and it is very hard to get good electrical pick-up after wards. I mask the ‘hinge’ area of the points and then spray Floquil Polly Scale #329(Railroad Tie Brown). It is a perfect match for Atlas code 83 or Walthers-Shinohara code 83 ties. I then follow up with #11007(Rail Brown)… This has been only available in the solvent based Floquil line, but is being added to the Polly Scale line as #414416. I got tired of the smell and most of my mainline rail was done with Polly Scale #414140(Tarnished Black) sprayed with a very fine stream from my air brush. I use a painters edge along the ties as I go - It takes time,
Our club used ‘rattle cans’ of brown ‘camo’ paint from Rust-Oleum or Krylon to paint the track. The smell of the paint was bad, but the lacquer thinner soaked rags to clean off the top of the rails really smelled! It took about 4 work sessions to get all of the track in the 27’ by 27’ layout painted. Using Polly Scale, I can clean up the rail tops with 71% isopropyl alcohol from Walmart. I still wear disposable nitrile gloves when doing this. Even isoproyl will dry the oils out of your skin quite fast.
Jim
I have a wall mounted shelf layout and painted only the visible side of the rails as it is impossible to see the back side of any of the rails. I also tended to paint the flex track prior to putting it on the layout. It’s a lot easier.
I had very little trouble painting the switch works with a small brush, but then there are zero yards or ladder sections on my layout, just passing, industrial and mine sidings. Again, I painted the rail before installing the switch. As others note, paint the rails before ballasting if you are painting in-place.
Only minor, in-place, touchup work is needed around soldered rail/electrical joints, etc., if you paint before laying the track.
Richard