Woodland Scenics' "Track Painters"

GCRailways please post pics when you finish i am curious how it turned out.  i wass thinking of using the same product with my fastrack would like to see your outcome.

Same here post some photos when you are done.   I plan to weather my rails, ties, and roadbed on my fastrack.  

I'm in the process as well just playing with some old track. I did use the testor weathering pens (rust) on these tracks. Also trying different ballast, one track no 50/50 ink wash, then 1 coat, then two coats of ink wash. I think it looks better in person than the pictures show . I'm still in the experimenting mode

I'd be curious as to how those markers work on Fastrack as I haven't had much luck with markers due to the shiny rails; the ink just doesn't stick.

I'm actually a step ahead... Thought wise, at least.  I painted the rails and some tie plates of one section last night.  I will finish the rest of the tie plates later today and take a picture or two.  The paint pens definitely work, but due to the profile of the rail, there is a bit of a technique required that I'll need to master.

Okay, here is the first section, connected to an unpainted section to show the contrast.  I must apologize, the lighting in my room is atrocious:

 

 

 

 

Up close of the end of the section:

 

 

You may or may not be able to see the rust color on the tie plates. The rust color goes on with more of an orange tint but dries more brown.  The steel is more of grayish brown.

 

When using these paint pens, one recommendation is to put the paint on kind of heavy.  Also, painting that small edge of the roadbed where the rail sits makes it look like the spikes actually have something to hold to the ties.  The hardest part is getting a smooth edge where the sides of the rail meets the top.  I have no plans to do anything with the roadbed.

 

Thoughts?  Comments?  Let me know how it looks.

 

Aaron

Wow, that's a huge improvement.   It must be tedious work, what with the tie plates and all.

I've been using the Steel Rail pens on my Fastrack.  I've done about 80 pieces so far.  I did two coats (letting it dry between applications).  It's easy to do the inside of the rails because you can rest the pen on the center rail and get a nice straight line.  For doing the outside of the rails, I butted the track up against a 1x2" piece of trim, using it as a guide.  That way, you don't get any wavy lines.  To get it even where the sides meet the top of the rail, I wrapped a paper towel around my index finger ran it along the top after each application. 

 

The pens work great and last a long time.  I'll try to post some pictures this evening.

       
       

I've got nothing else to do as far as the trains are concerned, so I might as well give it my best!  I even tried to paint the stamped fish plates on the end of the rails with the rust color, but it's too hard to see on top of the steel color.

One piece I have been wondering about is the electromagnet casing on the uncoupling section.  Any ideas?  I'd rather it look like a big metal thing on the track than a big plastic thing!  I would mask the magnet to keep the paint out, of course.

May I make a suggestion?

Go out and find a mainline near you to see what the track actually looks like before you go painting your track red. I think you will find that shades of grey are more prevalent that shades of brown or red. Also notice how the track blends in with everything rather that stick out like a sore thumb.

What GCR has above is close to what rail actually looks like.

what do you consider a long time? to do all 3 rails i'm going thru a woodland scenic marker about every 10-12 sections with 1 coat before it starts thinning out to where one coat won't cover well

 

I'm still on my first pen!  Of course I started with the smaller sections of track (1.75", 4.5" and 5") but I've also done about 15 of the 10" pieces (2 coats) and about 20 more 10" sections with one coat.   I'm not doing the center rail, but that shouldn't make that much of a difference.  Are you pressing the tip on a paper towel when it starts to get lighter? 

frequently on a piece of cardboard and I forgot about the 6 pieces of 30" track I left standing in a corner that are also done waiting for the ballast to be painted so I guess that's not bad. 

No, that sounds pretty good.  I only bought 2 pens and I'm getting ready to start the 30" pieces, so I figure I'll need more.