ballast glue

[Mike Nowakowski]

I have heard of using Elmer's glue and it mixed with water for ballast glue is that true, and how do i apply it.

 

[Mike Nowakowski]

And can you use Elmer's glue to glue down the Scenic Express foam roadbed.

 

[railBuilderDhd]

it is best to spray the ballast with wet water (add some liquid soap) to the water before you apply the water/glue mix. I use matte medium mixed with water and a few drops of liquid dish soap applied with an eye dropper after I spray it down with "wet" water.
I can't speak on how it works with SE foam roadbed. I used white glue on cork roadbed.
Dave

 

[Trucklover]

Hi Mike,

yes, mix White Glue with Water, usually 50/50 mix of the 2 is good. You will need to however first apply a mixture of Water and Isoproypl Rubbing Alcohol (available at any drug or grocery store, most carry 70% which is fine) to the ballast. A mixture of 50/50 is just fine for this as well....

The reason for applying the mixture of the Isoproypl Rubbing Alcohol and Water is to break the surface tension so that the glue/water mixture can sink in and spread out. If you do not apply the Isoproypl Rubbing Alcohol and Water mixture to break the surface tension, you will see your ballast flow away from the area and "pool" or "gather" up in spots, leaving areas where there once was ballast with no ballast and the base exposed....

Often times I will mix large batches of ONE mixture so that I dont have to go back over an area twice with 2 different mixtures. I take white glue and dump it in a container, take water and dump it into the container, and then take some Isoproypl Rubbing Alcohol and pour it in the container as well. Basically a 3 part mixture, 1/3 of each liquid being poured into the container, I usually just eye ball it when pouring the liquids in the container... Put the lid on and shake er' up to mix it all up.

Its easiest to apply the mixture is with an eye dropper. Yes this is time consuming, but its the best way, at least in my opinion

 

[kenw]

Elmers diluted with isopropyl alcohol dries faster and you don't need the soap.

 

[Trucklover]

it is best to spray the ballast with wet water (add some liquid soap) to the water before you apply the water/glue mix.

I personally dont like using any type of soap, I find it leaves a "film" on any plastic surface, such as the ties on the track... This is just my experience though, I know alot of guys do use the soap and like it, i just prefer the Isoproypl Rubbing Alcohol in place of the soap

 

[railBuilderDhd]

my bad - I also add rubbing alcohol as well to both the spray bottle and the matte mix.
Dave

 

[hamltnblue]

I third the use of rubbing alcohol/water mix sprayed on. Then use an eye dropper to apply the 50/50 mix of glue. The reason for the eye dropper is to reduce the amount of glue on the rail tops etc. It's a good thing to try doing it without the spray first. It's amazing how much difference it makes with the alcohol. The balast sucks the glue right in after being pre-soaked.

 

[NH Mike]

I do the 50 / 50 Elmers and water like Josh & hamiltonblue. For pre wetting the ballast I use straight 70% alcohol applied with a Testor's paint pipette. It is easy to work with and holds more liquid than an eye dropper. I have a small empty Elmers bottle ( 3 ounce size maybe? ) that I keep filled with the 50 / 50 glue and water mix and apply directly from that. The orange top cap can be opened a little or a lot depending on how much glue mix I plan on applying and the bottle is small enough not to be a wrecking ball in tight areas. When it runs low I just add more from a big momma bottle of Elmers.

Woodland Scenics Foam Tack Glue will work for your roadbed and around 100 other uses too. It also can be thinned with water if needed.

 

[Selector]

I use cleaned beach sand from the beach in front of us. Once it is groomed and ready for fixing, I dribble the drug store mix of water and isopropyl alcohol until I know it has penetrated well into the depth of the ballast, but I don't keep adding it until I see it seeping out the bottom and sides of the ballast.

I do this for about 12-18" at a time because I don't want the ballast to begin to dry. I then take a bottle with one part yellow glue to six-to-eight parts water with some dish detergent added and I dribble that until the top 1/4-3/8" of the ballast is soaked....again, not waiting until the stuff oozes out the bottom.

What I use to apply both solutions is the original bottle with a mask under the cap of painter's masking tape, the green stuff. I prick it with a pin and also drill a small hole in the top. I get good control with this. To seal it later, especially the alcohol mix, I place a layer of plastic food wrap under the cap.

My 'less is more' approach is simply my way of ensuring that if I need to take up track, or adjust it, it only takes a few minutes of wetting it and letting it soften before I can pry up outer rails on curves if I get lots of derailments and shove cardstock shims under a few ties, then tap the ballast into place, add more as needed, dribble alcohol, and add a few more drops of the glue. Three or four hours later, the tracks are ready for use once more.

-Crandell

 

[jackn2mpu]

I use 70% isopropyl for prewetting via a spray bottle. Just be sure to work in a well ventilated area or if you can't don't have a heater on in the room to keep you warm in the winter months. It's not because of fear of ignition but getting woozy from the heated fumes.

For actually gluing down the ballast I use a 50-50 mix of water and Elmer's glue drizzled on by a rubber ear syringe. It holds more fluid than an eye dropper and you don't have to worry about the rubber bulb coming off the eye dropper and making a mess where you don't want it.

Keep in mind that no matter how careful you are, there are some ballasts that will float just in the process just by looking at them. The WS stuff is crushed walnut shells I believe which are real light. There are some ballasts that are real stone that don't float away.

One trick I learned for adhering ballast on the sides of formed roadbed like cork or similar with a built-in slope is to brush some white glue on the roadbed slopes and sprinkle the ballast on that. That way the ballast will hold better when you do the pre-wet/glue deal.