# Does anybody paint their tubular track.



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Curious if anybody paints their tubular track. Like a rust brown.


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## phillyreading (Aug 25, 2015)

I have tried painting my track one time but won't do it again. You need to be careful where the paint goes, can't get the paint on the rail area where the wheels make contact.

Lee Fritz


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## BigAl56 (Dec 14, 2011)

Seems like a futile time waster in the tube track world when naturally rusty track can be found everywhere for pennies.


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## Panther (Oct 5, 2015)

Absolutely, I also paint the ties black, and add several wooden ties.
I have since changed the center rail to black. I use scotchbrite pad, and a block of wood to clean the paint off of the tops of the rails.

Dan


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

*paint tubular?*

i've got some of mine painted. and a lot not due to rerouting and expanding over the years.

painted 031 tubular

















stained gargraves flex


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## Panther (Oct 5, 2015)

phillyreading said:


> I have tried painting my track one time but won't do it again. You need to be careful where the paint goes, can't get the paint on the rail area where the wheels make contact.
> 
> Lee Fritz


Before you assemble the track use scotchbrite and a block of wood to clean the excess residue from the rail.

Dan


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## DennyM (Jan 3, 2016)

Panther said:


> Absolutely, I also paint the ties black, and add several wooden ties.
> I have since changed the center rail to black. I use scotchbrite pad, and a block of wood to clean the paint off of the tops of the rails.
> 
> Dan


Dan, is that loco a Marx?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I've painted the Atlas track for the club modules, then I just clean the rail tops. Comes out great.


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

When I had tubular track I always painted it. I now use Ross only & that is painted. I rub off the center rail with iso. alcohol.


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## bluecomet400 (Sep 13, 2015)

I use Lionel tubular track, un-painted. For me, the shinier the better as I like the toy look.


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Yes, every inch of it... It is easy. First spray WD40 on a paper towel, wipe it across the top of the track. Spray with Rustoleum Camouflage paint. Immediately, take a dry paper towel and wipe the paint off the top of the rails. The pictures below are Lionel O27 profile track with Gargraves switches.


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## bluecomet400 (Sep 13, 2015)

Looks great, Wood!! Your 773 looks fantastic too.


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## Yellowstone Special (Jun 23, 2015)

Hmm . . . interesting perspectives on painting tubular 3-rail rack, guys.

IMO, any kind of third-rail track already looks unprototypical and unrealistic because of that dog gone third rail. And the old-fashioned tubular track REALLY looks that way. 

So painting it in an attempt to try making it look more prototypical is a loosing battle and to me, seems like a lot of extra work for minimal effect.

However, the photos shown in this thread do make 3-rail tubular track look pretty good.


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## Panther (Oct 5, 2015)

DennyM said:


> Dan, is that loco a Marx?


Yes one of several I've restored. I take old locos that are about trash, then completely go through the entire engine, top to bottom, front to back.
Here are others I've completed.
The loco on the left is my version of the Daylight Special. 

Dan


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Yellowstone Special said:


> Hmm . . . interesting perspectives on painting tubular 3-rail rack, guys.
> 
> IMO, any kind of third-rail track already looks unprototypical and unrealistic because of that dog gone third rail. And the old-fashioned tubular track REALLY looks that way.
> 
> ...



Vern, I agree with you about the third rail screwing the whole mess up. But, it is what we have... My entire layout was shiny O27 profile track with O42 curves. Then I started reading these forums and learned how exceptional you can make a layout look with scenery, ballast, lights and details. So my choice was to pull all the O27 profile track and buy Gargraves or find a way to enhance the O27. I do like O27 profile it is easy to work with and has excellent connectivity. It was a bit of a job! But, that's what I like. My whole orientation moved to modeling my layout. I have enjoyed, almost  , every moment and my layout has taken on a whole new appearance. It keeps me busy...


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## balidas (Jun 3, 2011)

www.tinman3rail.com

These guys paint all the track they sell. I'm going to try what they do & what Wood does. The layout I'm planning in 027 tubular will have track from Sakai, Marx, Lionel, K Line & Williams which means there will be all kinds of finishes so I'm thinking I want to try & blend it all somewhat. 






Panther said:


> Yes one of several I've restored. I take old locos that are about trash, then completely go through the entire engine, top to bottom, front to back.
> Here are others I've completed.
> The loco on the left is my version of the Daylight Special.
> 
> Dan


That's nice work!


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## Nikola (Jun 11, 2012)

Wood said:


> Yes, every inch of it... It is easy. First spray WD40 on a paper towel, wipe it across the top of the track. Spray with Rustoleum Camouflage paint. Immediately, take a dry paper towel and wipe the paint off the top of the rails. The pictures below are Lionel O27 profile track with Gargraves switches.
> 
> View attachment 272913
> 
> ...


Not bad.


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Thank you for all of the nice comments on my track. I did not do this out of the blue, it all happened from reading your posts and a nice booklet I picked up a few years ago.

For those interested, the below link is Dennis Brennan's book on "Realistic Modeling for Toy Trains - a High Rail Guide". It cost $20.00. I purchased this a number of years ago and it was very helpful. All of the paint colors and procedures for ballasting and painting your track plus a whole lot more for other aspects of your layout. Highly recommended.

http://www.brennansmodelrr.com/store/index.php?categoryid=122&productid=12


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