Hi; Can Anyone please tell me what type of glue to use when ballasting Bachman EZ Track? Thanks This is the first time I’ve tried this forum I hope I’m doing this right. Thanks for any help. Mike
I used 50-50 water and Elmers pre-wetted with water and a drop of soap.
I understand that you want to add scale ballasting material over the plastic fake ballast?
Once you have your thin layer groomed to your liking, I would spray it with an alcohol and water mixture to penetrate, and then spray with a light glue mixture, white or yellow carpenters’ glue. If you are patient, you can fashion a dribble bottle and use a somewhat stronger solution, but if you don’t control the dribble rate well, you will wash away your carefully positioned grains. That is why I resorted to spraying, instead, from a distance. It was messy, to be sure, and I had to wipe the rail tops immediately after each three spritzed feet. In the end, though, it was good looking and solid when it dried.
I keep two glue bottles filled. One with alcohol and the other with a 50/50 mix of water and white glue. I drip the alcohol onto the ballast first then follow it with the glue mix. After drying overnight, the ballast will be securely glued in place.
The only downside to white glue is it dries brittle, and pieces of ballast can break off if bumped. It costs more, but you can go to an arts/crafts store and get acrylic matte medium. It’s a milky white liquid that dries clear and has a kind of rubbery texture, not brittle. It’s a cousin to acrylic gloss medium that many people use for water on layouts, to make small waves and give the water a glossy sheen. Matte medium is usefull for holding down grass and other scenic materials.
BTW right before putting ballast down on the Bachmann track, you might need to brush some glue or matte medium along the sloped sides of the plastic ballast strip under the track, to help the thin layer of ballast hold in place.
The bad thing about the matte medium is that you’ll destroy your track when you go to pull it up later. The matte medium stays on permanent. The white glue can be loosened with a little water and the track comes right up.
I found the ballast where matte medium was used could be peeled off fairly easily when taking up the track, I don’t recall any problems with it destroying the track. Matte Medium is an acrylic so it’s water-based, maybe wetting it would help??