Painting the track

makes such a huge difference to me.  Little screams "model railroad" like unpainted track.  Looks really good, Jason.  Can't wait to see it all ballasted and the scenery start to come together.

Started the mammoth task of painting all the ties tonight...

It might have been a bit easier to paint before the signals and other equipment were installed? .....DaveB

Painting track

Really makes a difference even before the track is ballasted. You are making great progress!

One comment on signal placement that I see more clearly in these photos. Signal P385A governs movements on Tracks 2 thru 8 East that go over the diamond, correct? It should be moved west to the clearance point between the two tracks of the turnout it is hanging over. Other wise, I could see a train getting a favorabe aspect at signal P365 go east on Track 1, take the "connecting track" and sideswipe a train sitting on Tracks 2 thru 8 East that goes over the diamond, that is right up against a Stop at signal P385A.

Your signalling work is well done. Let me know what you think. 

Fran Giacoma

Nice

A lot of work but very necessary for a good looking layout.

I assume you are going to add ties to the blank areas where the tracks are joined?

Joe

Hi Fran...

The way I have the signal logic setup for that block (the yellow marks) that has P385A in it, is that if the block is occupied it won't allow a favourable signal from P365, L200, P387A or P367A.

This is the great part about JMRI and its logic within PanelPro.

​ 

Jas...

More?

Shouldn't P377A and P379A also be set up to show stop when the turnouts are aligned to allow access to Track 1 and the shown 'yellow block' is occupied?

Don...

Yes you’re right Don, I have both P377A & P379A setup to show red aspects when the block bounded by the yellow marks is still occupied, and either turnout is aligned for southbound travel on Track 1.

Jas.

Explanation

Thanks Jason for the explanation. Makes sense. Ok back to painting rails and ties!

Fran Giacoma

Lots of ties, lots of paint

Jas - nice painting job.  Was wondering what your favorite method is for cleaning Rustoleum off the railheads?

Thanks Kevin...

As soon as I've sprayed it, I run a piece of cork sheet or road bed over track.  Then after 5 - 10 minutes I run over the entire section with a track cleaning pad.

Jas...

Wahl Oil

I also use Rust-oleum camouflage paint to spray my track. But, before I spray I wipe a thin layer of Wahl Oil along the railheads using a q-tip. After the paint has dried, I then wipe the paint off the rail heads with a paper towel. Piece of cake! Works for me. As for switch points, I go to the trouble of masking with a narrow strip of masking tape about 1/4" long on both the tip of the points and the running rail.

Fumes?

Tried spraying my track once and only once. Wife had a major revolt and so did I as it took 3 days for the fumes to clear out even with a filter going.

So how do you handle the fumes?

Jack

Fumes

Hey Jack,

 I always "rattle can" the track as procedure #1. This allows me to lay down an old canvas tarp on the garage floor and open the garage door. If it is a nice day the painting can take place outdoors. A canvas tarp is important.

Works for me.

Agree

I always want to do any painting/like track outside. I simply spread newspapers and lay flex and turnouts on it. Small bits of tape of some kind on the actual points individually. Wanting paint to be on the ties as much as possible. A simple rattle can of your favorite color. If there's a slight breeze, you can put weights on the paper to prevent it blowing. Too much breeze, forget it - wait for another day. When actually necessary to paint indoors, for models, I use a brush and don't have any spray to worry about. Any oil or whatever is good for the rail tops. If you have trouble with drying outside, I'd suggest you wait for a dry day. The cheap paint I used was bought at H-D in a chocolate color and it dried within 2 hours. So, you may wish to try a different brand. I'm so frugal, I hate to spend money on Rustoleum. A can that costs more than $2 or so is too much.Yes, of course, cheap paint can splatter more than the other, but for spraying track, I'm not trying to cover the entire track, just to get an overspray to dull it down a bit. It's the tedious touch up that you need to do after laying the track that is more work. This is just my opinion. No offense intended.

Beauty of TOMA

Wife leaves...

My wife unit leaves the house occasionally. That's when the track painting begins. I open the doors and bomb away. Of course, the whole house smells like paint when she gets home. But, by then the track is painted. 

I use a thin coat of mineral spirits on the top of the rails prior to painting, and a scrap 2x4 run across the tops right after painting cleans them right up. 

Randy

Fumes

For me, like others, I paint the track outside or in the garage if its cold or rainy before I lay it.  Touch ups are easy if you need to later.

As for Jason, his layout is in an outbuilding so he can probably leave the doors open while he sprays and his wife won't be bothered at all.

One Drawback

One drawback to painting outside is when you then flex the track for curves the bright silver that's covered by the molded spike will then show up.  I do mine in place, and like Rob I time my spraying for when I have an empty house and hopefully its somewhat aired out before anyone gets home.  

Craig

Fumes

are a lot less if you use an airbrush instead of a rattle can. Also have better control of the spray and more color choices....DaveB

Shiny dots

Yup. It happens, but at least when using ME flex the spots are so small that when doing a little touch up on the track after ballasting is quick and easy.....neatness doesn't count. If you have a layout that is around the wall and/or with a backdrop you only have to paint the windows on the front facing rails that are curved .

 Anyway, I overpaint everything and weather the crap out of it so a little extra bit of paint slopping is to me a bonus! Hey! We all have our quirks!

Fumes...

I use a respirator when spraying and have a few fans going moving the air to outside, the shed has a large roller door at the entrance too.  As Dave stated the layout is outside in a separate structure to our home, so no issues with upsetting any of the family with paint fumes.

The Rustoleum covers perfectly & quickly, I've tried airbrushing using MicroMark paints, and whilst there is no fumes its just time consuming and doesn't give the same results.

  "I've tried airbrushing

The key to painting larger areas with an airbrush is to install a larger needle and tip and siphon the paint directly out of a jar. There are airbrushes designed for this task that are even better at it. The advantages are less overspray than a rattle can so little clean up or masking is required, unlimited choice of paint type and colors, a controlable paint coat thickness, and the  airbrush tip can get closer and fit into tighter spots( but may require switching from bottle feed to cup feed). .....DaveB

Yep

Yep, I have a siphon feed cheap airbrush for this kind of work. Less fine tip and it's a good middle ground between a high-priced fine-tip double action airbrush and a rattle can.

Hand Brushing works too for Track Painting

For those us not blessed with mega sized model railroads (such as myself), a small hand brush will do just as well to color the rails as an air brush or rattle can.  I like to hand paint my trackage when the track work positioning is final but before ballasting. Be careful painting around rail joiners that have not been soldered.  I usually only paint the visible side of the rails. My current layout is laid with Peco Code 83 and Code 70 along with some Micro Engineering Code 70 so small brushes are all I need to use.  After the track has been painted, I'll go back and add weathered wood colors to the ties. 

Several years ago I bought 4 17 ml bottles of what Micro Mark called Box Car Red but was actually Vallejo Model Air 71.080 "Rust" paint not realizing that they were supposed to be air brush colors. However, they have turned out to be useful for hand brushing the sides of nickel silver flex track rail giving branch line trackage an appropriate flat rusted hue.  Goes on quite quickly and cleans up with a small precious bit of IPA on a cloth rag or old glasses cleaner wipes. Paper towel can get caught in rail joints.