Once the basic wires have been completed it is time to decorate your track. Below is how we completed the track for the Gaydon Slot Car festival in 2019. It is by no means the best track ever completed, but it does show how what is possible with simple equipment.
Finishing off the track to a high standard can take many hours. The first task however is to fill in any holes, empty groove sections and visible indication of the track wire. Do this with any ready mix DIY filler of car repair filler (bondo). You don’t need to plaster it all over the track. In fact this may harm correct running of the cars. Apply it sparingly on the cut grooves only to hide any blemishes. After this is dry sand it and apply a sealing layer of emulsion paint. Don’t paint this all over the board as it can be very difficult to locate the wires (remember you cant see them after painting!) Paint out to the edge of the track only as shown in the image below. Do not use textured paint or very thick layers on the track. We are trying to achieve a smooth track with the guide wire as close to the underside of the car as possible.
The Magnetic Racing young apprentice below is drying off the paint with a hair dryer (which he no longer personally has any use for). He is also checking that the guide wires are not visible. If any are showing a little more filler and paint will mask them completely. If you take your time here you will be amazed at how many people think the cars are guided by magic!
Rocks can easily be produced as follows. First take some newspaper and roll and glue it to the track, You can also use polystyrene, scrap card etc.
Then cover the paper with a couple of layers of plaster bandage. We used “Modrock” (Modroc) This is applied wet. We also added a few stones out of the garden glued to the base.
Following this we add on a layer of DIY filler where needed to give a more ragged appearance. A quick spray with car primer helps us check for holes and any areas we need to improve.
Here is a larger rock in the centre of the track completed in a similar manner.
There is much more work to do and we will add details as we progress. 13/03/2019
There are many articles on finishing the track with terrain, but bear in mind that unlike slot cars magracing cars can be driven back onto the track only if they are not hung up on terrain. You may wish to keep run off areas on fast corners clear of any decoration so the cars can reverse and return to the track more easily. A painted on but otherwise smooth gravel trap looks most effective.
Check out the following links for further information on general scenery construction and track finishing.