I lay the ties, then sand them, then heavily brush on wood stains from
the hardware store. You just have to make sure the glue isn't too
thick, so it doesn't come up the sides or ends of the ties, and block
the stain.
I noticed that the ties look darker before they are ballasted than
they look after. I don't know if this is an optical illusion, if dust
from the ballast gets and sticks on the ties, if the matte medium I
use soaks into the ties and changes the color, or if the color fades
as it cures. I'd suggest looking at the samples in the hardware store,
then buying what you think is the color you want, and buying one
darker and one lighter. Lay down three feet of ties on a scrap board,
stain one foot each color, ballast the whole thing and wait a few
weeks (build a car from scratch), then compare the colors.
On another note, the matte medium definitely does soak into the ties,
which then grip the spikes much more than they did before ballasting.
-Michael Eldridge
-San Jose, CA
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> While we're discussing cross ties, I'd like to know how some of you
have handled COLORING hand-laid ties. Do you STAIN them? Paint them?
Some other way? How, and what did you use? I do not want to end up
with solid black ties... preferrably the worn, brown look. Any
suggestions?
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
