With the failure of the metal blackening last week, we moved on to painting the check rails with spirit based paints assuming that acrylic paints would not adhere satisfactorily and would be easily rubbed off. We started with a base of dark brown and mixed different orange/red colours to achieve a decent rust colour. With various colours on the palette, Stephen found a dark brown base colour with a splash of 'rust' worked-in could be cajoled into something realistic. We also experimented with rust powders mixed with matt varnish (to keep materials 'non-water based'). However, it was difficult to keep track of the variations, but it was looking good.
As Geoff followed up with the new track cleaner, it was evident that it was a bit too wide and so minor adjustments were made that produced an acceptable effect. We don't think this will be too much of a nuisance when cleaning the trackwork and hope it improves the overall appearance.
