Track Painting - Has Anyone Else Noticed This?

[Flatrat]

I think the track brand is irrelevant. Lay the track. Then apply the Testor's paint marker to the sides of the rails, in whatever flat color suits your fancy, and they make quite a few, and run it along the rails, as fast as you want to go, everywhere the rails are visible and it's a done deal in seconds. No fumes, no respirators, no airbrush. Paint the ties later with a thinned down wash of burnt umber or whatever you think looks good. You can paint many feet of track so quickly with a paint marker, with no muss and no fuss. Maybe it's just me but I think once you've tried this method you'll wonder why anyone paints rails any other way. It looks great and it's so easy. Again, I'm sure someone will argue the point, so try it out on some test track, but... just try it.
I don't get a commission check from Testors and don't care if you enjoy painting your rails with a brush, a toothpick, or a an airbrush. i'm just saying, give these paint markers a try for track painting. I think you'll really like them. My new layout has about 40' of track and I painted the rails on all the track in about an hour, both sides. I used one and a half flat black markers and used a rust colored marker for about four feet of siding track.

S

[peteski]

Finished painting the last mile of track, and used the procedure that Peteski described above to remove the paint from the tops of the rails.  Definitely would recommend his procedure.  Was faster and less messy than letting the paint fully dry, then sanding the tops of the rails.  His procedure also made the rails look better, as the tops of the rails look slightly round (as originally manufactured) rather than appearing flat, after sanding.

Thanks, Peteski!

Only thing I did differently was to use "odorless" mineral spirits, rather than lacquer thinner to remove the paint.  I am told that the odorless mineral spirits are slightly less toxic than lacquer thinner, although not quite as effective at removing the paint.

You're welcome nscaleSPF2!  I didn't invent that method but I used it. I'm also glad that I reduced the amount of fear you have of organic solvent based paints.  If odorless mineral spirits work for you, that's great.

I use plain old Krylon Ultra-Flat Black to paint my ME (Railcraft) flextrack as well as my hand-laid turnouts.  AND, I use a good respirator and fire up my shop-vac to catch much of the particulate matter with a hose placed close to what I'm painting.  Seems to work well.

Bob, I think that you are very lucky guy! Why you ask? Because you are sucking a mixture of air and a very flammable organic Krylon paint solvent into your shop vac. The shop vacs have electric motors with brushes (which spark) and the motor is in the air stream.

Paint booths (which are also used to extract fumes and a particulate matter) either have the motor out of the exhaust air stream or they use AC motors with no commutator (no sparking).  What you're doing is similar to what we are told not to do when there is a natural gas leak in a house (not to turn on any electric appliances).  Just saying...

[havingfuntoo]

Bob I will second the warning on the shopvac, you are flirting with much danger, in fact I will go so far as to say it is just a matter of time if you keep using the vacuum cleaner, almost all vacuum cleaners use the exhaust air stream to cool the motors.

[LN2800]

FWIW, I don't sand. Before painting, I use the old trick of applying a thin film of 3-in-1 oil to the railtops. Immediately after painting, I wrap rag around a piece of scrap wood, splash a bit of isopropyl alcohol on it, and scrub the rail tops with it. The paint and oil come up quick and easy.

As a finishing touch, I also give the rail tops a quick swipe with a razor blade. Seems to always scrape something up.

Jim

I tried that trick early on, but I could never get the oil to stay on the railhead 100 percent of the time, inevitably it would always bleed down to the web and base of the rail in some places. Bad part is, you can't see this has happened until you've already sprayed the paint. I also tried Vaseline in its place, but quickly decided it was more mess than it was worth. The lacquer thinner is just so much easier.

[Cajonpassfan]

Re the Testors paint markers, they seem to be mostly available in gloss (other than flat black)...what am I missing? Otto

[peteski]

Re the Testors paint markers, they seem to be mostly available in gloss (other than flat black)...what am I missing? Otto

Doesn't Floquil make paint markers too?  Those would most likely be flat paints.

[Philip H]

Floquil is a Testor's brand - has been for several years. They do make a 3 pack of track painting pens which are indeed flat. They are a tad tall for code 55 but will work if you are patient.

