Working with ground foam and ballast

[liquidcross]

I'm finally getting back to work on my first layout after a year or two on hiatus, and I'm getting ready to lay down ground foam. I've heard that you can just use a 50/50 mix of Elmer's white glue and water instead of buying Woodland Scenic's more expensive adhesive, so that's the route I'm going to take.

My questions are the following:

1. How much glue is enough, especially after the first layer? I don't want to soak it.
   
2. How many layers should I put down? I'm mainly going to be using grass in varying shades, with trees here and there. I'll also have some dirt area, and finally, I'll add ballast.
3. For the ballast...how do you apply it around turnouts without fouling them up? (I'm using Atlas N scale remote turnouts, if that helps.)
4. Is there anything else I need to know?
   

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

[Beach Bill]

There have been multiple threads on this forum about applying ballast, so you might want to search back through those.  As with most topics, there are some folks with strong opinions one way or another, which is usually based on what has worked for them.   As for what has worked for me:

White glue & water works fine;  add a drop or two of liquid dishwashing detergent as a "wetting" agent.  I generally use an old white glue plastic container, which allows me to control the amount of glue appled, drop by drop.  In close areas, an eyedropper may be needed.

Practice on a small area or a blank piece of surface to test different effects before working on the layout itself or up close to the tracks.

I would suggest thinking of applying ballast and applying ground foam as two different operations.  I have always completed the balasting and insured that the track is back fully operational before doing ground cover - I can then cover the track with painter's masking tape to keep unwanted colors off the track.  (Don't leave any tape over the track for very long or the glue may get very hard on the rail.)

The key around turnouts is to not use very much ballast.  Best to have the board or surface below the track painted a ballast color.  Use a small brush to position the ballast before allowing the glue to seep in from the side rather that dropping directly near any moving points.  Some folks have strongly suggested an alcohol/water mix to help the "wetting" and avoid globs of ballast.  I have found that lightly spraying Windex glass cleaner over the ballast area before applying the glue really helps with allowing the glue to work in without the surface tension problems.

On the ground foam, after trying the same sort of application technique as with ballast, I have instead settled on applying ("painting") white glue at 100% strength on the area to be covered and then sifting the ground foam atop that.  Once it dries, I vacuum off the excess.  When I tried diluted glue with ground foam, I had quite a bit of that surface tension globbing and often the results didn't seem deep enough. 

Good luck.   Bill

[liquidcross]

 Cool, I never thought to apply the ballast first; I always figured that would be the very last step. I'll have to give it a shot! Thanks very much for your help!

[doctorwayne]

Bill's suggestions are good, although I generally do the ballasting and trackside ground cover in one operation.

Below is my method for ballasting and it's the same method that I use for applying ground cover.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I keep seeing comments about people dreading having to ballast their tracks, or, from people who've tried and not had success, about what a crummy task it is. What follows is my procedure for ballasting - there are others that work as well, but this one uses readily-available and cheap tools and materials.
The choice of ballast is up to you - I use Woodland Scenics Fine Ballast on my HO scale layout, but there are many other brands and sizes available, and plenty of colours. If you use natural materials, like sand, dirt, or decomposed rock, it's best to use a magnet to remove any magnetic inclusions that might possibly damage the motors in your locos.

