# Painting rails and ties



## MikeB (Feb 11, 2016)

I'm almost at the point of ballasting, painting rails and ties. Ive been trying to do some searching on painting rails and ties. Haven't really found an answer. Is it better to paint the ties first? I'm thinking that if I do that then paint the rails, some paint from the rails would bleed onto the ties creating an illusion of rust falling on the ties. 

Also this product https://www.deluxematerials.co.uk/en/scale-plastics/104-ballast-bond-5060243901460.html came across my Twitter feed. Just wondering if anyone has heard of or used it?


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## tr1 (Mar 9, 2013)

*weatherimg the railway*

Painting the rails a weathered rusty color helps make the rails
look somewhat smaller. Weathering the ties,I don't know, if all that that is really necessary. My ballast was anchored down with 
several methods#1); white glue&water mixture with a couple
drops of liquid dish detergent, to breakup the surface tension,that way the mixture is easily absorbed with the ballast.#2.A white powder glue water base glue mixed into the ballast.
Liquid dish detergent helps with better absorption of the water mixture.
You could probably do your weathering after the ballast is
anchored down.If you think it really needs additional weathering.
You can always return to it later for additional touch ups.
Good luck weathering those assemblies of rusty rails.


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

I paint the ties first and then the rails. Try to avoid painting the rails with a " rust colour". Or at least go for a dark rust as opposed to a red/orange rust. Orange rusty rails are unused rails. If you look at pics of well used rails they tend to be, from viewing distances, dark/dirty/ almost black as opposed to the orange red colour that many modellers use.

For ballast I use yellow carpenters glue thinned with water and a drop of Joy and rubbing alchol.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I paint the ties, then the rails, then ballast. Even the brown ties on various models of flextrack don't look vary realistic. I base coat a chocolate brown and highlight (drybrush)with tans and grays.

Rails (inner and outer web) get a coat of dark rust.

After the ballast is down, I dribble a wash (paint thinned 10:1) of grimy black down the centerline to simulate oil and grease stains.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Ties first, then rails*

MikeB;

Sorry, lousy out of focus photo! Tried to delete it. Next reply has a decent photo.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Ties first, then rails*

MikeB;

I use an airbrush to paint the whole section of flex track with the tie color, dull, flat brown. The rails are then brush painted by hand. This sounds harder to control than it is. Use a small brush loaded with thin paint, and it flows on well ad generally stays on the rail only. Bear in mind, I'm doing this on N-scale, code 55 rail. If a little rail color drips onto the ties, well those are just the itty-bitty scale "tie plates", aren't they?
Ballast should only be applied last, after all track painting has dried completely.

Good Luck;

Traction Fan

P.S. photo below shows a hand painted turnout.


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

i used an airbrush to paint the rails with a reddish rusty color, and then a small brush with a white / gray wash for the ties .. on my era / layout, the ties were natural without creosote ..
and then ballast


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## SBRacing (Mar 11, 2015)

I spray my whole track with a satin brown, then go over the rail with testers rail brown paint marker. I then sand (yes I know some will cringe) with anywhere format 600 to 1000 grit sandpaper to get paint foff the rails. I tried thinners but had troubles with it. Once sand I hit it with a tack cloth to get 99% of dust off it. 
Sorry no pics.

Hope this helps.


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## santafealltheway (Nov 27, 2012)

wipe the paint off the rail tops right away, while its wet. then you dont have to do any sanding.


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## sachsr1 (Mar 3, 2016)

I used a small piece of 1" foam board to clean the rails right after I spray them. Takes about 99% of the paint off if it's still wet.


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## MikeB (Feb 11, 2016)

Thanks for all the replies, got a good direction to go now.


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## tr1 (Mar 9, 2013)

*Several ways to do things here?*

there seems to be really no standard way to achieve the desired
result. There is always room for experimentation.The idea here, is to keep at it until your satisfied with the end results. Regards,tr1


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## MikeL (Mar 21, 2015)

I'm going to paint my ties, then rail for the first time. Being colour-blind and also having no sense of colour, what is a good colour to use for the ties and the rail? I'm going to my local Michael's tomorrow - if someone can suggest a specific colour I would be very grateful (I think I've used the American Heritage brand before).

I also have a more general question - why does track come in black? Why wouldn't manufacturers apply some sort of colour that if left alone is more realistic?

Mike


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

I suspect you meant why does track come with black ties......

Atlas track has black ties....Peco and Shinohara ties are dark brown, as is (I think) Atlas code 83, which is probably more realistic...


