I know this has been asked many times before. I am getting ready to ballast the tracks( HO scale code 100) what is the recommended type of ballast to use ( what size) . I am using elmer’s glue, what is the ratio of water to glue to use.
for my HO scale layout I used medium mixed {color of gray as that is what is around here} ballast.
As far as you title question, 4 parts water to one part glue seems to be the norm.
I have seen water to glue recommendations for 1:1 to 5:1. Several have recommended pure glue along the edges to hold the ballast on the slope.
Another thing to concider is that a number of posters seem to feel that using matte medium for ballasting makes for a quieter layout. Again the ratios are about the same. One thing I have seen recommended is to mix your matte medium and let it sit in a jar for a week or so, totally undisturbed. It will settle out some of the talc (white) that some folks have reported seeing on their finished ballast. Just pour off the liquid into another jar and you will find the sediment on the bottom, discard it.
As for size of ballast most HO folks seem to prefer WS fine to their medium and some recommend a mix of the two. Put a little of each on (don’t glue down) and see what you prefer. There are other brands, but I am not familiar with them.
Have fun,
Richard
My glue solution was somewhat lighter still…somewhere between 6:1 and 8:1.
I use rubbing alcohol instead of water in a 50/50 or 60/40 ratio. Rubbing alcohol evaporates faster than water so your ballast will set quicker.
I use a 70:30 alcohol:glue ratio. More glue than that, and it’s pretty thick.
I have one jar of matte medium and will never buy any more. FOr the price of one jar I can get a GALLON of Elmer’s. Quieter, I doubt it.
I use alcohol to dilute the glue, never measure it, just mix it until it’s nice and thin. probably about 60/40 or higher alcohol. It also makes a big difference to mist on plain alcohol before adding the diluted glue, it soaks in even better.
–Randy
Yeah, Randy, that’s what I do (spray with alcohol, first). The time for alcohol/glue to dry solid is a fraction of water/glue.
Yeah, Randy, that’s what I do (spray with alcohol, first). The time for alcohol/glue to dry solid is a fraction of water/glue.
I use Woodland Scenics Medium Ballast. It is close in size to the prototype. Fine Ballast is too small and best left to N scale.
After wetting the ballast with a spray of rubbing alcohol, I use a 4:1 mix of water to matte medium. Yes, matte medium costs more than Elmer’s Glue, but I can say from experience that matte medium provides a quieter surface than Elmer’s Glue. it is more pliable and it is easy to remove from track if need be.
Rich
See, everywhere else says just the opposite - matte medium dries pretty much impervious to most things, whereas bits of ballast stuck to the track with Elmer’s can be easily removed by simply dropping the track in a tub of water and letting it soak a bit to loosen the glue.
–Randy
Randy,
You make it sound like a Saturday morning infomercial on television. Drop an Elmer’s glue ballasted piece of track in a tub of water and, voila, pull it out a little later and it looks good as new, no ballast, no glue, nothing but track.
The truth is that it takes a little elbow grease either way. I have cleaned off any number of turnouts that were encrusted with ballast and matte medium mix. I have restored them to nearly like new condition.
Rich
i use Arizona Rock and Mineral medium size PRR grey. I use matte medium at a 4-1 ratio a quart at a time and add a tablespoon of dish soap to the mix, works great.
I use cheap hairspray (pump type) with an eyedropper to soak the ballast. It dries hard and no mixing required. It is as easy as it gets.
Try it!
Dennis
I never heard of using hair spray, is this something new?
I dilute 1:4 with water or alcohol. The water does take longer to dry, but I’m generally in no hurry.
I have used hair spray as well. You can get various brands of non-scented at the dollar store. It seems to work fine with really fine ballast. It’s been my experience that it doesn’t work as well as dilute white glue with the larger sizes of ballast. When I was setting aggregate in my quarry I tried hairspray and it just didn’t work well with the larger rock. Rather than keep two ballasting media around I just use white glue now.
I hope it is to just use the pump bottle to apply the wet water.
I perfer to wet the ballast with water/ alcohol and apply the diluted white glue (1:1 or 2:1) Someone did mention about using the glue straight for the ballast shoulders. This is what I do. If you paint on the glue w/ foam brush and add ballast it helps to act as a dam for remainging ballast as not to have it fall off the shoulders. This also helps to hide those thin spots @ the roadbed that will have to be doctored up later.
I am a novice and I posted the use of hairspray. I hadn’t heard of anyone using it before either but I noticed someone else has in this forum. Using hairspray works just fine for me and it sure is a lot easier than mixing glue etc. I pour some hairspray (maximum hold) straight out of the bottle into a small cup (jello) and use an eyedropper to soak the ballast. I also use it for groundfoam as well as it keeps it in place.
Dennis
Hairspray works great for securing ground foam, detailing trees w/ various colored fine grasses etc, use it for even freshening up old scenery. For ballast, I don’t think you’ll get a real penetration and hold, unless you flood the balllast. If it works for you and you don’t experience trouble that’s great, however, diluted white glue or matte medium would seem way cheaper and easy to use in my opinion. I do hope that you use a non scented version and the “elcheapo” hairspray. Used scented once, and it was awful, would knock you out, walking past the layout for some time 'til it dried and aired out.