Woodland Scenics Smooth-It Question

[Rscott417]

I want to use WS Smooth-It to create a road surface, my question is can you add paint into the mixture? If so what type of paint will work best? (acrylic, enamel etc.) Just in case somehow the road surface gets scratched it still has the road color and won't have to touch it up.

[fast car]

I want to use WS Smooth-It to create a road surface, my question is can you add paint into the mixture? If so what type of paint will work best? (acrylic, enamel etc.) Just in case somehow the road surface gets scratched it still has the road color and won't horgave to touch it up.

Rscott417

Pelle Soeborg used WS Smooth It in his article in Octobers 2012 Model Railroader Magazine. Pelle used a 50/50 mixture Humbrol Gull Gray and Random Tan to paint his road systems.

Larry

[Rscott417]

I've read that article, he does unbelievable work. I'm looking to mix the paint and the smooth-it together in one batch and pour the road out without having to go back and paint it.

[torikoos]

Mixing any type of water soluble paints (like acrylics) will work fine with water based plaster mixes like Smooth-it.
I would still consider applying some light washes/weathering to the road surface to get rid of an otherwise much to uniform colour, and make it much more realistic. But you are right that by mixing in some paint, damage will be much less visible than when using a stark white plaster mix.

Koos

[Rscott417]

Thanks Koos, I plan on detailing the road more once it's poured. I want to mix in the paint because I will have some street running and I think when I need to clean the track more than likely I will rub and scratch the road surface. I don't care how beat up the road looks I just don't want to have to do any touch up painting every time I clean the track.

[torikoos]

I see , that clarifies your concern much better, indeed do mix in some colour. However, you could try a non-abrasive type of cleaner, for the street running section at least. You could use some mild denatured alcohol on a Q-tip to clean the railheads, although this can become quite tedious if you have large sections of street running. You could also consider getting another 'wet cleaning' device, there are some track cleaning cars out there that use a liquid and won't scratch, the road surface.

Alternatively you could use thin sheet styrene for your roads, especially between the rails, that also needs painting, but as it comes in many different 'thickness-sizes' , you could use a styrene that is thin enough so it is slightly lower than the rail heads, and an abrasive track cleaning block won't touch it, yet cleans the rail.

Koos