I’m ready to do ground cover and ballast on the loco facilities area of my HO layout. I’ve put down ballast and ground cover at various times over the last 60 years plus, but not in the last 4 months or so.
In my MR “larder”, I have white glue, liquid dish soap, and alcohol. For the life of me, I can’t recall if I mix a few drops of soap with white glue / water to dribble over ballast, or if its alcohol rather than the soap.
I’m sure it won’t matter a hill of spikes, but I’m at a loss here and need help.
I use 70% Alcohol over the ballast first then 8:1 white glue (8 water to 1 glue) before the Alcohol evaporates. The Alcohol breaks the surface tension and the glue flows quickly and disappears as it dries. Been doing it that way for over 50 years.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
I use a few drops of liquid dish detergent in tap water, then apply it generously using a sprayer which allows a fine mist. Do not skimp on the amount applied, as the glue/water mixture applied next, used to bond everything in place, will not penetrate where the material has not been sufficiently wetted.
Failure to pre-wet the area adequately is the main cause for Woodland Scenics ballast “floating” when applying the glue/water mixture, and is also the cause of a hardened crust of ballast with still-loose ballast beneath it, discovered only when you vacuum the area after cleaning the rails.
Alcohol seemingly works as well, but it costs more and dries more quickly, a problem if you’re doing large areas at the same time. It can also, in some instances, remove paint from rails and ties, and discolour nearby painted structures that may get caught in the overspray.
I don’t use it, as I find the smell of the alcohol irritating, even though I quite enjoy the smell of the drinkable kind. [;)]
I only use the drug store 70% isopropyl alcohol as a wetting agent on my dry ballast. For scenery ground foam bits, and to glue the ballast after the alcohol, I use yellow carpenters’ glue, water, and a couple of drops of dish soap. I mix the glue approximately one part glue with five parts water, and add the two obligatory drops of dish detergent. I have reliable and satisfactory results with this time after time.
Thanks folks, you’ve answered my question. As I now recall, I actually have used both alcohol or dish soap to make water “wetter”. When I started to make a mix this afternoon, I must have had a brain cloud (or was it something else???).
I too use the alcohol method, spray down the ballast and apply glue mix, be generous. I use an old elders glue bottle with a twisty top to apply the glue.
Take your time around turnouts, I use an eye dropper and put one drop of glue between each tie.
I use alcohol straight from the bottle. I’m sure it would work if watered down somewhat, or even a lot, but it’s too cheap to bother with that extra step. I apply it with a pipette. Spraying anything always makes a mess where I don’t want it, and sometimes disturbs my carefully-spread ballast.
Alcohol dries a lot faster than water and dish soap, too. With soap, it sometimes too 2-3 days before it was fully hardened. Alcohol is overnight, if that.
I never had much success with dishwashing soap. My recipe is:
-wetting agent : 70% isopropyl alcohol diluted in water (2 parts alcohol for 8 parts water);
-glue mix : white glue diluted in water (1 part glue for 1 to 2 parts of water).
That works great for ballast and ground cover. I am no expert in chemistry but I know this leads to faster drying than plain isopropyl alcohol or dishwashing soap.
I am happy with the results and it is cheap. I will never experiment with anything else. The results are there. Period.
For me, it partially depends on what manufacturer’s ballast I am using. For Woodland Scenics ballast, the water with a few drops of dish soap does not work was well as 1 part rubbing alcohol mixed with 5 parts water. Real rock ballast does well with either wetting agent. I use 50/50 white glue and water for the adhesive.
Westcott and others used Photoflo, which was a wetting agent used to prevent water spots on processed film. It’s still around, but there aren’t many camera shops.
It’s good to know that there’s at least one other modeller out there who knows the correct words represented by those initials. [B][Y][swg]
If you’re not too concerned about Rule G, it’s also nice when running a (model) train. [:D]