I do the beveled edges, and the outside of the rails, first by running a finger of undiluted white glue along it then add the ballast groom it, wait a few minutes then apply the 70% alcohol. If you want a nice straight line along the bottom of the ballast, then there are two techniques you can use as long as there is no scenery involved.
The first is to tape some blue masking tape along the bottom, the second is to sacrifice some cork roadbed and tack it down with pins. I use map pins about every inch or so. After you apply the glue:water mixture some of it will seep under the tape or the cork. Just wait about thirty minutes or so and you can easily remove the tape or the cork leaving a fairly clean line behind without tearing out the ballast on the dbeveled edge of the roadbed. There may be a few places where some touch up may be needed but usually it is not a big deal.
One more thing, Dave. As far as the glue/water ratio, it is all over the place anywhere from 1:2 to 1:5. This comes down to a personal preference thing.
I think it really boils down to using a formula that will easily soak into all of the ballast, no matter how deep. I think that thinner is better (within reason). We have discovered several spots on our portable layout where only the top of the ballast was glued together despite copious quantities of diluted glue having been applied.
FWIW, I just ordered some 8 oz. condiment dispencer bottles from Amazon like the one that doctorwayne showed. Up until now we have been using a rather larger pressurized spray bottle. Getting just a dribble of glue out of it is very difficult, and too much pressure on the trigger washes the ballast away instantly.
If, like me, you’ve found that running a dehumidifier in your layout room helps minimize benchwork warping, track kinks, and electronic bugs, don’t overlook it as a source of “free” distilled water!
Those results are caused by insufficient pre-wetting, or, if you used alcohol as a wetting agent, it may have evapourated before you got around to adding the glue. The water should be in quantities sufficient to penetrate completely through the ballast, enough so that it will seep from the lowest point. When the glue is applied, it should also be in sufficient amounts to penetrate right to the bottom of the ballast, and like the water, collect alongside the right-of-way.
I don’t precisely measure out my proportions, but it’s roughly 55-60% white or carpenters glue to 40-45% water, with a squirt of dishwashing soap added to break the tension. It has always worked perfectly despite the varying proportions. The important thing is to thoroughly soak it with water to avoid getting only a crust.
I have found using Mod Podge or Elmers White Glue are best thinner. Using glues thinned less than 3:1 with water, even with a wetting agent, makes the glue penetrate the scenery less.
Yes, that is exactly what happened. I blame it on too many people with not enough experience working on the layout. The ballast glue question came up as a result of us having to rip up some track on our portable layout, but we are already discussing how to avoid the same thing happening when we start to ballast the new permanent layout. We will have to watch the work very carefully. Despite my lack of experience, the areas that I ballasted seem to be ok.
There have been some comments about Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement. The last layout I did was several years ago and I used a white glue mix etc and hated it. This one I am using the Scenic cement and I love it. I think the key is to use a sprayer that uses a fine spray. With that it doesn’t need a wetting agent. I had one that didnt spray as fine and had issues. Went back to the other one even though it had a drip.
Dave, another reason for that problem with your layout ballast is a corollary to DrWayne’s observation, someone may have attempted to ballast too long a length of track. I generally don’t do more than 12 inches at a time.
OK, that’s definitely something to consider. It would certainly be easier to focus on how much glue you have put down if you are only doing 12" at a time as opposed to three feet.
Ballasting is boring, so I approach it as an excercise in zen. Put on some music, have a beverage at hand, make sure the wetting agent, grooming implements and the glue are right there and go for it.
Ballasting isn’t difficult. If you follow the good advice given here by Wayne and others, it should be pretty straight ahead.
I would have the club designate a couple of interested parties as the ballasters and only let them do the ballasting. While not difficult, it is a skill and definately takes some practice. Having a couple members develop and refine those skills might yield better results than trying to set the standards and have random members applying them with varying degrees of success.
I think that the most involved part of ballasting is the grooming. Spreading it along the track is easy, as is the misting/pre-wetting, and the glue application goes as quickly as you can move along the track.
I did this area, from around where the camera was placed to the beginning of the bridge, as one job…
…although it was spread over a couple of days, partly because of the grooming and partly because of the need to contain the depth of ballast and sub-ballast/fill needed here…
Prior to that, this area (photographed with the camera in about the same place as the first photo, but turned around) up to the turnouts in the distance, was done in one session, started one evening and finished by about 4:30 the following morning. The distance is just over 10’…
For this area, across the aisle from the previous photo, the ballast was spread and groomed in about the same sort of time period. The ballasting stretched from a couple feet behind the camera to beyond the glue jugs in the distance…
…and include a portion of this track near the backdrop, an interchange with another railroad…
(the rest of it will remain unballasted, as it will be hidden by a view block, with the remainder of it in my workshop, accessed through a hole in the wall). Total length of this stretch is about 11
I dont know, DrWayne, seems an awfully long length of track to wet and glue in one foul swoop. I would not tackle anything that long. On the other hand I agree with your observation regarding turnout ballasting. Do them separately and more deliberately.
