Gibbon, Cozad & Western - "The 100th Meridian Line"

[tappertrainman]

FYI we went with black skirting, and just like a new black shirt or pants it shows EVERY speck of dust or modeling goop.  It will also fade poorly if you wash them.  I really like my black fascia, but dark gray or something else would have been better for skirting in my opinion.

[Steveruger45]

Me too.

[bdennis]

I use a near black colour on my fascia called "Monument". My skirting is black.


The colour difference between the fascia and the skirting is more pronounced in the picture.

[mighalpern]

I got a 5 gallon bucket of spare paint from work many years ago and i have really like it,  its a mix of green and grey, called Avocado   from Benjamin Moore
It has that industrial kinda lookpaired with black skirting it looks ( to me ) very nice, complaints each other
2 cents
Miguel

 

[peteski]

Now that I'm home on the machine with PS, how's this?:



Robyn's not liking the black skirting and suggests having it closer to the floor color.

I agree with Robyn.
I waould also try warmer gray. Anything but black. 

[peteski]

I got a 5 gallon bucket of spare paint from work many years ago and i have really like it,  its a mix of green and grey, called Avocado   from Benjamin Moore
It has that industrial kinda lookpaired with black skirting it looks ( to me ) very nice, complaints each other
2 cents
Miguel

Avocado?  The Avocado I remember was an ugly puke-yellowish-green color popular as an appliance color in the '70s.  This looks nothing like it. 

[peteski]

Here is another color combo my friend used on his layout.  The colors are subdued and don't jump stand out like a sore thumb like black would. I don't know the names of the colors, but I could find out (if he remembers).  The skirting it the same color we use for the skirts in our local NTRAK club. And yes, black is hard to keep clean (like like black cars).

[C855B]

Thank you, everybody! Much help with visualization.

This is interesting...



On the left is the color I'm already using on benchwork legs, the right is the Photoshopped gray (from above) on the fascia. Close, huh?

No particular magic with the shade on the legs, it was something in a Krylon spray from the local hardware store that was roughly in the same hue family as the gray floor. Not that I'd use that particular paint on the fascia (discovered to have poor durability on plastic), but it sure does reveal where my mind already was on this. Hopefully the local plastics wholesaler will be able to provide a sample of the gray ABS, and see where it stands relative to everything else.

[Chris333]

Whatever color I'd go for an semigloss. Flat would look better, but it shows fingerprints like crazy.

[C855B]

I've been using satins, but also am planning on "haircell" textured plastic rather than tempered hardboard. That does wonders for hiding fingerprints and smudges. It's the stuff custom audio installers use for trim and escutcheons.

[Chris333]

I know that stuff. Yeah it should work.

[davefoxx]

@C855B,

If you do decide to paint that plastic fascia, which would give you many more paint color options, maybe you should try something like this to make the paint stick to plastic better:



Hope this helps,
DFF

[C855B]

Thanks, Dave. Yesterday I picked up a quart can of Rustoleum primer for plastics, and the test on the ABS is good. Tough stuff. We'll see in the morning how scratch-resistant the acrylic color over it is.

[peteski]

Thanks, Dave. Yesterday I picked up a quart can of Rustoleum primer for plastics, and the test on the ABS is good. Tough stuff. We'll see in the morning how scratch-resistant the acrylic color over it is.

I would give it about a month (for the paint to fully set and harden) before the final scratch-trial.

[LKOrailroad]

Test it like a paint company would...

Paint it.
Allow to fully cure (rub your finger on it aggressively with your nose held close, can you smell it?).
Submerge in water for 24 hours.
Allow to dry out for 24 hours.
Razor blade a 1/8" x 1/8" grid of slits down to the plastic.
Burnish masking tape across the grid.
Pull tape at as close to 180 degrees as possible.

No squares removed - ideal.
A few squares removed and/or corners of some squares removed - acceptable.
Large patches of squares removed - fail.

The 24 hour water soak test is reasonably indicative of long term water (humidity) migration in and out of the paint film and its detrimental effect on adhesion.

For modeling purposes such testing is ludicrous. But for a fascia which is likely to see some abrasive abuse over the years it would be beneficial for the paint to be well adhered.