One Question first

Are these Engines Steam Multi wheel or Diesel Two Truck engines? What your are calling paint is a plastic coating made of the same product the ties on the turnouts are.

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Are you running DC or DCC.  A short would normaly casue the power pack or command station to protect itself and would effect more than one engine on the layout. A stall would affect one engine at a time. Catching should simple enought to identify.

Atlas makes several types of  turnouts, what are yours.  Maybe a picture of the turnout (and the one with the paint issue)  would help us help you.

The paint issue is probably  at the frog. Are the frogs powered.   Probably not and then paint  would make any  difference.  If the frog IS powered than do not paint it. Picture would help

Marc Fournier, Quebec

Need more info

Where is the shorting/stalling/catching happening?  Points? Frog? Other?

What scale? HO?

What types of turnouts are these from Atlas?  Code 100 or 83?  "Super track" or snap switches?

What kind of loco is causing the trouble?  Steam or diesel?  What brand?

There is no paint on a stock Atlas turnout.  Many have metal frog castings treated with a chemical blackener.  It's normal for the blackener to wear as wheels roll over it.  You don't want to apply paint anywhere wheel treads will roll since the paint will wear off and distribute goop onto other parts of your track and lead to electrical contact problems.

One thing to note is that Atlas turnouts, especially in HO code 100, seem to have serious quality control issues with misalignment of the frog castings and wide gauge through the points.  Both can usually be fixed, but we don't have enough info yet to diagnose.