conductive paint - any good?

[Deltech]

Having decided to illuminate my Hornby Virgin Mk3s, I have discovered every wheel is insulated, so was wondering about conductive paint.

 

Has anybody used this, and is it any good?

 

 

[brossard]

Have a look at these:

 

http://www.train-tech.com/index.php/lighting/interior-coach-lighting

 

John

[Deltech]

John,

         appreciate the link, but I really don't want to use batteries, thanks.

[Andy Hayter]

Not used it for anything like that but I did use it to shorten the dead area on PECO insulfrog crossings.  It seemed to improve the running.

 

However this was a number of years ago and paint qualities and suppliers change with time so whether today's paint is as good I cannot say. 

[The Johnster]

On 01/04/2021 at 22:56, Deltech said:

John,

         appreciate the link, but I really don't want to use batteries, thanks.

 

I use lighting very similar to the stuff John has linked to but I ordered a much cheaper Chinese made version from Amazon, 2 for £6.25 or something, not expecting anything wonderful but as an experiment.  I would not, on my DC layout, consider using anything other than battery powered lighting in coaches in order to maintain the same level of lighting whatever the supply to the track is at any given time and when there is no current to the track, and to avoid flicker.  The lights are fine though I gave up on trying to get the magnetic switches to work reliably; they are installed in an old auto set with removable roofs so it is not a major problem to switch them on or off for sessions by taking the batteries out of the holders. 

 

As a trial, I left the batteries to find what the burn time was, and found that with Kodak CR2032 button cells in each coach, with the cells and holder hidden in the brake compartment, the lighting gave effective levels for 5 continuous days, far longer than I would need in normal operation, where I would expect the batteries to last several months.  Leds of this size and brightness use very little current.  I mention this in case the replacement of batteries was an issue for you and the reason you don't want to use them.  Of course, you may have other reasons for not wanting to use batteries, in which case please excuse my attempt to teach granny to suck eggs...

 

I found my lighting a little on the bright side, a problem with layout lighting in general IMHO, but as leds run cool they can be toned down with a coat or two of white or cream acrylic paint over the lamp.  Switches apart, 100% reliable so far; had them for about 6 months.

 

[Barclay]

I only used conductive paint once and it didn't work for very long.

[russ p]

Zero one decoders used it for programming it seem to last on those 

[Michael Hodgson]

I haven't used it extensively, but it doesn't work for long if it subject to abrasion - eg trying to make a plastic wheel conduct to a wiper. 

 

However work once you've applied it to something that won't be abused, eg to connect a metal tyre on a plastic wheel to its axle where you use the axle for pickup I would expect it to continue  working.  I would then overpaint it with a varnish to protect it from damage. 

 

Frankly I would prefer to follow brossard's suggestion and use batteries (on a DC layout) for your purpose as I think it's less work.

On a DCC layout, pickups would be OK, but you have to fit an decoder if you want to control them (but that could work out expensive).  If you have pickups on a lot of coaches, friction could become an issue. 

[Kris]

I've also had very limited success with it for lighting runs off wheels. It wears away very quickly.

[Deltech]

Batteries are a no go. Too much hassle (for me) changing them when required, and switching them on and off every day. I want to take DCC track power, and won't be using a decoder as I'll only have the lights o-f-f when the layout is off.