Paints, Inking & Stamping, Weathering & Finishes

Milk paints come in a wide range of colors and add a natural warmth and natural tone. Ink can be used to stamp or hand-letter details. Charcoal is an easy way to weather rolling stock. And a child-safe finish helps to protect painted, inked and weathered surfaces.

Milk Paint

Milk paint is a kid-friendly way to decorate trains. A broad spectrum of paints made from milk casein and organic pigments are available. A little paint is enough to bring highlights and accents to a module - they are best applied to train cars and engines. Following are the colors I'm using for various types of rolling stock. These can be combined to create intermediate colors. Sample size jars are sufficient for most projects.
realmilkpaint.com

Inking & Stamping

Custom product names and corporate branding can be inked onto painted rolling stock. Create your own company names with imaginative products and create custom rubber stamps - or write directly on the cars with permanent ink.
picturemystamp.com
rubberstamps.net

Weathering

Artist charcoal - black, red and white - bring a bit of grime, rust and sun-bleached fade to otherwise pristine train cars. Over time, the rolling stock will get dinged up and scraped through play and can be touched up with a black or warm gray sharpie to soften exposed wood.

Finishes

A child-safe finish is just as important. Apply a flat matte coat to protect painted train cars and features with images applied. Choose a finish that is safe for children - like a varnish that is non-allergenic, non-toxic, and free from volatile organic compounds. I use Saman's 'Dead Flat Varnish' for both buildings and train cars. Ecos 'Interior Satin Clear Varnish' is another varnish I've used, but felt it had too much sheen.