Red Oak & Western
Active Member
Some time around 2000, TTX switched from a bright yellow to a mustard yellow. That said, once the cars were out in the real world for a while, the colors changed. So get a reference print of a car you like and work to match it.
As to the flat colors, normally, for rolling stock, you want to work with gloss paints. The reason is a little oxymoronic - the painted surface of a "flat" paint is actually very rough, the surface of a gloss paint is very flat and smooth. Frequently, you will be adding decals to the painted car. The decals adhere and look better when applied to gloss paint. Once you're all done, you add a flat top coat to remove the gloss and seal any decals, weathering, etc. that you may have applied. One of the commonly used flat overcoats is Testors Dull Coat. But you can use any flat acrylic or lacquer topcoat. Both Valspar and Rustoleum are fine. I prefer the solvent based lacquers, but that may be just because when I learned to paint and weather, acrylics were in there infancy and, frankly, pretty poor quality.
As to the flat colors, normally, for rolling stock, you want to work with gloss paints. The reason is a little oxymoronic - the painted surface of a "flat" paint is actually very rough, the surface of a gloss paint is very flat and smooth. Frequently, you will be adding decals to the painted car. The decals adhere and look better when applied to gloss paint. Once you're all done, you add a flat top coat to remove the gloss and seal any decals, weathering, etc. that you may have applied. One of the commonly used flat overcoats is Testors Dull Coat. But you can use any flat acrylic or lacquer topcoat. Both Valspar and Rustoleum are fine. I prefer the solvent based lacquers, but that may be just because when I learned to paint and weather, acrylics were in there infancy and, frankly, pretty poor quality.
