Need help painting railroad ties

New ties around here start out black with a little brown highlight and as it ages the black fades to differing shades of gray with black brownish black still in the cracks .Depends on the preservative used on the wood .In the field or an emergency they could have been rough hewn from logs in the area and started out as a natural wood color bleaching to gray .

                                                                              fuzzy 

It's hard to mix your way to that color or just to paint it.  The color of a RR tie varies so much from one end to the other.  My brother and I used to use oil based paints, I don't remember what they were called, one was a chocolate brown, the other black.  Dab little buttons of paint out along the length and spread it using and S stroke the one way then the other so you end up with lots of figure 8s end to end.Then diagonal strokes across the narrow to fill out.  You'll have to try it a few times inorder to get it to work right.  You know, the right size S, how much paint, you'll have to feel it all out.  I hope if you try it it works for you.

Pollyscale acrylic Railroad colors has a "railroad tie brown" color. Most hobby shops carry them.

Try this web site www.trains.com When I was building my trains my 3rd love I used the forums there as much as I do here a lot of great help. J

Try an LHS that specialises in model railways, as I know they do premixed colours for both the ties and the track itself.

Karl