Track colour (sleepers)

[bluestag]

Would anyone care to comment on what is a good colour to paint Peco 7mm track?    It comes a glossy dark dark brown, almost black.    I know sleepers turned a paler colour in the elements.   A Humbrol number would be very useful, although my local hobby shop (Burbank, California) is not fully stocked.

 

I found some sandy coloured rattle can spray paint that is supposed to serve as camouflage, and is utterly matt.  It is a little light to my eye.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Kevin

[lezz01]

Try 3 parts dark earth #29 to 1 part black #33. Once dry, dry brush dark earth across the sleepers to bring out the grain effect. If it's not light enough add a little khaki drill #72 and dry brush over again.

Regards Lez. 

[Alcanman]

Humbrol do 'Dark Earth' #29 in rattle cans which gives good results.

 

[Alister_G]

Another vote for Humbrol Dark Earth here, it can then be further adjusted with weathering powders or dry brushing.

 

Tamiya AS-22 is a near equivalent if you can't get Humbrol.

 

This is what it looks like on 4mm track:

 

 

And after weathering with Matt Black:

 

 

Al.

Edited June 29, 2021 by Alister_G

[bluestag]

Thanks guys.

[bluestag]

8 hours ago, Alister_G said:

Another vote for Humbrol Dark Earth here, it can then be further adjusted with weathering powders or dry brushing.

 

Tamiya AS-22 is a near equivalent if you can't get Humbrol.

 

This is what it looks like on 4mm track:

 

 

And after weathering with Matt Black:

 

 

Al.

Is that final result as dark as it looks?   I have tried Taima "NATO brown" which is a dark earth color, and Rustoleum "Camouflage dark earth" which is almost the color of the PECO platic, but is utterly matt, which is important to me.

[Alister_G]

4 minutes ago, bluestag said:

Is that final result as dark as it looks?   I have tried Taima "NATO brown" which is a dark earth color, and Rustoleum "Camouflage dark earth" which is almost the color of the PECO platic, but is utterly matt, which is important to me.

 

Hi,

 

Yes, it is, but then I was deliberately modelling old unmaintained track with steam locomotives running on it. If you start from the basic colour you could lighten it with dry-brushed grey or tan colours as @lezz01 suggested, for a fresher better maintained look.

 

Humbrol Dark Earth does dry very Matt, which is why I like using it for woodwork in general.

 

Here it is on a gate:

 

 

Al.

[ROSSPOP]

Never been sure about ballasting before painting......

 

my take on it...

 

Rattle can etch primer to get rid of plastic look and stop the paint coming off the rails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rattle can rust browns of your choice ...or very thinned rust enamels using a large brush for the sleepers and then hand paint the rails with a thinned rust colour.

 

 

 

 

Then add the ballast

 

 

 

then paint the rails again with a lighter very thin orangy rust colour afetr the ballast has dried off lettine the orangy rust seep into the ballast ( not got that far yet_

 

Then using a new stanley knife type blade scrape away all paint from the running rail top edges.

 

Will take longer but looks the biz..

[Alister_G]

3 minutes ago, ROSSPOP said:

Never been sure about ballasting before painting......

 

No, I agree, and normally I would spray the track first as you have. The section in the photos above was a short straight section of plain track, and I plain forgot to paint it before I'd ballasted it, so ended up painstakingly hand painting each sleeper... Not an experience I wish to repeat!

 

6 minutes ago, ROSSPOP said:

Then using a new stanley knife type blade scrape away all paint from the running rail top edges.

 

I would caution against doing that, as you can scratch the top surface of the rail, which can cause running issues later. Instead I use a small offcut of plywood and use the edge of that to remove the paint from the railhead. It works surprisingly well.

 

Al.

[ROSSPOP]

5 minutes ago, Alister_G said:

 

No, I agree, and normally I would spray the track first as you have. The section in the photos above was a short straight section of plain track, and I plain forgot to paint it before I'd ballasted it, so ended up painstakingly hand painting each sleeper... Not an experience I wish to repeat!

 

 

I would caution against doing that, as you can scratch the top surface of the rail, which can cause running issues later. Instead I use a small offcut of plywood and use the edge of that to remove the paint from the railhead. It works surprisingly well.

 

Al.

 

Thanks Al............ about caution re the blade. but I`ve never had any issues with it ( I use them for cleaning solder off etched kits ) If you take care and use the flat of the blade you get a nice shine. Also I use Graphite on my rails which improves running no-end especially with DCC sound.

