06-03-2009, 07:40 PM
Here's a link to A simple and effective way to ballast...
For painting rail, I used PollyScale paint (no odour), applied with a fairly stiff 1/2" brush. The wider brush holds more paint, so there's less dipping into the bottle for another re-fill, and the stiffer bristles make it easier to work the paint around the moulded-on spike detail. I generally paint 10' or 15' of track, both rails, both sides of each, then use a dry rag stretched over my fingertip to wipe the tops of the rails - the paint is dry to the touch but not fully cured (that usually takes about 24 hours, so don't run trains for at least that long). If you press down so that your fingertip "squishes" over the inside edge of each rail, the paint right at the top along the inside edge will be removed, too. This is usually sufficient to restore full electrical contact, as the wheels of the train have a fillet between their flange and the tread which provides the main lateral contact point - in most cases, the wheel flanges don't touch the rail.
As for the ballast looking "too new", certain colours do actually look overly bright when first applied. In the photo below, the Grand Valley tracks, diverging to the left, are ballasted with Woodland Scenics Grey, while those of the Erie Northshore, on the right, were done using Light Grey.
[album]807[/album]
The colour has toned down somewhat over time, but, when I finally get around to it, some weathering should make it look more believeable. Painting the rails is the only weathering applied, so far, but I do plan to add some airbrushed grease and oil along the outside of the rails and also some evidence of traction sand on the grades.
Wayne
For painting rail, I used PollyScale paint (no odour), applied with a fairly stiff 1/2" brush. The wider brush holds more paint, so there's less dipping into the bottle for another re-fill, and the stiffer bristles make it easier to work the paint around the moulded-on spike detail. I generally paint 10' or 15' of track, both rails, both sides of each, then use a dry rag stretched over my fingertip to wipe the tops of the rails - the paint is dry to the touch but not fully cured (that usually takes about 24 hours, so don't run trains for at least that long). If you press down so that your fingertip "squishes" over the inside edge of each rail, the paint right at the top along the inside edge will be removed, too. This is usually sufficient to restore full electrical contact, as the wheels of the train have a fillet between their flange and the tread which provides the main lateral contact point - in most cases, the wheel flanges don't touch the rail.
As for the ballast looking "too new", certain colours do actually look overly bright when first applied. In the photo below, the Grand Valley tracks, diverging to the left, are ballasted with Woodland Scenics Grey, while those of the Erie Northshore, on the right, were done using Light Grey.
[album]807[/album]
The colour has toned down somewhat over time, but, when I finally get around to it, some weathering should make it look more believeable. Painting the rails is the only weathering applied, so far, but I do plan to add some airbrushed grease and oil along the outside of the rails and also some evidence of traction sand on the grades.
Wayne