OK, I saw the question about a paint pen for weathering rail. I'd like to know what people are using, the pen or brush, or spraying. And colors.
Thanks.
Jeff
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Do a forum search.... click on the search tab, then on the left side, select "forums", and then type in either "painting track" or "weathering track" and click "search". It will bring up many many results on this topic.
Joey....the dry dust/paint method of which you speak.....do you seal it in any way or just leave it after you are done? In other words, is it permanent or not?
Thanks,
Alan
Alan,
Because the initial dry dust on the track is before I ballast, the ballast glue mix (white/water/alcohol/detergent) seals it and dulls it further. Also, painting it flat black beforehand is key as it provides a biting surface for the chalk.
Now after I ballast and then dust, that dust settles and for the most part stays. It is usually within the same day that I do this, so I would imagine that because it still has a little wetness, the final dust stays put.
I have not even had to do any touch ups yet and the mini and modules have been in and out of the trailer and shop. I usually do a light vacuum before/after shows to pick up any junk and even then I have not really had to re-apply.
Woodland Scenics has a felt tip type unit that comes in 3 colors, rust, tie brown and one more that I can't think of right now. I bought the rust and had my wife apply it to the sides of the rails (Atlas track) and it looks great! One pen does quite a bit of track. I have a 10' by 32' layout and I needed two pens. She did it after the track was laid and ballasted without any problems. I know there are a lot of ways to do your track, but rust is rust.
Thanks to all for these tips, they will be much appreciated when I am ready to do the work!!!
Thank you all!!!!!!!
Jeff
I know this thread is a few weeks old, but one way I paint/weather my rails is with my airbrush. I spray the track with Testors Model Master, Raw Umber giving it that dark, dirty brown almost flat black look we see on most railroads. Then in the spots I want a slightly rusted appearance I spray a very light amount of Testors Flat brown. This light covering gives it that light, hint of rust. I will also use Floquil or Poly Scale Rust to do the same. However Testors had to go and discontinue those two lines of paint. Still haven't forgiven them. 
An orange or brown Sharpie. works great and fast. Tom
I will have a how-to video posted in the next week on this very subject
Originally Posted by Joey_Ricard:
I will have a how-to video posted in the next week on this very subject
Looking forward to the video!!
For those interested
Mind you, this is a cell phone picture, but I wanted to show what it looks like up close.
This is O gauge micro engineering flex track done with this technique. Other than cleaning up a bit to make it photo close up ready, it's basically done. This represents heavy modern mainline.
This weeks video from me will be a how-to on making and using model "WEEDS" but next week I will get to the weathered rail video.
Originally Posted by Joey_Ricard:
That's awesome! Looking forward to the video and trying it myself.
For those interested
I used the Woodland Scenics pen on my Kato N scale layout and it made a huge improvement and I plan to use it on my FasTrack layout as well. It's quick, easy and not too expensive. It's a low investment/high return type of project.
Everyone here has used far superior techniques than me. I'm almost embarrassed to say that I oiled the rails and used good old fashion spray paint and the result was very plausible. Much of the work here is superior.
John, One thing I've learned about weathering over the last few years is how simple it is to get great looking results. The hardest part is just jumping in and doing it. There are a lot of great and simple methods to get the results you want. And you don't have to be an artist. Your method really isn't that different from what others do. I've done the same thing, just used an airbrush. 
I'm looking forward to Joeys method. I love learning and trying new ways of doing what I thought I had down. That's what I love about Model Railroading... I can always start over.
I'm looking forward to Joeys method. I love learning and trying new ways of doing what I thought I had down. That's what I love about Model Railroading... I can always start over. Originally Posted by John C.:
Everyone here has used far superior techniques than me. I'm almost embarrassed to say that I oiled the rails and used good old fashion spray paint and the result was very plausible. Much of the work here is superior.
Marc:
I'm really aggravated with myself because I'm constructing a huge museum quality layout and I thought that I had planned and prepared for everything. It never occurred to me until this post that my wife, Connie, and I have weathered everything! Everything! except the track and there is over 300 some odd feet of track that is already down including ballast. You know what that means? We, probable me, get the thrill of using a little paint brush and "rusting" the rails that show from the aisleway. Oh that should take more than 5 to 10 years, huh? Wish I would have weathered the track right out of the box! That would have dramatically sped up the process!
I'm ashamed to report that I've never used an airbrush in my over 40 years in this hobby. That is sad, huh?
Originally Posted by J Daddy:
John C. - buy an air brush, or two... it will go faster than you think!
use a 3x5 card to avoid in getting overspray everywhere.
John, I understand completely. Gosh, that must seem like a daunting job with over 300' of track. However, not a bad problem to have. 
