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Rusty Rails Paint

Hi All       I am still planning ahead, and I have been watching Youtube:sad: and I could not find anything that grabbed my attention!There must be someone out there in Y M R C who has some thought provoking tips on Rusty Rail Paint. I had thought about Aerosol Paint but even if I did the work in the garden it might blow everywhere? then I thought Humbrol paint and a brush, but even on my small plan it would be "Like Watching Paint Dry" worse than ballasting? Speaking of Ballasting which should come first?? Ballasting or Rusty Rails?? But unless Railtrack or WHY have just laid new track you would not expect "Clean" ballast on a railway line (unless of course it was a Preservation Society Line??");-) But seriously can anyone help me achieve Rusty Rails?    all the best Kevin

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Well, boring answer, but I just use a paint brush and a little pot of paint. It's much quicker than ballasting.  I ballast first and then paint. The odd splodge on the ballast just looks like rust staining.

Peter

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Hi Kevin

I ballast first, then I paint the rail webs and feet with Raw Umber acrylic.

It dries to the perfect rust colour.

I use a small sable brush with a long handle for better control.

I wipe the rail heads as I go with my finger.

As I'm going along, some paint gets on the spikes, which looks good.

If any gets on the ties (sleepers), I wipe it off with my finger.

I'm doing 25 metres at the moment.

As I finish each section, I wash my finger.  :lol:

Cheers
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Hi Max                Thankyou for your reply, 25 metres? you must get a sticky finger? I imagined letting the paint dry first, and then rubbing the heads with a fine Emery Cloth on a board.               all the best  Kevin

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Hi Peter                      Thankyou for your reply. Is there any particular brand or type of Paint or Brush that you would recommend??                                                                all the best  Kevin

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It washes off fingers in hot soapy water, Kevin.

It's easier to wipe it off the rails when it's wet. It dries so fast, I need to wipe it as I go.

When I'm finally finished, I polish the rail heads with 1200 grade waterproof paper.
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Hi Kevin, I like to paint my rails before ballasting, just a personal thing, although I have noticed that the paint doesn,t always like to stick to the rail, maybe there is some kind of lubricant from the manufacturing process left on the rails? Then I ballast then wash the whole thing down with a thinned down acrylic mucky sleeper, tie, colour. The paint I use is rusty rails by Railmatch, I have had it for years but never seems to run out or go dry in the tin like Humbrol enamels, there are several matched paints on the market now from loads of different makers in enamels and acrylics, so I think its a case of yer pays yer money and takes yer choice, some of the monthly mags do reviews on products and mark them as they find them, maybe you could check out their back issues indexes on line?.  I have never sprayed my track, though it doe,s appeal for swift covering, but as you say I fear it would go everywhere so I think I will stick with brushing, a bit at a time.

Cheers, Pete.      

it was already on fire when I got here, honest!
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I paint the sleepers and rail very roughly with a 1" brush using a thick wash of Raw Umber and Black.

I then paint the rail sides using neat Raw Umber using a rigger brush (Rigger brushes have long bristles), followed by picking out some sleepers in Raw Umber, Dark Grey and some in Black.

I clean the railtops as best as I can as I go, then clean up at the end like Max with 1200 Wet & Dry

I ballast afterwards and go over the whole lot again with the 1" brush with a thin wash of Raw Umber/Black with a final clean of the rail tops.

Cheers

Andy
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Hi Pete                      Thankyou, there does seem to be an awful lot to learn. I never got that "Deep" before, just shiny rails, straight out of the shop, I was happy just to see the trains run.:lol: Now everyone seems more serious about modelling. all the best  Kevin

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Hi Andy             Thankyou for your help, I will have to note all the info and go on the net, model railway shops are a bit thin on the ground in the 21 st century.                        all the best  Kevin

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. . . forgot to mention, the final coat is Track Magic. :cool:
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Hi Max                      I found "Track Magic" on Amazon. but no info as to its purpose. Is it "Just Like That" as per Tommy Cooper??But seriously how does it work??:oops: please tell me more.             all the best  Kevin

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Hi Max                Thank you, is there any fear of the Formula removing the weathering paint from the rails?               Kevin

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Fine sable brushes, acrylic paints (I used to use Polly Scale, now like hen's teeth), I will be testing some of the Vallejo products for the next layout. Slightly greyer and lighter for the chairs (steel rails, cast iron chairs, slightly different shades of rust). Give the rails a wipe with an oil-removing solvent, there will still be releasing agent residue from the manufacturing process. I use IPA accompanied by a glass of IPA.

I ballast after painting, but then I use thin sleepers and a glue painting technique, not the dropper from the sky. That way the sides of the sleepers get painted. I also use modules with no back-scene, which means getting at both sides of the rail is easy.

There is some merit in spraying everything with a thin coat of dark grey etching undercoat (for the car) before starting.  Rail sides (to the top on the outside, not quite to the top on the inside), chairs and sleepers in that order. 2-3 yards in an evening session for the paint, it's soon done. Use 1000-2000 emery (car paint finishing) on the top and inside edge of the rail head to get rid of any excess after the paint has hardened. Do not use Peco rail cleaner pads, they scratch the rail and reduce friction (and thus pulling power).

Check photo's or go and have a look at real track. There is quite a subtle variation in color, especially when looking at new versus old track. Modern steel alloys are designed to rust immediately, the surface oxidation is stable and they do not need painting. Example below from Banbury Station of BR 3 bolt BH track from the 1950's still in light use. If you are using Peco track it has spikes so you don't have to worry about chairs. Second example is of modern FB track on concrete sleepers in the station - it's dark grey with a hint of brown. Last photo is from the East Somerset Railway, a preserved line. Rusty red patina on the top from once a week running. Difficult to do, old brass track is a fair substitute with the sides painted. Devil's in the details.

Nigel











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Hi Nigel                   A novice "Manager" had a ride in my cab, many years ago, now, and was surprised that the rails were so shiny and they even picked the head lights in the tunnel.                   Kevin

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It hasn't so far, Kevin.
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Hi Kevin,
It's difficult to get that hammered shine with nickel silver track, which is a brass alloy, as it oxidises quite rapidly. If you want that look it's steel rail, but you have to be a purist to go for that.
I tried Vallejo burnt number last night (Max's color), bit too dark for me. 50:50 with Vallejo rust seemed better. Rail rust color depends on the ambient light, so it's worthwhile testing where the layout will be until you get what looks right to you.
Nigel

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Hi Kevin,
I airbrush my whole track railmatch sleeper grime (acrylic) as we can't get Railmatch enamels in Australia. I then ballast and then go over the middle of the track in different spots mainly in the engine shed and station area with Matt black (railmatch) to resemble fuel stains. Although it's wheather you want your ballast dirty or not is the decision you make when painting track. This is on n gauge track so I don't tend to brush paints the rails rust because of the 'fiddlyness' but if U were doing OO I probably would.
Here's a clip of how I airbrush the track.

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Hi Nigel.   Thank you. The weathering in your photos is the best that I have seen;-)  Best wishes. Kevin

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