[superchief]

I spray paint my track (airbrush or out of a can) about 2 to 3 feet at a time and with a block of wood(old 1" x 2" ) I just wipe the rail just after I paint it while it is still wet removing 95% of the paint off the railhead. After it dries(next day) I clean the track with a brite boy and have had no problems. Gordon

[Mike C]

Lots of people seem to like the paint markers. I think they are a great idea, BUT, I seem to have problems with them. After shaking the living S#@t  out of them  I try to apply paint to the sides of the rail. Problem is that the paint looks very transparent. No matter how many times I go over the rails they still look like nickel silver. And yes I do make sure the tip of the marker is well saturated with paint.. Its kinda like WTF !  From what I am reading here it seems that they should cover the rails with just one application. BTW I use the Kato Unitrack...Thanx.....Mike

[Flatrat]

The paint markers are a good solution I think for a simple 'no muss, no fuss' rail painting solution. You need to "pump" the tip a few times on a piece of scrap paper, etc. to get the tip to load up with paint otherwise they may apply a thin coat. I have only used them on peco 55 so I can't comment on other rail that's smaller but once you've 'loaded' up the felt tip marker it applies plenty of paint, more than enough i find, and you should be ready with some bits of paper towel or toilet paper, etc. to wipe off any excess that climbs up on top of the rail. I have also experienced sections of track that looked like the paint was "thin" after the paint dried. In my experience, simply go over those sections again with the markers and the second coat will look great. They come in numerous flat colors. I have only used the flat black and the rust colored markers but have been very satisfied with the results. Again, your mileage may vary but, why not give them a try. They're inexpensive and if they don't suit your needs you can apply something else over top of them.

[MichaelWinicki]

Lots of people seem to like the paint markers. I think they are a great idea, BUT, I seem to have problems with them. After shaking the living S#@t  out of them  I try to apply paint to the sides of the rail. Problem is that the paint looks very transparent. No matter how many times I go over the rails they still look like nickel silver. And yes I do make sure the tip of the marker is well saturated with paint.. Its kinda like WTF !  From what I am reading here it seems that they should cover the rails with just one application. BTW I use the Kato Unitrack...Thanx.....Mike

Hey Mike C, I found the similar results (kinda transparent) using any of the 3 "Track" Floquil markers. 

What I do is use the Weathered Black marker out of the "Structures" pack as a base-coat.  That covers nice & dark, and then go back and use one of the "Track" markers for the desired final color... but most of my track was left the Weathered Black.  The darker the color, the smaller the rail looks.

[fredmoehrle]

I usually airbrush (acrylics) my track prior to installation.
Rub off the top with a piece of pine also.
One trick I use on the end of the track is Atlas insulated joiners.
The soft plastic forms to the rails nicely, and leaves a good, clean spot for the solder to stick.

[Mike C]

Hey Mike C, I found the similar results (kinda transparent) using any of the 3 "Track" Floquil markers. 

What I do is use the Weathered Black marker out of the "Structures" pack as a base-coat.  That covers nice & dark, and then go back and use one of the "Track" markers for the desired final color... but most of my track was left the Weathered Black.  The darker the color, the smaller the rail looks.

Thanks Mike, I'll have to try that....Mike

[robert3985]

Bob, I think that you are very lucky guy! Why you ask? Because you are sucking a mixture of air and a very flammable organic Krylon paint solvent into your shop vac. The shop vacs have electric motors with brushes (which spark) and the motor is in the air stream.

Paint booths (which are also used to extract fumes and a particulate matter) either have the motor out of the exhaust air stream or they use AC motors with no commutator (no sparking).  What you're doing is similar to what we are told not to do when there is a natural gas leak in a house (not to turn on any electric appliances).  Just saying...

Yeah yeah...I've been doing it for years and I am fully aware of the potential dangers.  However, I'm not spraying enough solvent into the air to make a combustible mixture.  It's not like I'm layering an 1/8" layer of paint on my tracks...just very light passes...and the motor is in the can about ten feet of 3" hose away.  If it blows...it'll do it in the can.

I have made at least half a dozen paint booths, with the motor out of the ductwork's way so as not to cause an explosion.  Several companies offer blowers that specifically are for paint booths or removing flammable fumes...which is what I've used in the past.

But, it's good advice and something to think about.  Now that I've thought about it, I'm sure I'll continue my sinful ways...

[CN_Kiwi]

Has anyone tried the Woodland Scenics Paint markers? How do they compare to the Testors Marker pens?

Colin.