# Track weathering with paint pens?



## TrainButKindaCheap (Dec 9, 2020)

First question here: i bought the track paint pens from woodland scincs and i have questions on how to use them

How do you get rid of the bumps of unpainted area around the track clamps


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

That is why I abandoned the pens and went with a very small brush and flat "dark rust" paint from Vallejo. Yes, it is right up there with track ballasting on the tedium list.

I first tried coming along behind the pen with that very small brush while the paint was still wet, but you can only do a few inches with the pen, then you have to hit it with the brush before it dries. So that method amounted to painting the rails twice.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

That sounds even worse than ballasting.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

... which is why there's a lot of track not painted.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Airbrush and a moving mask if your not to steady.


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

I painted my track in 2 steps.

I first masked off the surroundings and then used an airbrush with flat dark brown paint to paint all the ties. I was careful to also mask off the moving parts of my turnouts before spraying. Shortly after spraying, I wiped down the top surfaces of the rails to make sure they were clean. This ensures that all the ties are the same color all around your layout. (I found the ties were originally slightly different colors between by turnouts and flex track.) It also removes the plastic "sheen" of the original track.

After the base paint dried, I came back and painted the sides of the rails using a flat rusty brown color. I used micro brushes to paint the inside and outsides of each rail. This was really tedious and I could only stand to paint a few feet of track at a time. So it took me a few weeks to do all the painting. However, I'm really happy with the results.

Here's a couple of pictures to show the larger view and the up close final results:


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## TrainButKindaCheap (Dec 9, 2020)

Stumpy said:


> That is why I abandoned the pens and went with a very small brush and flat "dark rust" paint from Vallejo. Yes, it is right up there with track ballasting on the tedium list.
> 
> I first tried coming along behind the pen with that very small brush while the paint was still wet, but you can only do a few inches with the pen, then you have to hit it with the brush before it dries. So that method amounted to painting the rails twice.


thanks i will try that


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

Mark VerMurlen said:


> I'm really happy with the results.


As you should be. Looks awesome!


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