Weathering O gauge tubular track

Please let the archieving begin.......

I would point you in a direction but when the forum switched I lost all my saved topics! The one I really regret loosing was the one where some supplier had a roller device like a pizza cutter (the actual paint roller itself was shaped like the cutting wheel) and held paint in the handle. This kept the roller supplied with paint. One just rolled it down the sides of the rails. Some use paint markers that are marketed for just this pupose, weathering track. Many others use spray paint and spray guns. Hopefully this topic will get archived because this comes up all the time.

Jim....That be it! Not exactly how I remembered but that is indeed the one. Now to order one and give it a "whirl"!

Thank you my good man!

I would be concerned about whether the paint might seep into rail joints and interfere with electrical continuity.

I use tubular track so I think it would have to seep in pretty deep and being acrylic paint it is fairly thick which again I would hope will limit seepage. Time will tell!

I would like to weather some of my tubular rails if it didn't risk electrical continuity problems.

Rethinking what I said previously - if the paint is applied only on the base and web of tubular rails, not directly around the connecting pins, that should minimize the possibility of paint seeping in around the pins. It might be worth trying to mask the head of the rail at the joints, before painting.

Or it might be better to paint the rails before the track is installed on a layout, with the pin holes plugged and then cleaned out after the paint has dried.

This is acrylic paint brushed on O27 profile track on an ancient layout of mine from many years ago. As long as you don't really soak the joints with paint, electrical continuity shouldn't be a problem.

Tubular is hard to weather convincingly because of the rounded rail top. Either you leave the entire rounded part paint free (as I did) which leaves a large shiny rail top, or you paint it all, and then clean just the very top, leaving a very narrow shiny railhead.

The best way may be to paint the track first with a shaker spray can, taking the precautions Ace mentioned around the track ends. Then use a soft sanding pad to clean the top half only of the rounded railhead. It's tough to do that rounded top neatly, as you can see by the irregular paint job in parts of the photo.

Jim

I agree with what Jim Policastro said about tubular track being difficult to weather convincingly and as he did on his ancient layout I also left the rounded top of the rails shiny on my layout.  In my case I bought a bunch of Clay colored ZIG Painty sticks from A.C. Moore and weathered the grooves just under the rounded rail tops.  All I did was slide the felt paint marker tip along the side of the rails.   It was pretty easy to do and the weathering has held up very well.  While not quite as realistic as on flat rail track the look is nonetheless pretty effective and certainly adds to the layout's appearance.  By the way, this technique was recommended on a previous forum post a few years back. 

That's a great looking scene, Jim.  

Most of my tubular track was acquired secondhand, and some of it was quite rusty, especially a big box of 072 curves and straights that I bought very cheap.   I cleaned the rusty track just by sanding the tops of the rails and cleaning the pins and pin holes, leaving the rail sides 'naturally weathered'. But it contrasts with newer tracks as you can see in this photo.

Painty sticks sounds like a good easy project; I'll have to try that.

So I get my order today for this item and somehow I ordered two of them. I guess in one of my "stupid" moments (of which there are many!) I did not realize that the starter kit came with one! Duh!...."starter kit"! So if anyone else has the urge to try this item I will sell it to you for $15.00 shipped (basically the cost of the item plus free shipping). Contact me via email and we can discuss further.

Thanks!

Ken

I used inexpensive acrylic paints by Americana or Delta to weather my tubular track. There was never a problem in conductivity. I painted the outside rails with Brown Iron Oxide and the middle rail black. I also cut window screen wood molding to add extra ties. For O-31 track it is a perfect size. Here are some of the results.