 

John

[bluestag]

22 hours ago, ROSSPOP said:

Never been sure about ballasting before painting......

 

my take on it...

 

Rattle can etch primer to get rid of plastic look and stop the paint coming off the rails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rattle can rust browns of your choice ...or very thinned rust enamels using a large brush for the sleepers and then hand paint the rails with a thinned rust colour.

 

 

 

 

Then add the ballast

 

 

 

then paint the rails again with a lighter very thin orangy rust colour afetr the ballast has dried off lettine the orangy rust seep into the ballast ( not got that far yet_

 

Then using a new stanley knife type blade scrape away all paint from the running rail top edges.

 

Will take longer but looks the biz..

John,

 

Your take on sleeper colour is a LOT lighter than some of the others.    You really feel you have it right?

 

Just asking.

Kevin

[ROSSPOP]

53 minutes ago, bluestag said:

John,

 

Your take on sleeper colour is a LOT lighter than some of the others.    You really feel you have it right?

 

Just asking.

Kevin

 

Oh Dear Kev,

That`s opened a can of worms methinks.

 

My feelings are that there is no right or wrong sleeper colour, but in the situation of my 7mm diorama layout then my choice is right for the effect I am trying to achieve. For that I believe you have to study the real thing and adjust as required.

Also it depends on what kind of railway line, main line or siding , or engine shed etc.

Certainly, painting the sleepers all the same is wrong.

 

 

Of course this is todays preserved railway so maybe not really prototypical of yesteryear perhaps.

 

But then if I painted my sleepers like this it would perhaps look awful in model terms.

 

 

 

So I`ve gone for a lighter shade to convey perspective and distance.

 

 

But in reality , the more shades the better in model terms.

 

[bluestag]

12 minutes ago, ROSSPOP said:

 

Oh Dear Kev,

That`s opened a can of worms methinks.

 

My feelings are that there is no right or wrong sleeper colour, but in the situation of my 7mm diorama layout then my choice is right for the effect I am trying to achieve. For that I believe you have to study the real thing and adjust as required.

Also it depends on what kind of railway line, main line or siding , or engine shed etc.

Certainly, painting the sleepers all the same is wrong.

 

 

Of course this is todays preserved railway so maybe not really prototypical of yesteryear perhaps.

 

But then if I painted my sleepers like this it would perhaps look awful in model terms.

 

 

 

So I`ve gone for a lighter shade to convey perspective and distance.

 

 

But in reality , the more shades the better in model terms.

 

John,

 

All far points.   I'm modelling a branch terminus of the LNWR circa 1900.    What I really want is weathered creosote.     Starts as dark brown but weathers brownish grey.    I'm having the devil of a time finding that in a matt rattlecan.    I suppose I could break out the airbrush, but I'm not very good with it yet, so I'm reluctant to use it.

 

Kevin

[Alister_G]

Kevin,

 

You could perhaps approach it from the other side, as it were, and use something like Humbrol Desert Tan Matt acrylic aerosol #237 I think, then use Humbrol weathering powders Dark Earth #AV0017 brushed on after until the desired colour is reached?

 

To give you some idea of the result, I used the above colours for the inside of a wooden wagon:

 

 

For your sleepers you would probably want to go a bit heavier on the weathering powder.

 

Al.

[ROSSPOP]

5 minutes ago, bluestag said:

John,

 

All far points.   I'm modelling a branch terminus of the LNWR circa 1900.    What I really want is weathered creosote.     Starts as dark brown but weathers brownish grey.    I'm having the devil of a time finding that in a matt rattlecan.    I suppose I could break out the airbrush, but I'm not very good with it yet, so I'm reluctant to use it.

 

Kevin

 Airbrushes do a great job with track colours and are a good way to try an airbrush. Start with a light grey and then use various shades of `rusty browns` till you get what your looking for.

 

I bought one of these from the USA and it`s great for doing track work because it`s  air line free !!

 

Keep your airbrush mix on the thin side.

 

[bluestag]

14 minutes ago, Alister_G said:

Kevin,

 

You could perhaps approach it from the other side, as it were, and use something like Humbrol Desert Tan Matt acrylic aerosol #237 I think, then use Humbrol weathering powders Dark Earth #AV0017 brushed on after until the desired colour is reached?

