rail paint

[ironlake]

does anyone have a recomendation for a paint that would look like the sides of new rail.  I looked at it today in the yard and it is a hard  color to try and figure out how to go about mixing it.

[NarrowMinded]

Are you talking NEW new which is a sort of dark blueish color?
or new been sitting in the yard and has a dusting of rust?


NM-Jeff

[Chuck N]

What type of track are you using:  brass, nickel-silver, stainless steel, or aluminum?  They all weather to different patinas.  Painting isn't usually necessary, unless your layout is indoors and the natural color of the rail is a problem.

[Kevin Strong]

Most folks use a brown primer or similarly-colored spray paint on the rails. As others have said, usually if you're using brass or nickel silver rail, you don't need to worry as the rail will take on its own natural patina after a short while. The amount of time depends on the particular alloy and the environment. For aluminum and stainless, the paint is your best bet. Stick with the mainstream brands (Krylon, Rust-o-leum, Val-Spar, etc.) as they're UV stable and will not discolor. I used Floquil's "Rail Brown" on my aluminum rail back in the mid 90s, and within a year, it faded to "Rail Olive Green."

Later,

K

[ironlake]

It is for the silver bachmann rail and I want it to look like new rail, shinny on top and the dark grey color on sides and it is for the base display I will make for my K27 kept inside.

[Kevin Strong]

"New" rail, by the time it gets to the railroad and put down, is already nicely rusted. The stuff is stored outside from the moment it's rolled at the steel mills. When you see "new" rail lying beside the track waiting to be replace the old, it's as rusty as the rail it's replacing. I don't think I've ever seen un-rusted rail on the ground with trains running over it.

If you're just painting the track for an indoor display track, I'd spray the track with ruddy brown primer, then go back and hit the ties with some brown acrylic paint. If you want to get really fancy, you can drybrush some tan or grey (my favorite is Folk-Art "Barnwood") to highlight the ties. I might be tempted to go over the rails with some dilute black paint just to give the rails some variation in color, but the rectangular profile of the Bachmann tinplate track may not lend itself to that being all that effective.

Later,

K

[ironlake]

The CN just put in new rail in our town and the sides of it have some kind of oxidation on them.  It is a dirty grey and that is the color I would like to use but do not know enough how to mix paints to get that color.  With 4 grain cars every day the tops of the rail do not get a chance to rust.

[Kevin Strong]

Get some black acrylic craft paint and some tan paint, and mix it together to get the color you want. The tan will lighten the black, but roll it over to the warmer side of grey. I generally use this mixture (and black/brown) when I weather things to give me a nice grimy-looking black.

Later,

K

[ironlake]

thanks, will have to try it