One of my regrets is not weathering my gargraves/ross track during the build. I have tried the rail rust pen, don't like the results at all. Is there a better after the fact way to accomplish this task?
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I had always weathered structures. Then started doing rolling stock and engines. My track was ballasted and now the shiny rails really stood out. I ended up doing it with an airbrush. No masking. It was tough getting into some areas. I had most of the layout done and then never got back to finishing one area for about 5 years which was the hardest area to reach. You are going to get paint on the ties and ballast. But it will blend in. I shot the rails from the sides with a brown and then went back and shot grimy black sort of straight down.
If you do go this route. If you have a helper it goes quicker. While you focus on painting. Your helper can be wiping the rail tops. I already owned an airbrush. Make sure you use one that can carry a fair amount of paint via a bottle. A single action Passche works good and is easy to use and clean.
One big negative. As your moving forward. The hose to the brush is dragging along behind you. You have to pay attention to it that it doesn’t snag anything. You also have to keep moving the compressor along. If I was starting from scratch today. I would give the new airbrushes that have a rechargeable battery a look. I have no experience with one but they seem to get decent reviews. They seem perfect for this application. You now have the freedom of moving around the layout not tethered to an airline and compressor.
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