 

To give you some idea of the result, I used the above colours for the inside of a wooden wagon:

 

 

For your sleepers you would probably want to go a bit heavier on the weathering powder.

 

Al.

Regrettably neither of those Humbrol products are available to me.     I'm in Burbank, CA.    I have a hobbyshop that caters to military modelers, but none of their rattlecans are of a correct color.

[bluestag]

17 minutes ago, ROSSPOP said:

 Airbrushes do a great job with track colours and are a good way to try an airbrush. Start with a light grey and then use various shades of `rusty browns` till you get what your looking for.

 

I bought one of these from the USA and it`s great for doing track work because it`s  air line free !!

 

Keep your airbrush mix on the thin side.

 

Yes, I must toughen up and try the airbrush.    I hope to paint locos and coaches with it, lord knows I'll need the practice.

[Alister_G]

3 minutes ago, bluestag said:

Regrettably neither of those Humbrol products are available to me.     I'm in Burbank, CA.    I have a hobbyshop that caters to military modelers, but none of their rattlecans are of a correct color.

 

That's a great shame. What brands do they stock?

 

Al.

[bluestag]

1 minute ago, Alister_G said:

 

That's a great shame. What brands do they stock?

 

Al.

Well, the DO have a rack of Humbrol tinletts, but it is mostly empty.   They have Tayima, and Testors, and three or four other brands that I am unfamiliar with.    Lots of stuff in dropper bottles, clearly meant for airbrushes.

[cctransuk]

35 minutes ago, bluestag said:

I'm having the devil of a time finding that in a matt rattlecan.

 

You can get ANY colour in a rattle can.

 

Find a RAL colour chart and choose your colour, noting it's RAL number.

 

Do a Google search on local 'Motor Factors'; most can mix paint and fill rattle cans - just quote the RAL number.

 

.... and you can have cellulose or acrylic, matt, satin and gloss.

 

CJI.

[Alister_G]

On Amazon, these are available:

 

Dark Earth: https://www.amazon.com/Tamiya-Aircraft-Spray-Paint-AS-22/dp/B0006SG2EY/

 

Brown:  https://www.amazon.com/Tamiya-America-TS-90-Brown-TAM85090/dp/B00DSVF7JM/

 

Tan: https://www.amazon.com/Tamiya-86515-AS-15-Spray-USAF/dp/B001Q13CO8/

 

And weathering powders:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Sand-Color-30ml-4-Pack/dp/B002PW09JS/

 

https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Dust-Dirt-Pigment-4x35ml/dp/B07193GYZQ/

 

Al.

 

 

[bluestag]

18 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

 

You can get ANY colour in a rattle can.

 

Find a RAL colour chart and choose your colour, noting it's RAL number.

 

Do a Google search on local 'Motor Factors'; most can mix paint and fill rattle cans - just quote the RAL number.

 

.... and you can have cellulose or acrylic, matt, satin and gloss.

 

CJI.

I'm in California.    I cannot mail order paint from the UK.

 

[Blandford1969]

Bear in mind that where an engine stands like that shot at Llangollen for example the sleepers will look different due to getting oil and ash dropping on them. 

 

How sleepers look now on preserved lines will be much the same as in pre preservation days, apart from becoming more concos in away from stations. 

[bluestag]

7 minutes ago, Alister_G said:

On Amazon, these are available:

 

Dark Earth: https://www.amazon.com/Tamiya-Aircraft-Spray-Paint-AS-22/dp/B0006SG2EY/

 

Brown:  https://www.amazon.com/Tamiya-America-TS-90-Brown-TAM85090/dp/B00DSVF7JM/

 

Tan: https://www.amazon.com/Tamiya-86515-AS-15-Spray-USAF/dp/B001Q13CO8/

 

And weathering powders:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Sand-Color-30ml-4-Pack/dp/B002PW09JS/

 

https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Dust-Dirt-Pigment-4x35ml/dp/B07193GYZQ/

 

Al.

 

 

I have the first Tamiya  earth brown, or close to.    It looks too bright for me, to red.   I have a tan close to the 86515 tan, but it looks very light to me, as if the bleaching has gone on for decades.    The track would not be more than  20 years old, I recon.   I just need to man up, paint it dark brown, and air brush grey over it.

[cctransuk]

1 hour ago, bluestag said:

I'm in California.    I cannot mail order paint from the UK.

 

 

I am sure that you will have depots that supply the auto trade with paint - ask your local bodyshop.

 

CJI.