Routed Track Repaint - Tips?

[tonka500]

Hello,

 

Hoping to get some advice.

 

I'm thinking about repainting my braided timber track as a few spots are a bit patchy and might also lighten the colour a bit.

 

The braid is slightly (1mm or less) recessed so thinking I could give the track a light sand, tape up the braid, repaint, remove tape, and rip some laps out.

 

Has anyone done a repaint with braid in place and it has gone smoothly like I'm imagining above? Any tips or advice?

 

The track runs well so I'm tempted to just leave it if there is a fair chance I'll have a mess on my hands.

 

Thanks!

 

Andrew

Edited May 25, 2016 by tonka500

[Garry J]

Did this on a couple of tracks many,many moons ago.

 

It worked OK, biggest issue was getting the masking tape to stick and consequently paint getting under the tape.

 

I used a roller and brush, spraying might be better.

[kalbfellp]

Spraying does not serm any better, the pressure tends to lift the tape.

I repainted my 125 Ft track years ago. In the finish I ended up making up a cardboard masking guide that went on the slot and had a piece of plastic and foam that covered the braid.

I them rollered up to the plastic, using a 4" roller.

Still got a bit of paint under the plastic that had to be cleaned up.

 

[stumbley]

I used the 3M blue masking tape (medium adhesion), the width of the slot and braid recesses. Made sure to emboss the tape down with a brayer (used to ink linoleum blocks, available from art supply stores). You will probably still get a little paint under the masking tape, but not enough to affect conductivity.

[32coupe]

Just use a paint brush and be careful

[Terry]

I repainted mine recently.

 

taped the braids using the blue masking tape and trimmed it down to size using an exacto blade, didn't really have any issues with paint bleeding onto the braid, I used a brush.

 

2 good coats, and really a hassle free thing to do, certainly easier than I thought it was going to be, make sure you clean your surface thoroughly before painting and after you have sanded the surface down make sure you get rid of all the dust, I wiped the newly sanded surface with a damp rag before repainting.

 

I repainted with paving paint which left me with a semi gloss surface which has turned out quite well, lap times are as good as they were on the old surface, all in all a good result

[manimmal]

I use the 32coupe approach personally. I've tried masking and have less paint to remove from braid by simply using a 15-20mm brush and taking my time. I most recently did this literally two weeks ago after finishing a track extension to allow the track to fit a 6x6 metre garage. There's no room for real cars but that's a hobby for you

[tonka500]

Thanks heaps for the advice everyone. Much appreciated.

 

I like the surface that is on there (brushed on Dulux Suede with Cabots Matt clear over the top rolled on) I just haven't done a perfect job on it.

 

As I've got to use a roller thinking I'll go the tape method burnished down and trimmed as I don't think I will be accurate enough with the roller to not clip the braid.

 

Thanks again. I'll post a before and after when I do it.

[munter]

I dont understand why a track is painted and then gets a clear gloss coat.

Why not use a gloss paint in the first instance?

[boslot]

I brushed on Dulux Suede to get a texture finish like a road surface and then brush on a light coat for Cabots Matt clear over the top , this helps

to seal the surface from water spills and dust as well has easy to clean .

 

Bo

[kalbfellp]

Effect! The base Colour i.e. ferodor, suede etc shows thru the clear coat. These paints are flat textured coatings, so bu clearing over them you can control the amount of texture and still have gloss or semi gloss.

[munter]

Got it thanks...a lot of the NZ tracks are gloss from the pot or two pot as the case may be.

[David Carter]

Got it thanks...a lot of the NZ tracks are gloss from the pot or two pot as the case may be.

 

I do believe slotsnz track has a clear gloss over the paint

[David Carter]

I repainted mine awhile back and I just put masking tape over the braid and then used a roller

had a couple of spots that bleed under a little but not enough to worry about