I also suggest to pick up an airbrush. You don't need anything fancy. Once you get one you'll shake your head at how easy and efficient they are to use. I use an Iwata Eclipse and I also have a paasche dual action that works great. I spray on track that has already been laid and ballasted. Heck the hardest part is deciding on the color you want and thinning the paint. I say give it a shot. Practice on a spare piece of track. You'll be glad you did.
I also suggest to pick up an airbrush. You don't need anything fancy. Once you get one you'll shake your head at how easy and efficient they are to use. I use an Iwata Eclipse and I also have a paasche dual action that works great. I spray on track that has already been laid and ballasted. Heck the hardest part is deciding on the color you want and thinning the paint. I say give it a shot. Practice on a spare piece of track. You'll be glad you did.Originally Posted by John C.:
Marc:
I'm really aggravated with myself because I'm constructing a huge museum quality layout and I thought that I had planned and prepared for everything.
Joey....thanks for the very detailed and complete explanation. I am going to try it as I am at that stage right now...
Alan
ME TOO, AFTER SEEING THE RESULTS, I WOULD LIKE TO TRY THIS TECHNIQUE .THANKS
actually the hardest thing is cleaning it so when you come back and use it the next day it still works!
Like John I have about 300' of Ross track. I used the floquil pens & did all of the track before installing it.
Before ballasting, I spray the the track with Rustoleum Camo Brown then do additional weathering to both the rails and ties with various colors of chalk.
I'll tell you J Daddy that is exactly what turned me off on the idea of an airbrush years ago.
I really need to try for myself as Marc C. suggested. I'm certain, without knowing, that it would have to be easier to spray than paint by hand!
Marc: Can you come over with you air-brush!
Originally Posted by J Daddy:
actually the hardest thing is cleaning it so when you come back and use it the next day it still works!
John,
Your quandary is easy to solve. I've done it many times. Just use shirt cardboard as masks you can hold with your fingers and spray away. Rustoleum brown for the rails and gray for the ties. Cut out some card board masks about 4 by 8 inches and some strips to mask between the center ties and the middle rail if you are going to leave it black.
Wipe the tops of the rails immediately with a rag using lacquer thinner or acetone.
Come back with a squirt bottle of india ink and alcohol to stain the grey ties and rail and even the ballst.
Remember you only need to weather the rail you can see. I try to weather all rail before installing. but sometimes I forget.
Originally Posted by Joey_Ricard:
I love this shot!
John C.
I stalled on learning the airbrush too. It was a lot of money to get started, compressor, tank, bottles, gun, etc... not mention paint, filters.
But I have to say with places like Harbor Freight, clogging a gun or breaking a bottle is not that costly anymore....
now if I could just buy airbrush paint in acrylic by the pint....
Originally Posted by John C.:
Marc:
I'm really aggravated with myself because I'm constructing a huge museum quality layout and I thought that I had planned and prepared for everything. It never occurred to me until this post that my wife, Connie, and I have weathered everything! Everything! except the track and there is over 300 some odd feet of track that is already down including ballast. You know what that means? We, probable me, get the thrill of using a little paint brush and "rusting" the rails that show from the aisleway. Oh that should take more than 5 to 10 years, huh? Wish I would have weathered the track right out of the box! That would have dramatically sped up the process!
You can very easily and neatly airbrush the rails after the ballast has been already been put down. Rich Battista shows a fine example in one of his Black Diamond videos, I think Vol 2.
Couple mixed cans of spray paint and you’ll be done in 30 minutes. 
https://steves3roscale.shutterfly.com/pictures/3168
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Looks good!...
I tried using the MicroLux paints by Micro Mark. Here is a shot of the rails airbrushed with rail brown. This was my first time using an airbrush. Its a bit of a learning curve, but not too bad and I'm no artist.
Anyway, I am not happy with the rail brown color. In my opinion, the shade of brown is not dark enough. Plus, I do not like the green look in this color. I am going to try the roof brown color mixed with some grimmy black. This was mentioned in one of the other track weathering treads.
I have a stupid question. The MicroLux paint is a water based acyrlic. Will the paint job run later when I apply the glue/water mixer for the ballast?
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Definitely experiment with a couple colors. I settled on Testor's Raw Umber or Burnt Umber. It was a close match for the dark rails that I see regularly. If I want rust I use a rust colored paint and lightly spray the areas I want it on.
Although a bit labor intensive, I use a large eye dropper to soak my ballast so I haven't run into the issue with Acrylic based paints. Not to mention the Testor's Paints I use are not acrylic. I'll try to post some pics tonight just for reference.
Marc
Originally Posted by MrAnderson:
I tried using the MicroLux paints by Micro Mark. Here is a shot of the rails airbrushed with rail brown. This was my first time using an airbrush. Its a bit of a learning curve, but not too bad and I'm no artist.
For anyone still interested...
Here are some pictures of track painted with Microlux roof brown mixed with a bit of grimmy black. In the last picture, you can see a test piece sprayed with rail brown for comparison.
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Marc, that looks great!
