Haven’t tried that but I have found it is difficult to reposition ballast after you have applied the glue and before it dries. Once it has been soaked with wet glue, it tends to clump together. I’d stick with the tried and true methods.
I second most of the suggestions. You need to soak your ballast thoroughly with wet water first. I use 4:1 water/alcohol. I found that those plastic catsup/mustard bottles diners use are great for applying the water/glue mix. You can pick up a set at Wal-Mart and other stores for a couple of bucks. I use a piece of masking tape to cap them between uses.