4073 Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 My new 10' x 8' layout is housed in a purpose built Garden Log Cabin. The track is complete & the trains are running perfectly (DCC) I have started to weather my track. (Peco 100) using Humbrol Dark Earth Acrylic paint. On drying, I noticed that on a large number of sleepers the paint had cracked & flaked off on touch. I have repeated the weathering but this still occurs? Unable to move forward with ballasting until this issue is resolved. Can anyone advise me why & what I can do to solve this. Thank you Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 I've never used acrylics for this. Have you tried enamels? Maybe they adhere better. Another thing to try is plastic primer. It should help the paint to stick better. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted March 15, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 15, 2020 Spray matt acrylic varnish as a primer, cleaning railheads afterwards, and then apply the track colour. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 I've been using Humbrol enamels for over 30 years on Peco Code 100 and never had a problem. I bought a tin of Humbrol 173 'track colour' yesterday for my latest small layout project. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
4073 Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Thats what I read. Acrylics were recommended instead of enamel paint. However on about 30% of my new layout the paint appears to crack on sleepers only! Am I able to spray over the acrylic with enamel? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
4073 Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 90% of my layout has been sprayed with Acrylic paint. Would I have to remove this before applying primer? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 (edited) Hello 4073, and welcome to the RMweb collective, Funnily enough it was a question I wanted to ask regarding acrylic paints on track, as I found that in places, it wouldn't 'stick' onto the rails. I did manage it in the end by applying at least three coats which colourwise worked out well leaving slight differences here and there. However, I did ballast first before painting the track and I gave an airbrushing of track colour (not 'rust') generally over the sleepers that toned down that 'new look' to the ballast. The last of the three coats of 'rust' to the rails was a wash applied with a largish brush so that some of the 'rust' was taken onto the ballast. In years gone by, my first port of call would have been Humbrol matt enamel, but it seems it's no longer easily available over here, whereas our local Action shop (B & M type shop in the UK) sells acrylic paint for next to nothing in large bottles. I do have a further question regarding acrylics: What prepping is required to ensure that acrylic paint will adhere properly onto plastic kits? Cheers, Philip Edited March 15, 2020 by Philou 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 57xx Posted March 15, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 15, 2020 I would suggest always using a primer before applying acrylics to plastic, especially if they are water based. I find they need a good prepared surface to adhere to properly. 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brigo Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 I think the problem here is caused by the use of a mold release agent, which is of an oily nature, used in manufacture. You need a solvent or detergent solution to remove it or use a paint which contains a solvent. I've always used enamel paints which are oil based and contain a solvent for painting track and never had a problem. Acrylic paints do vary, some are water based and others like Tamiya have the addition of a solvent like IPA. To answer Philou's question, it's always a good idea to wash a plastic kit in a detergent solution before painting. Brian 2 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 No one seem to have pointed out the flexible track base is a form of polythene, which has a natural dislike of paint, remember the old Airfix 00/H0 figures? Enamels will work better, but acrylic will work if thinned with IPA and spraying seems to work better from experience. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasatcopthorne Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 (edited) The plastic has probably got some sort of release agent to assist removal from the moulding machine. Also I don't think that acryilic is good on plastics. I would personally remove the paint from the sleepers where possible and spray with Halfords red car primer and then start again. After the primer you could try Halfords Camoflage spray then your preferred track colour. Best of luck. Edited March 16, 2020 by dasatcopthorne 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
4073 Posted March 16, 2020 Author Share Posted March 16, 2020 Thank you very much for your advice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Reichert Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 It's bit late to help in this case, but many years ago I purchased a micro sand blaster to help in preparing brass locomotives for painting. Note It requires a sealed cabinet to operate safely, but does produce a very nice weathered matte effect on plastic, which in the case of already black or brown track sections ( pre-cut to fit in the cabinet ), makes painting permanently unnecessary in my opinion. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCB Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 My N/S Code 100 weathered naturally to a nice brown finish after a few years in the garden. The sleepers also weathered to a nice matt grey. OK for the concrete sleepers, not so good for wood! The steel track just crumbled away as did the peco point springs after 20 years Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted April 30, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 30, 2020 Hi all. I use PECO code 75 on my layouts and spray all track with an initial spray of Humbrol Acrylic Dark Earth from an aerosol. I would recommend a few very light thin coats and allow to dry in between. It will stick. I then apply weathering powders to the rail sides and chairs and paint the sleepers with ironically, track colour. I seal these with a very light coat Humbrol Matt acrylic varnish. I then add weathering powders to the sleepers and apply a second light coat of varnish. Too thick a coat and the colours of the weathering powders will be lost. All of this is done prior to ballasting. Here are a couple of photos showing the various stages. This is as per my most recent layout which is industrial, hence the over grown track and general dereliction. Hope this is of some use. Rob. 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted April 30, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 30, 2020 I use Tamiya Red/Brown TS-1 spray. When the track's laid, if you want to drive yourself senseless you can then overpaint individual sleepers (eg in sidings) with a more faded colour. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PMP Posted April 30, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 30, 2020 (edited) About fifteen years ago I did a bit of work with Peco on painting their track, including a DVD for them. We used streamline CD75, the idea being to make it look as nice as possible including using the foam underlay. The starting point used Halfords grey plastic primer, this ‘fixes’ to the track with no problems to give a key for further colour. No special preparation is required and there’s no issues regarding mould release agents. The test pieces were left in varying heats including direct sunlight too, over a good period of time. For the point blades, I mask them with a bit of Tamiya tape, and this retains the electrical contact for the blade to stockrail if not electrically switching the frog. Once the initial coat is on clean the railheads, I use a solvent, or Tamiya X20A will work, applying with a cotton bud. Then add colours as required, I used Tamiya German Grey TS4 as a further blender for the overall colour, and their NATO Brown XF68, is a good start for the rail colours. Fifteen or so years later there’s no evidence of paint flaking away, and the same technique was used on the set track layout I built for them (Peco), and others I’ve built for myself. pic attached showing a blast from the past. edit: I’ve also used this technique on C&L, Shinohara, DCC concepts and HO Micro Engineering track. Edited April 30, 2020 by PMP 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDR Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 On 30/04/2020 at 11:01, Metr0Land said: I use Tamiya Red/Brown TS-1 spray. When the track's laid, if you want to drive yourself senseless you can then overpaint individual sleepers (eg in sidings) with a more faded colour. Braindeath jobs are best done to music. For individual sleeper painting I recommend reggae. Once you're on a roll you can get 4 beats to a sleeper (also good for grating cheese). Less precise work eg rail painting (or chopping veg) is best done with heavy metal. How the time flies! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob. Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 On a closely related topic, any tips / suggestions on how to weather ballast- only (not the track?) Track is laid, ballast from Woodland Scenics laid, just not 100% happy with the ballast colour. If there was a simple way to slightly darken the colour of the ballast, (l don't possess an airbrush gun!) it would be great. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 5 hours ago, Rob. said: On a closely related topic, any tips / suggestions on how to weather ballast- only (not the track?) Track is laid, ballast from Woodland Scenics laid, just not 100% happy with the ballast colour. If there was a simple way to slightly darken the colour of the ballast, (l don't possess an airbrush gun!) it would be great. Thinned paint and an eye dropper? 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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