Colour for spray painting tracks

[Blackadder123]

Looking to improve the aesthetics of the flat black plastic tracks, I think I'll try a spray painting method. Current plan is to first spray paint the whole track with a matt grey/metallic tone then brush the edges with a shiny silvery paint for the worn look. Haven't got an airbrush yet, so that's not possible.

Only question is, I'm not sure which spray paint would fit the tracks best. The two brands I'm considering are Revell and Tamiya - Here are the links to their respective palettes:

https://www.revell.de/en/products/color ... color.html

http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/list/spray.htm

Could anyone advise me on which shade of grey is best? And perhaps any improvements to my method with my available tools? The silvery paint I have in mind is the chrome silver.

Thanks for any tips

[Marco Peter]

Plastic or metal tracks?
And meant to run them a lot or more or less static?


Plastic KV-1 tracks, first sprayed brown (with AK Track Track Primer) then further weathered using pigments, fixed with white spirit and matte varnish. I deliberately went for the rusted look.

[Blackadder123]

Running tracks. I think I prefer one that is less rusted seeing as tanks in active combat probably don't have extremely corroded tracks. I'm just a bit torn on which base spray colour I should choose. The plastic tracks currently have a bit of gloss, so the objective would be to rid that. A matt dark grey would be good, but there doesn't seem to be a good spray can for that.

[Jake79]

If your not keen on using an airbrush you could paint using a regular brush, vallejo and mig both paint well out of the bottle, i'm sure your be able to find a suitable grey.

[Marco Peter]

For metal tracks I'm really lazy.

I simply Krylon them dark brown and immediately roughly take off the top layer so it instantly shows wear on the rising parts.

[jarndice]

Mick there is a creature in the Army (Any Army) called a Corporal ,
If you were a Private soldier standing around with your hands in your pockets he would suggest in the soft loving tones that Corporals have that you find a wire brush and a pot of paint in the appropriate hue and GET THAT FFFING RUST OFF THAT FFFING TANK
Shaun.

[blimp]

O.K. folks , It's mr anoraks Metallurgy time! , Are we sitting comfortably ? - Most tracks were cast/forged in a Manganese steel alloy - Ferric oxidisation being inhibited by the Manganese content ( which would oxidise first giving a dark grey/black finish ) only after prolonged exposure does this weather away and the iron oxide become more prominent .
So new tracks would start as a dull silver grey ageing to dark grey , then surface rust will appear (which is more permanent) - Plus road grime of course *Blimp.









*Long time manufacturer of strange industral/aerospace/motorsport etc thingies .

[RobW]

I did the M3 (Sherman black plastic) tracks by just rubbing a sponge over them which had been dipped in Tamiya gunmetal. Brings the cleats up nicely but minimal effort required. It also mimics the effect that HL have painted onto the T34 tracks.

[Raminator]

Not being funny, but did German tracks actually rust?

Of course. Their thousand-year-Reich wasn't the only thing that didn't last.

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I think some of the misconception comes from the fact that many museum pieces are painted from head-to-toe, including the tracks.

[silversurfer1947]

You also have to consider that the WW2 tanks you see today have tracks that are some 70 years old. Sadly, colour photos of the tanks in their operational heyday are few and far between. Most of what you see from that era are modern colourisations and therefore represent what the colouriser thought they should look like.