Cody Grivno did a segment on July 31 using a paint marker to make roadway stripes. I’m trying to locate paint pens in yellow and white with metal tips like he used and with a 1.2 mm width (equivalent to a 4" stripe width in HO). He doesn’t mention a brand and I couldn’t find what he’s using on the net. Anyone got a clue? I sent him an email but haven’t heard back. Any help will be appreciated.
GN fan
Ron in Pocatello, Idaho
I’m sure Hobby Lobby and Michael’s carry them. Wal Mart has some that size in yellow and white. The Wal Mart ones are made by Elmers. I got a 2mm that doesn’t have a metal tip, but I don’t know if the smaller one does or not.
I’ve tried that method with paint pens and it didn’t come out too good. I have found that using 1/16" racing stripes from an LHS that sells model airplanes and cars works the best. It has a paper tape backing that peels away with an adhesive backing. I usually cut them to length, measure out to center of the roadway and stick them in place. Once i’m done, I’ll brush them with some dilute white glue for extra adherance…chuck
I bought some Fibre Craft foam sheets at Michael’s. It appears to be the same material that some ready-made streets are made of. They are 11.8 x 17.7" sheets and list for $.79 ea (were on sale this week for 3/$1) They also sell a set of 5 “foam markers” which include white & yellow. The markers dont leave a perfect line - it’s more like a 2 year old line job that’s traffic worn. I tried using a sharpie, but it dosen’t show at all on the black foam!! A paint marker may work, but the one I just got at Wallyworld/Wartmart was all dried out! My [2c]
Thanks to everyone who responded. I didn’t have any luck with the racing stripe stuff and it is too narrow, should be 3/64" for 4" stripe width. How do I know? Stopped in the middle of Idaho State Highway 34 one morning on the way to work and measured it. No traffic, thank goodness. Even Cody’s video showed some booboos. Our Michaels closed last year. Will try the store that replaced it. This looks like another quest. Some of them take 20 years to resolve, not sure I have that long left.
Ron in Idaho
Look for a French curve or a flexible curve while your at the store. You can use these as a guide for adding stripes to your curves. MR did an article on this method about two years ago. The author recommended a certain brand of paint pen, but I can’t find the issue right now. One of the main points was to NOT let the tip of the pen touch the guide as this will cause the paint to smear when you move the guide.
Good luck! Let us know how it works out.
For streight lines with a marker or paint pen, use a 1/4" to 1/2 " dowel - the barrel of the marker rides on the dowel while the tip stays clear of it!! My [2c]
Hi, back again,
I tried Sierra’s today, they replaced Michaels when they closed down. They told me they had paint markers once but all they had left were Sharpies in Purple and Green. Then tried Wal-Mart and picked up a white and a yellow Elmer’s marker. The white fine marker says it is .043" (1.1mm). I wonder if its dimensional tolerance is really that tight, lol. That scales to 3.74" which is pretty close to 4". Rule of thumb from a picky model manufacturer I met years ago–if it is within 10% of the actual dimension, it is OK. 3.74" is about 6% under, so very good. And as tip wears it will get closer to scale. It has a plastic collar, but it should work. I’m an engineer and have and have used french (and ship’s) curves for years. We put tape under them to lift them off the drafting surface.
So, thanks again, everyone–particularly the WalMart pointer. Now I’ve got to go back and re-research my photos and try the pens on a stretch of road I built years ago. I’ll try to post back with some photos soon.
Ron in Idaho
Hi, I think I found the article you mentioned. I checked 2006 and didn’t find but one article on roads and that author masked the stripes and physically painted them. So, I went back a year earlier and I found an article by David Popp with a photo using none other than an Elmer’s “Painters” marker to paint a curved stripe using a french curve. He models in N, so used an ultra fine width. He mentions his favorite is a marker by Uchida at uchida.com, so I’ll check that out next. Anyway, thanks for the tip. I have all MRs since I started subscribing in '59 but forget what may be in them down the road. The article is “Easy street, paved with styrene” David Popp, a step by step article April 2005 p.36. The photo showing the marker and french curve is on p.38. Thanks again for the tip, loathar.
I use paint pens from Michaels but I guess with that store closing in your area you’re out of luck. If you’re ever in a town that has a Michaels, you could pick some up. You mentioned that you’re an engineer and do drafting. Back in the 1970s I did some electronic drafting and used a drafting pen with interchangeable tips. My memory’s a bit fuzzy about the pens, but I think the brand was Kol-i-nor or something like that and I seem to remember that they used ink from a bottle, not cartridges. If that’s the case, I wonder if you could get coloured inks for drafting pens. If so, you could get tips of any size to make any width lines. Just a thought.
I do my drafting with a CAD program now, but I rather enjoyed using the pens and the guides. I kind of miss that.
I’m pretty sure that was the article. I remember the author was wearing a shirt that looked like a picnic table cloth gone wrong![(-D]
I tried Cody’s inspired method on our club layout’s streets last night with good results. Only paint marker I could find was a yellow UNI, Paint Fine Line PX-21, oil base type at our local stationary store. I wish Cody told the name of who made his metal tip one, as the one I bought was wrapped in plastic so couldn’t inspect the tip first. But it was a fine felt tip that worked well. Just have to shake the pin to move a mixing ball inside and push down on the sprung tip to get the paint flowing. I was also looking for a white paint marker too for the crosswalk lines, but no luck in finding one.
The stripes on my roads were done with decal stripes. I painted the road with a very very dark grey. A rattle can of Testors Glosscoat was used to get the smooth surface for decals. I used Microscale 4 inch (HO) stripes in white and duluxe yellow. The stripe is 20 feet long with a 10 foot skip. After the decal stripes were dry Testors Dullcote in a rattle can was used to finish up and seal the decal stripes.