# Painting plastic ties.



## dsertdog56 (Oct 26, 2014)

Any recommendations for making black track ties a bit more real looking? 
Thanks!


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I do some creative mixes after ballasting.

First, on mains, maybe some watered down gray, then
a little watered down black or brown, followed
by watered down 'rust' that runs off the rail
sides.

For yard tracks rust is more dominent, while
on the mains I tried to have a more maintained
look. 

To get the best guide lines, go look at the rail mains
and yards in your area. Look also at less used
industrial spurs.

Don


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I paint them with acrylic paints -- a dark chocolate brown for the base color, with tan, gray, and black drybrushed highlights. You only have to paint the tops. The rest will be hidden by ballast. Some rust highlights near the rails can be effective, too (although I just let that come from the slop when I paint the web of the rail).

After the track is ballasted, use an airbrush or a thin wash to put a black streak down the center of the track to simulate oil and grease stains from your equipment.


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## Dr Bob (Dec 31, 2013)

I have been experimenting with pastel powers to add some character to me ties and ballast. I use black or dark gray for the center oil and grease down the middle and other colors to simulate rust, grim, etc. I first painted my rails a darker rust color and the ties with a wash of tie brown. The powered pastels looks great and you can vary the look as you wish at key track junctions.

Dr Bob


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

a lot depends both on era and budget of your 'railroad' ... they just put a new upgraded and heavier mainline here, about thirty miles, ties are solid black, rails are greyish black ..this was CN main line between my town and next one over... modern class 1 railroad ...ballast to the top of the ties and probably six feet to either side ..
my layout, on the other hand, is1890 era, low budget logging and mining.. at that time rail was bought used, so I sprayed rail and track rusty brown.. ties weren't creosote soaked, why bring in ties when they cut trees?? so ties got a weathered grey wash, untreated wood weathers much more rapidly .. and ballast used for my railroad was leftover dross from the mica mine, sand and gravel. so ballast is very minimal, and a larger portion of ties were left exposed ...
make the trackwork fit both the era and budget of your layout...


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## Dr Bob (Dec 31, 2013)

Sorry. Read "powders" in place of "powers" in my previous post. Darn fingers and aging eyes.

Dr Bob


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Dr Bob said:


> Sorry. Read "powders" in place of "powers" in my previous post. Darn fingers and aging eyes.
> 
> Dr Bob


You mean you're not a model railroading superhero? Drat.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Tie painting*

desrtdog56:

Many paint the ties a flat brown base color with an airbrush. This does not need to be some fancy, high priced artists brush. Harbor freight tool has a simple one for $10. (harborfreighttools.com). I recently bought one of these and I like the feature that it comes with multiple paint bottles. This makes it much easier to change colors than my expensive dual action brush. It's also easier to clean. 
I've also seen articles where a simple can of spray paint was used. This should be done LIGHTLY at a distance of two feet or more. Unlike an airbrush, a spray can is an all or nothing proposition. It puts out a lot of paint in a hurry, and you have no real control of how much.
After the base coat dries overnight, you can use "drybrushing", dipping only the tips of a small artist's-type paintbrush, then wiping that on a paper towel. Then you can just skim a tiny bit of paint onto the wood grain detail of the ties. weathering chalks work well for this too.
Rail sides, tie plates, and spikes, can be painted a dark, flat brown, gray, or rust, depending on how prosperous you want your railroad to look. 

Hope that helps you out.

Traction fan


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