Has anyone used powdered glue to balast track?
I remember as a kid, that’s how my Dad used to ballast track. He’d mix the powdered glue with the ballast in a can so the ballast was well covered. He then applied it as normal, then sprayed the ballast with water. I seem to recall it worked quite well.
Forgot all about his method until you brought it up !
Mark.
Yes I gave it a try on a portion of my layout. It was an idea gleaned from an article by, if memory serves, John Allen himself although perhaps it was actually by another of the hobby’s “stars.” It certainly made total sense to me when I first read it.
My first batch did not work well at all – the ballast was crispy and fragile – and I concluded I had been a little stingy with the powered glue. The second attempt worked OK but not better than using a liquid such as Woodland Scenic’s Scenic Cement, assuming otherwise correct techniques such as alcohol or detergent to allow the wetting agent be it water or Scenic Cement to break the surface tension of the ballast.
There may be applications where one wants even more control over the process than an eyedropper or pipette of liquid scenic cement and for that situation the powdered glue is certainly an option to be considered.
Indeed in the relatively little ballasting still needed on my layout I have begun to wonder if powered glue AND Scenic Cement would enable me to be a little less lavish with the Scenic Cement (seeing as how the powdered glue is paid for and just sitting there). But my experience suggests it would be a process of trial and error before I get the recipe just right.
Dave Nelson
Nope, I use matte medium.
Rich
I use diluted white glue.
Many years ago I asked a big club i Sacramento what the used to fix ballast. They used Weldwood brand powder cement mixed into the ballast.
I use diluted white glue, a 50/50 mix with water. Be sure your ballast is thoroughly dampened with “wet water”.
I also use white glue but I don’t mix it but prefer to paint it on then pour the ballast onto the glue and let it dry then vacuum up what’s loose.
Nope, I have used alcohol/dilute white glue from day 1. Works fine, and I subscribe to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” school of thought.
LION uses CAT LITTER for the ballast of him. Him uses GRAVITY to hold it in place. You can always spray it (with water) and it will hold itself in place for you.
After all the ‘clumping’ litter does not actually make the clumps unitl you move it. A light spray and it should look ok. (Try it on a scrap peice)
ROARING
I used powdered glue for the ballast on my handlaid track in the late '70s. I would spread the glue on the Homasote, place the ties, and add the ballast before the glue dried. Next day, I would remove any excess ballast and sand the ties level, then spike the rail. A slow-drying glue with a little tack to hold the ties while it dried was preferred.
Doing it over nowadays, I prefer the matte medium or sometimes even caulk (spread very thin). There’s still enough grip for the ties to be sanded and for the ballast, but the ties can actually be pried up if need be.
Also, living in Colorado, I have to take the lack of humidity into account for any gluing operation. Excess solvent (usually water) is needed because the wood and Homasote will soak it right out of the normal glue mixture.
Fred W