[tiger]

Using the Walthers Cornerstone Street System for the "town" on our layout. After powering through the tedium of adding the tiny "curb" sections as well as the sidewalks to the streets, I like the look... but not thrilled about leaving the colored plastic bare. I think painting it would help. Probably going the brush route on this, rather than spray (not 100% certain on that but...)

I might go broke using the tiny 1oz (?) bottles from the hobby shop; are there bigger bottles, maybe 1/2-pint or at least a few ounces, but where? And what kind? And what colors look best for the concrete and asphalt?

 

[T-Man]

Consider a flat acrylic craft paint, grey or barnyard red. Any craft store has a good selection,

 

[Lehigh74]

I use Home Depot paint samples. They come in 8 oz. jars for $4 and you can get any color you want. I use it on 4mm luan or Woodland Scenics N scale road bed (ST1475) for sidewalks. Not sure how well it sticks to plastic.

 

[CTValleyRR]

You probably don't need as much paint as you think, especially if you're only painting the curbs. Even if you're painting the whole street, a 2 oz bottle will cover several square feet.

Personally, I would use an airbrush. Prime with Vallejo gray primer, then apply Microlux Aged Concrete (specifically matched to the old Floquil / PollyScale shade). If you prefer brush painting, the Microlux is available in a brush painting formula as well.

Microlux paints are sold by Micromark (www.micromark.com) for $8 for a 2 oz bottle. Vallejo primer is available for $5.79 for a 2 oz bottle from Scale Hobbyist (www.scalehobbyist.com).

 

[traction fan]

Craft paints

Using the Walthers Cornerstone Street System for the "town" on our layout. After powering through the tedium of adding the tiny "curb" sections as well as the sidewalks to the streets, I like the look... but not thrilled about leaving the colored plastic bare. I think painting it would help. Probably going the brush route on this, rather than spray (not 100% certain on that but...)

I might go broke using the tiny 1oz (?) bottles from the hobby shop; are there bigger bottles, maybe 1/2-pint or at least a few ounces, but where? And what kind? And what colors look best for the concrete and asphalt?

tiger;


Craft paints, available in the Walmart craft department, or craft stores, like Michaels, are a lot cheaper than model paints. They come in plastic bottles about twice the size of my Tamiya model paints and are a fraction of the price.
Craft paints are water-base, flat colors, and quite thick. They give excellent coverage in one coat, when brushed on. They can be thinned with water for airbrushing, but are sometimes temperamental when sprayed, and don't cover as well when thinned. I use a mix of light gray, and yellow, for concrete. Eyeball mix, trial and error, I have never written down a recipe for it. There is much more gray than yellow, so you might try 3 parts gray to 1 part yellow to start.

Asphalt starts out very black and semi-glossy when it's brand new. It quickly fades to a medium gray color after being run over by enough vehicles. Weather affects it too, much more than concrete, though concrete weathers too, just not as much or as quickly, as asphalt. Strong sunlight accelerates the fading of asphalt from solid black, to dark gray, to light gray. Winter weather creates the well-known motorist's delight, potholes! You might want to add a few. In larger scales, an asphalt road can be simulated with wet-or-dry sandpaper, to show the texture of the real stuff.

The "old and weathered" asphalt road in the photo below was made with wood filler, painted with craft paint.

good luck, have fun!

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:

 

[tiger]

I use Home Depot paint samples. They come in 8 oz. jars for $4/// Not sure how well it sticks to plastic.

Hmm, that would be a problem in my case.

If you prefer brush painting, the Microlux is available in a brush painting formula as well.

Microlux paints are sold by Micromark (www.micromark.com) for $8 for a 2 oz bottle. Vallejo primer is available for $5.79 for a 2 oz bottle from Scale Hobbyist (www.scalehobbyist.com).

I think I'll check that out!

tiger;


Craft paints, available in the Walmart craft department, or craft stores, like Michaels, are a lot cheaper than model paints.

Hmm, I'll check that too -- and I'll read the label to see if plastic-appropriate.

 

[traction fan]

Craft paint & plastic.

Hmm, that would be a problem in my case.



I think I'll check that out!



Hmm, I'll check that too -- and I'll read the label to see if plastic-appropriate.

tiger;

Craft paints work quite well on plastic. Being water-based, rather than solvent-based, they can't harm plastic.
If the Home Depot samples recommended are samples of latex house paint, I would think they would be much too thick for model railroad painting. Even though latex house paint is also water-based, attempts to thin it with water and create a cheap alternative for high-priced model paints have not worked. Even the pigments used in house paint are too big for effective model use. Latex house paint is good for general scenery use. Dirt brown, sky blue, Etc. It might work for roads, But I still recommend using either model paint, or craft paint.

have fun;

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:

 

[CTValleyRR]

There is a reason craft paints are cheaper than model paints. The pigments are not as finely ground, and color matching is often inconsistent between batches. They often dilute poorly as well. I use craft paints for backgrounds, landscape and base layers and places where it doesn't show as much. Models and figures always get the good stuff on my layout.

 

[tiger]

tiger; Craft paints work quite well on plastic. Being water-based, rather than solvent-based, they can't harm plastic.

Thanks. I ended up at a hobby place called Hobby Lobby; apparently a national chain. Wandering around the store, it occurred to me that I would know what qualified as "craft paint", until I got to the far corner of the store and found a huge display called: "craft paint". :laugh:

Brand name was "Folk Art"; I bought four different bottles, the two I liked best when testing at home was #424 Light Grey for concrete, and #938 Licorice for asphalt. YMMV. Really cheap, too; on sale, I got 4 bottles for under $5 and I picked up a pack of "craft brushes" to be safe.

It did rather well on the Walther's Street System plastics. When I transitioned to the buildings' mounting "plates" made of scrap Lexan, a little more trouble getting a smooth coverage. One issue is this stuff is really thick and not easy to spread evenly, especially on a surface with little "tooth". Then... Duh! I found small containers and made watered-down versions, much better but of course being thin is takes a while to build up enough opacity. I'm several coats in, but I think the results should be fine.

Thanks, everyone, for the input! :smilie_daumenpos:

 

[Steve25]

For my HO scale roads be they concrete or black top I have gone over to using 220 grit wet or dry type sand paper that for simulating concrete that I cut into lengths as if they where poured, then I spray it with a few coats of Rustolemum chalky gray paint and weather it as needed.

The as is black color is a great start for asphalt and in bigger or smaller scales just use courser or finer grit sand paper.

 

[MichaelE]

I use a 400 for blacktop, but I also use Busch adhesive foam road in spots too. I do like the 400 grip paper though. It's plentiful and cheap, and it looks good.