Opinions on Epoxy Paint for track surface

[JCIS4ME]

Good Day Gents
Im building track number 4. It will be a 4X8 hill climb in the house. All my other tracks have had a semi gloss enamel, I see that others have used epoxy. What is your take on the two?

Thanks and have a great day!
Marty

[Bal r 14]

I used some epoxy on my previous track, just as an experiment. I think it works really well with silicon tires. I would have used it on my current track, but it's pretty big and I had semi-gloss latex paint that I needed to use up. I will give epoxy a very serious look on my next road course.

[JCIS4ME]

Thanks for your input! It is greatly appreciated!

[Bal r 14]

I had to use 4 coats of latex with sanding in between coats, to get a finish close to what I would have got with two coats of epoxy. Epoxy surfaces clean real nice, too. The biggest downside to epoxy is it can be really fussy about the surface it will adhere to.

[mattb]

I've used latex on 5 different tracks the last 40 years and it has worked fine.

[JCIS4ME]

THX Matt
I was wondering if there was a difference in tire grip and handling when used. The latex is cheaper than epoxy that is why I used it on my earlier tracks. Just liked the surface on my local race way's epoxy finish.

[RichD]

One of the Shoreline Model Raceways routed tracks has an epoxy finish, the rest have latex. I never noticed a difference in grip between the two finishes. With latex you can get a little extra grip if you top it off with a satin polyurethane.

[mattb]

Most home racers don't use chemicals, but commercial tracks get all kind of stuff put on their tracks or on tires. They usually clean with some pretty strong stuff, so epoxy probably works better in that situation.

[chrisguyw]

If you are planning on running sponge tires with glue (traction compound) applied to the track,..and therefore cleaning the track periodically with solvents, epoxy paint is the way to go. This is why virtually all commercial wood tracks have been painted with epoxy paint for the last 50+ years.

If you are planning on running rubber, urethane, silicone tires (with no glue applied to the track),.....the vast majority of tracks are painted with a flat/semi gloss latex based paint.

Cheers
Chris Walker

[JCIS4ME]

Well guys I think I got the answer! Latex semigloss it is! AGAIN!
I know that I always can count on my FRIENDS here at HRW!

Peace Love and Prosperity for 2022 !
Marty

[Mitch58]

When I repainted my track I used semi gloss laytex, but this time I used a smooth foam roller and got the surface/finish very smooth. Now almost all tires grip very well with some rubber gripping better than urethane. Even some stock tires that come on the cars when trued well grip very good.

[BK66]

The last four tracks I have built were MDF painted with two coats of flat latex and then one coat of water base hard wood floor polyurethane applied with a flooring mop. I have used both gloss and semi gloss poly and both work well with great traction when using silicone tires. It is very durable and easy to clean. Both copper tape and brade stick very well to this Finnish. If you need additional information on the mopping process, just let me know and I can supply details, it very easy with items available from Menards.

[mattb]

Explain using a mop to paint the clear coat.