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## SBRacing (Mar 11, 2015)

This is how I do it. I use a rattle of a dark brown and then with a 1000 or 1500 grit sand paper sand to top of the rails and then I use testors rail brown and or rust color for rails. Then I randomly use the tie brown color to hit ties at random to recreate replaced/older ties. Yes it is a b*tch to paint it but hand. But end result is great. Then I lay down the track and balast.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Track colors*



MikeL said:


> I'm going to paint my ties, then rail for the first time. Being colour-blind and also having no sense of colour, what is a good colour to use for the ties and the rail? I'm going to my local Michael's tomorrow - if someone can suggest a specific colour I would be very grateful (I think I've used the American Heritage brand before).
> 
> I also have a more general question - why does track come in black? Why wouldn't manufacturers apply some sort of colour that if left alone is more realistic?
> 
> Mike


MikeL;

Actually, all model track does not come with black ties, and shiny rails. Micro Engineering sells N-scale, and HO-scale flex track with highly detailed, brown ties, and weathered rail. It looks pretty good right out of the box. I model in N-scale, and use the Micro Engineering code 55 track (non-weathered rail) for all my visible track. For hidden, staging yard track I use Atlas code 80 ugly giant rail on black ties flex; because it's cheaper and works well. The ugly looks do not matter since it's hidden anyway.
I prefer to paint my own track, and the non-weathered variety is a little cheaper than the weathered type. 
Atlas also sells code 55 flex track with brown ties. The detail is not as good as the Micro Engineering track, but it's OK.
If your track is still loose, the easy painting method is to use Krylon "Red Oxide" primer spray paint. IT is a reasonable color for both rails and ties, although much closer to rail color than tie color. Real (wooden) ties come in many colors, depending on their age. Brand new, freshly creosoted ties are a very dark, almost black color. With age they change to lighter and lighter shades of brown, and end up a very weathered gray color.
If you are shopping at Michael's, that means craft paint. "Burnt Umber is a good tie color For older ties, like those on sidings or in yards; "Light Cinnamon" color would work. For rails, a 50/50 mix of "Light Cinnamon and "Tera Cotta" would look like rusty rails. Real rails are shiny silver only on top. The rails can't be painted for legal safety reasons. They quickly acquire a coating of rust, dirt, and grease. Another way to color model rails is to use Micro Engineering's "Weathering Solution." Rails should be cleaned with alcohol before applying the solution. It will chemically darken the rail to the same dull brown as their weathered rail track. I paint my track with model paint and a small brush. Then use chalk, and a wash of India ink diluted with alcohol. This produces a nice effect, but it;s a lot of work. 
Since you are color blind, I doubt that any elaborate weathering method would be noticeable to you. You may prefer to use the spray primer paint or the Micro Engineering track.

The photos show some of my painted, hand laid, track. Notice the rear track above the crossover in the second photo. It is Micro Engineering flex track that has not been painted yet. If I used the weathered rail type, It would look pretty good unpainted. The bit of straight track immediately above the crossover is Micro Engineering flex track that has been painted.

















good luck;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## gnnpnut (Oct 19, 2016)

*A lot depends on the era that you are modeling*

If you are modeling the period prior to roller bearings, I would simply spray the track with a grimy black color. The object is more to hide the shiny rails to keep your eye from being drawn to it. 

From an MR article:
"New cars built after 1966 were required to have roller-
bearing trucks, and solid-bearing trucks were banned from
interchange service after 1980.:

The lubricant used in solid bearing trucks actually had a very dark green tinge to it. Over time, a fair amount of it coated the rails. Couple that with gearcase leakage from the diesel locomotives, and plain bearing steam locomotives. 

If you look at real photos, you can see a stark difference in color photos: 










Contrast that to a modern photo near the same location:










In the photo showing more rusty rails, even then, it has a darker brown tinge than actual rust. 

Ties are generally a black color from the creosote, but over time, this fades into a grimy black color. Some people like to go in and paint individual ties slightly different black / grey colors to emphasize tie changes over time. This even makes three rail track look fantastic, as seen in this photo from Dennis Brennan:



Here is a shot from my model railroad (the old part of the layout). I'm lazy, so I just spray my track a grimy black color (I usually shoot Floquil Grimy Black, I have a large amount stored for just this purpose). 









I picked this photo on purpose as it emphasizes a point I want to make. You can find two spots on the track where I added feeders after I painted. Your eye will be drawn to it. Your eye will be drawn to shiny areas when you photograph, or when you look at your railroad. That should be avoided, as it isn't all that common in real life. 

But, at the end of the day, you have to do what looks good to YOU. What looks good to me may not look good to others. 

Regards,
Jerry


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## gnnpnut (Oct 19, 2016)

*Don't overlook a GREAT FREE RESOURCE*

In addition to visiting this forum, I spend a lot of time on the Model Railroad Hobbyist forum, as well as downloading their fine, FREE magazine monthly. 

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/

There are three articles involving ballasting / painting rail that would be of interest to you:

July 2009 issue

August, 2011 issue

April 2015 issue.

FREE downloads for all of their issues can be accessed here:

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/back-issues

Regards, 
Jerry


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I prefer to paint the rails AFTER ballasting.

Those pesky W/S nutshell based ballast particles
tend to float as you apply glue. Some will stick
to the sides of the rails. When you pick them loose
they pull the paint from the rail, so that's when I
decided to go with ballast first, then paint the
rails.

I used Walmart Crafts section cheap water
based paints...mixed my own in bottle caps til
I got the color I wanted. 

Get flat paints, black, brown, tan, orange, red and
white. You can get any degree of rust you want
with those colors to mix.

Don


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