Ballast?
- Thread starter flare_951
- Start date
One neat trick I have used is to smear some full strength glue on the side of the cork (or other roadbed) to hold the ballast when you first put it down. This helps to keep it in place, and actually cuts down on the aount you use, since it doesn't spill down the side and go all over the place...
Apply the rest as per usual - "wet" water, thinned glue, whatever your preferred method is.
Andrew
Apply the rest as per usual - "wet" water, thinned glue, whatever your preferred method is.
Andrew
Don't know, I've not had much problem with errosion. I've used the textbook method with reasonable results. Put the balast in place, spray it with "wet" water then drizzle thinned white glue over it using a syringe from a ink jet refill kit. There is still a bit of balast that washes off, and a few bare spots but not much. Regardless, no matter how you did it, you would still have to go back a touch up a bit after it dried.
I agree with MasonJar.
At our club we run a bead of straight white glue along the edge of the ties; some of it will natually dribble down the side of the cork roadbed. We then take a small brush and literally paint the glue all along the exposed downslope of the roadbed and even an eighth of an inch or less on the surface the cork is mounted. It is not real thick, but not overly real thin. Then as you shake your ballast out onto the glue, it holds the first layer in place and allows the rest of the ballast to form a nice slope. Then complete the operation with a generous spraying of wet water on the ballast followed by drizzling a 50-50 white glue and water mix over all the ballast. It will seal it nicely and hold it in place.
Dwight77
At our club we run a bead of straight white glue along the edge of the ties; some of it will natually dribble down the side of the cork roadbed. We then take a small brush and literally paint the glue all along the exposed downslope of the roadbed and even an eighth of an inch or less on the surface the cork is mounted. It is not real thick, but not overly real thin. Then as you shake your ballast out onto the glue, it holds the first layer in place and allows the rest of the ballast to form a nice slope. Then complete the operation with a generous spraying of wet water on the ballast followed by drizzling a 50-50 white glue and water mix over all the ballast. It will seal it nicely and hold it in place.
Dwight77
Hi Again:
Just a couple of more things I should have mentioned that are helpful to us. After we "paint" the cork roadbed with the white glue and before we apply any ballast it is imperative to make sure there is no glue on top of the track ties. Wipe them clean. If you don't, after you have applied the ballast and try to clean the ballast from the top of the ties, you will have a gooey mess.
Next, when applying the ballast, some of it will inevitably roll down the side of the cork and never be in a nice straight line along the base. We used to use a small paint brush to pull it back in place but have since found that the new "foam" paint brushes, the ones with a piece of foam cut to a sharp "V", work even better. Use one that is about 1" to 1 1/2" wide. It really works well in drawing the ballast back in place and helping form a nice contour with the cork board.
Dwight77
Just a couple of more things I should have mentioned that are helpful to us. After we "paint" the cork roadbed with the white glue and before we apply any ballast it is imperative to make sure there is no glue on top of the track ties. Wipe them clean. If you don't, after you have applied the ballast and try to clean the ballast from the top of the ties, you will have a gooey mess.
Next, when applying the ballast, some of it will inevitably roll down the side of the cork and never be in a nice straight line along the base. We used to use a small paint brush to pull it back in place but have since found that the new "foam" paint brushes, the ones with a piece of foam cut to a sharp "V", work even better. Use one that is about 1" to 1 1/2" wide. It really works well in drawing the ballast back in place and helping form a nice contour with the cork board.
Dwight77
You can make it have a nice strait line near the base it you put some masking tape right where you want your ballast to stop.... Works pretty well, but dificult if the ballast is AFTER scenery.