How do you remove a section of rail that is ballasted, and held together with white (PVA) glue. I have tried wetting it with ‘wet’ water but this didn’t loosen it at all. I only left it for a couple of hours I guess, before trying to remove it (I was a bit impatient to get the job done). Is there anything out there that would do the job better/faster? White glue is not waterproof as far as I know, but if it has been hard for a long time, as in a couple of years, I guess could take a while to soften.
You may have to lay paper towels over the track/ballast that you want to remove, wet them down thoroughly with water, and let them sit for a while. I’ve never done it but it seems I remember someone suggesting this as a possible method of softening up white or yellow glue.
As in gardening, you have to go back and apply more water once the initial burst from your watering wand has sunk into the soil. My experience is that the applied glue mixture will take at least 24 hours to dry, so you can count on something approximating half of that to get it pliable enough to lift if you don’t let it air-dry between applications of water. As Tom points out, frequently re-wetting paper towels draped over the area to be lifted will do the trick. It will take several hours, but at least three applications of water, too.
Thanks, I had a feeling that water would do it. I just need to be a bit more patient next time. I did make a bit of a mess of the roadbed by prising the track up. The repairs took a while and I had to wait for them to dry before I could start installing the turnout anyway. So, ‘patience is a virtue’ so they say.
I have used rubbing alcohol to soften white glue for years and it always works in a few minutes. I keep a cheap spray bottle and alcohol for laying ballast and removing it and other scenery materials.
It looks like there are a few things to try next time. As a matter of interest, I have had the removed piece of track sitting in a tub of water for nearly 2 days now and the ballast is still sticking reasonably firmly although you can remove it if you use some force. Actually one of the problems with removal of the track would have been the glue used to hold it down in the first place (Before the ballasting was done). If I remember rightly, I used CA glue originally. So no wonder bits of the roadbed came with it.
I don’t recomend this: But my Grandsons RR was under water for a couple of days, in a flooded cellar, and EVERYTHING that was glued with white glue, became UN-glued. Even the track and roadbed came up easy. The only thing I had to do was pull the nails that I hadn’t removed after I first laid the track and glued it down. I think I can still use the track again, and all the turnouts look ok. The switch Machines and most of the wood table are another story.