painting rubber on the tracks

Thanks guys, mighty helpful. its off to work I go. Wife, put the kettle on, I might be a while

Those tracks look great Kevin.

Leo, Here is an example of a rubber and metal track I did last year. The tracks were painted Tamiya Nato Black then lightly sponged with various light grays and finally a VERY light dry brushing of a medium gray.  I then masked off the black with strips of tape on both sides and then airbrushed the end connectors and guide horns. The rusty tone was furthered with more sponging and some light color washes. I washed on a thin pigment slurry to blend it all together. A subtle black wash in the deepest areas help hide the demarcation between the rubber and metal. With this technique you will have a little over spray of rust on the sides of the track pads where it should be rubber but it's hardly noticeable as you can see.

Well.....the only shortcut is not to paint the rubber on the tracks that will not show!! The brush is the only way....link by link

Rounds Complete!!

Hi Leo

I've worked a couple of times on tracks with rubber. The way I did it was to use the normal way of painting tracks, I use an airbrush and Tamiya's red brown as a base. When that was dry I use Vallejo dark rubber paint ( I looks just like rubber when dry). Using a flat brush I just run it across the rubber pad and in one pass per link its done. I know it can take a while to get a full run painted but its the only way I know to get a look that looks close to real. it doesnt have to be neat as the pads themselves will have been damages so will have a rough look anyway.

Hope that helps

Phil