-Laying track in the yard (hand laid, with tie plates and Proto87 spikes)
Post pictures, please, Michael! Charles Weston ________________________________ From: Michael Eldridge <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2013 12:33 PM Subject: {S-Scale List} Re: painting rails Between rail brown and rust, definitely rail brown. If PollyScale, I'd suggest railroad tie brown. Being nervous about the impending demise of all model railroad paints, I decided to try mixing artists colors. My first project happened to be rail brown. I ended up with: 3 Black 1 white 5 burnt sienna 2 yellow (cadmium) The burnt sienna gives it a subtle rusty look - you could use burnt umber if you wanted a more blackish rail. The yellow moves the brown to a tan. I also discovered that it doesn't work to take the paint outside and compare it to rail. The different lighting makes a huge difference in the perceived color. Another discovery - if you want to match Floquil rail brown (the new version) you have to add green. Go figure. I'm using Golden paints, the thinnest viscosity ("medium" if I remember correctly), which you can get at artists' stores. They also have an airbrush medium (like thinned matte medium) that you can mix with the colors to spray it. So far I'm up to "OK" airbrushing this stuff - not ready for prime time. Even if the Golden brand disappears, these artist colors are consistent from brand to brand, and I can come back years later and match the colors if I cut in a new switch or repair a track. -Michael Eldridge -Laying track in the yard (hand laid, with tie plates and Proto87 spikes)
