You need to first "wet" your ballast with wet water or isopropyl alcohol. "WET" water is just water with a few drops of dish soap in it. These break the surface tension of the water and allow the glue to soak into the ballast all the way. Applying these with an eye dropper or small squeeze bottle is the usual method.
What are you using for ballast glue?
its real simple dude. All you need is an eye dropper, 70% isopropyl alcohol, and a thing of white glue, preferably half empty.
First: put water in the glue bottle. I use a 50/50 ratio, filling it with water when half of the glue has been used.
Second: Fill your eye dropper with the rubbing alcohol. This breaks the surface tension of water to enable things to flow freely, and to get into the nooks and crannies easier.
3rd: Go along your ballast and soak it with the rubbing alcohol; make sure you get it all wet. You don't want to use so much that it flows away, but you'll be able to tell when its soaked. I typically only do about 2 feet at a time.
4th: Shake your glue mix. I like to fill mine with warm water initially to help get it mixed right from the start, but once its in the bottle, just shaking it before you use it is enough.
5th: The glue will be runny, but you control it to where you can apply a drop at a time. Just go along wherever you've soaked the ballast with the rubbing alcohol and soak it with the glue mix. The alcohol makes the water/glue soak into every crevice and helps it flow better.
Thats it. You're done. It really isn't that hard. You just have to do it. If you're still scared, just practice in an inconspicuous area, or make a little 2 foot long track diorama to practice your techniques on. Thats what I did. It really isn't that hard dude.
Hi guys,
I'm a new modeler, and have an industrial-set 4x8 layout in HO. I have tried many different things in laying and gluing ballast down, but it all turns out clumped and only a top layer actually dries. How can i get it to dry non-clumped and all they way thru? I read MR's modelers beginner book and a few others, but none really go in depth as far as ballast. can you please help?