Track ballast

[joe-daddy]

Besides trees, few things seem to make a layout seem finished better than ballast. A couple of questions about your preferences and techniques on the subject.

I've used matte medium (Modge Podge) and white glue (Elmers) diluted 60 -70% with water applied over thoroughly drunk (alcohol) ballast.  Other than being cheaper, the white glue seems to work better, as I find cleaning up the strays with the matte medium is more difficult.  

Also what size ballast do you prefer, I'm in HO and have been using medium size WS.  After a day spent on layout tours, I decided to try some fine size and I like the fine substantially better.

What say you?

 

Joe Daddy 

 

[MisterBeasley]

WS Medium for me, too.  In the subways I used WS Cinders (black) and I blended them with the gray for the transition from daylight to tunnels.

I use diluted white glue with an alcohol pre-soak, too.  I use the alcohol straight from the bottle, mostly because it's cheap, and I'm too lazy to mix batches with water just for this purpose.  I apply both the alcohol and the glue with a pipette.  I tried spraying the alcohol, and it just made a mess.

I've got a small amount of WS Fine ballast, which I use for roadside gravel.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I like using WS fine with some medius mixed in. I arrange it how I want it then drip on alcohol from an old glue bottle. Once it's soaked with the alcohol I drip on a 50/50 white glue/water mix. In about twelve hours time it's dry and looking good.

[loathar]

I think the medium is a bit large for HO. I use the WS fine grey blend. I use the Mod Podge Matte too. I tried diluted white glue but I found it left a sheen on the ties that bugged me.
Track detail is the first thing my eye focuses on when I look at a layout or picture. Second is streets and sidewalks.

[selector]

I use local beach sand, washed and dried, and I use plain old PVA carpenter's glue, the yellow stuff.  I dilute it to about 6/1 in favour of the water, somewhat more even, and add the couple of drops of dish detergent.   I also don't soak the ballast thoroughly as some say they feel they must.  I just form a hard shell in what is there so that I can make repairs and relocations easily when I must take up the track.

-Crandell

[Geared Steam]

I use WS fine in the yards, and a mixure of fine and medium everywhere else. Next time I will use AZ RocK ballast.