Getting paint to bond to plastic ties

[edwardsutorik]

As a practice piece, before painting my track, I spayed some Walthers ties with Rustoleum earth brown camo paint. Looks good, like brand new ties. Obviously needs some weathering.

Anyway. I notice, even after it's dried for several days, that I can easily scrape the paint off the ties with my fingernail. That doesn't thrill me.

Anyone got suggestions for getting a better bond? Or, does it matter?



Ed

[riogrande]

I sprayed my Atlas code 83 with Rust-Oleum Camo brown but didn't try the finger nail scrape test. I know Rob Spangler reported using the same paint and no complaints. I plan on going the same route in the future.

Could be your ties have mold parting oils and cleaning with detergent first might help?

I sprayed mine before the scenery went in here:




Edit: dang auto correct on my phone change some words. Fixed.

[wp8thsub]

Some ties are engineering plastic, and as such have the typical issues with paint bonding. Provided you aren't actively scraping the paint off with your fingernails, you shouldn't have a problem. I have plenty of Walthers/Shinohara track on the layout, and haven't noticed paint coming off.

[el3672]

I stocked up years ago with bottles of Floquil rail brown, drift wood & tie brown paint. First shot all the micro-scale
flex track with Floquil drift wood, let that fully dry for daysss, then spray on wet tie brown and rub slightly/randomly remove with
Lacquer thinner on a micro brush. Yards more , mainline less, apply ballast, weather and Great results. Never had any peeled paint.

[kentuckysouthernrwy]

I've used Rustoleum and Krylon brands of Camo Brown, both worked well. Never used my fingernails on anything but clearing it off the railhead. Odor of Camo, esp Rustoleum has caused it to be banned from our house due to sensitivity issues of the non-railroader in the house. If you drybrush a little grey or light color on the ties after they've dried a bit makes a credible looking rail line.

[riogrande]

Aug 2, 2019 4:27:12 GMT -8 kentuckysouthernrwy said:

Never used my fingernails on anything but clearing it off the railhead.

Rob recommended dragging a utility knife blade over the rail surface to clean off the paint; worked well for me when I tried it.

Odor of Camo, esp Rustoleum has caused it to be banned from our house due to sensitivity issues of the non-railroader in the house.

Actually it's not good for anyone to breath. A proper respirator cartridge is the only thing that will filter out the hazardous VOCs. I open the windows and use a ventilator fan to vent the vapors out and pull in fresh air after painting.

[trainguy99]

I'm not wild about Rustoleum (or similar) paints for track, either, both because of the VOCs and because they're harder to get off the rail. Lately I've been using Tamiya flat acrylics from an airbrush, for health reasons and because you can wipe the paint off the rail tops with a paper towel dampened with window cleaner even after it's dry.

I agree with Riogrande that washing with detergent water could help, but ties don't really get all that much contact, especially after you ballast.

Good luck with the tracklaying.

[edwardsutorik]

Thanks, all, for the info.

I'll go ahead and wield my spray can.



Ed

[Mark R.]

I don't normally have any reason to scratch my ties with anything after they've been painted. Most cases, track isn't handled after it's painted either. Don't really see the concern if it really bonds well or not. If it is literally flaking off and disappearing in the vacuum, then I might be concerned.

Mark.

[riogrande]

Plus it is going to get weathered later and if there are any chips or flakes, it can be hidden or touched up at that stage.

[csx3305]

Try a shot of adhesion promoter on the next test.

[edwardsutorik]

Aug 2, 2019 9:41:07 GMT -8 csx3305 said:

Try a shot of adhesion promoter on the next test.

I thought of that, but wondered about cleaning it off the rails. Have you used it for ties (on already installed track)?

However. It's sounding like a good bond isn't too important. It's not like they're handrails.




Ed

[csx3305]

Haven’t tried it all, haven’t seen a need to. Was just a thought.

[valenciajim]

I have painted most of my ties with Krylon, Rustoleum products, craft paints, etc. My track is mostly Atlas flex track with Peco turnouts. In nearly 20 years I have never experienced paint peeling off the ties. I have never tried to rub a finger nail against the ties, so I cannot tell whether that would remove the paint. Absent doing the finger nail scratching, I think most paint would hold up well over time and would not peel off.

[edwardsutorik]

Thought I'd ask. Nobody likes to find out later that "if they'd only asked".............


I expect to be spraying tomorrow with the base tie color.



Ed

[wp8thsub]

One thing to note - I paint track late in the scenery process. If you plan on adding scenery that requires masking the ties, prepare for the paint to come off of slippery plastic. Wait until any need for masking is over.

Atlas ties are either plain styrene or something far less slick than typical engineering plastic. Paint tends to remain stuck on Atlas ties even when masked. Try painting a scrap of the track you're using first to see how it performs after you pull tape off.