To ballast your track, I find that a small paper cup (such as those kitchen or bathroom Dixie cups) gives you great control over where the ballast goes. I usually move the cup along the centre of the track, tapping it as I go, to keep the ballast flowing. Less than you need is better than too much, although a soft 1/2" brush is useful for pushing around the excess or levelling what's in place. Then go back and do both roadbed shoulders in turn. Use the brush to level and re-arrange things as required, making sure to keep the ballast away from the throwbar area and the flangeways of the guardrails. To remove stray ballast from the tie tops, lightly grasp the metal ferrule of the brush between the thumb and forefingers of one hand, laying the handle across the rail tops, then, as you move the brush along the tracks, lightly and rapidly tap the brush handle with the fingers of your free hand. The stray ballast will "magically" bounce off the ties and into place between them.
If you're also ballasting turnouts, make sure to keep the level of the ballast below the tops of the ties, and don't place any ballast between the ties surrounding the throw bar. To avoid gluing the points to the ties, place two drops of plastic-compatible oil atop each tie over which the point rails move, one next to each point rail, then flip the points back-and-forth several times to spread the oil. Parking the points in mid-throw will also help to ensure that they don't get glued to the stock rails, either.
You can mist the contoured ballast using either water and alcohol, or water with a few drops of dish detergent added. Either should work, although I prefer the detergent, as it's cheaper and works just as well. (I save my alcohol - not the denatured kind - for a nice drink after I've completed the ballasting.)  Use a sprayer that will allow you to spray a fine mist. To avoid having the force of the spray dislodge loose ballast all over the landscape, aim the first few spritzes upward, letting the droplets fall like rain. Once the surface has been wetted, you'll be able to spray it directly. Make sure to thoroughly wet the ballast right down to the base. Not doing so is probably the main reason that many people have trouble getting a decent-looking and durable ballasting job. To apply the glue/water mixture (white glue works just as well as matte medium and is way cheaper, especially if you buy it by the gallon. Those who claim that white glue dries shiny are not using sufficient wetting agent. The proportions should be about 50/50 water/glue, although a little heavier on the water will still work well). To apply the glue mixture, don't ruin a perfectly good spray bottle (and while doing so cover your rails and anything else nearby in glue, too): instead, use a dropper. An eyedropper will work, but a plastic squeeze bottle with a small nozzle will be much faster. Simply move along the track, as quickly as necessary, allowing the glue mixture to drip onto the ballast (or ties - you won't see it once it dries). You should be able to see it being drawn into the ballast, due to the wetting agent. I usually do the area between the rails first, then the sides in turn. The glue mixture will spread throughout the ballast and down to the roadbed, so make sure to apply enough to allow this to occur. The result will be ballast bonded solidly in place, yet with the appearance of loose, individual pieces.
Where I have scenic areas adjacent to, but below the level of the track, I also apply the basic ground cover, which also helps to soak up the excess glue that spreads out from the ballast line.  If you're applying ballast (or ground cover) to steeply sloped areas, use a suitable-width brush to apply undiluted white glue to the slope before applying the ballast or ground foam, which will help to hold everything in place while you apply the wetting agent and the dilute white glue (these steps help to bond the top layers of material to those in contact with the unthinned glue, and also help to draw that glue up into the top layers).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thoroughly wet means just that:

I don't skimp on the glue/water mixture either:

the results:

Wayne

 

[gandydancer19]

 I try and simulate nature as much as I can.  So I paint the bare layout with a base color of latex paint (earth brown or tan) then sprinkle on an earth mix of fine ground foam.  This layer is my base "dirt".  Then I apply the ballast.  Then I apply the green growing layer.  I do it this way because you will sometimes see grass and weeds growing in the ballast, but you will not see dirt spread on top of ballast.

[Beach Bill]

Just a few other thoughts:   Once the ballast is fully dry, I usually use a small screwdriver blade along the inside of the rails to remove any ballast that may have stuck near the spikes where it could be struck by a wheel flange.  Sometimes some of the ballast also gets stuck in the glue atop the ties, and I just lightly rub that screwdriver blade (or other light scraping surface) across the top of the ties to loosen it before giving the area a final vacuum.

Remember when spraying any substance to be sure to protect anything in the area.  Move all rolling stock far away.  I sometimes us a leftover piece of cardboard as a shield to protect structures.  This would be regardless of what the spray "wetting agent" may be, just to make sure that the finish on a structure is not affected.

And, since it sounds like this may be your first time working with ballast and ground foam, I expect that you will find that "some scenery is FAR better than no scenery".   Nothing brings an area to life like putting in some groundcover where there used to be bare Homasote or table.

Bill

[Javelina]

doctorwayne

To remove stray ballast from the tie tops, lightly grasp the metal ferrule of the brush between the thumb and forefingers of one hand, laying the handle across the rail tops, then, as you move the brush along the tracks, lightly and rapidly tap the brush handle with the fingers of your free hand. The stray ballast will "magically" bounce off the ties and into place between them.

Wayne, that's a great idea. It's just like a ballast tamper does. I remember standing on the IC platform years ago waiting on my commuter train when one came through. It made my feet vibrate! Thanks for the tip.

Lou

[Javelina]

doctorwayne

To remove stray ballast from the tie tops, lightly grasp the metal ferrule of the brush between the thumb and forefingers of one hand, laying the handle across the rail tops, then, as you move the brush along the tracks, lightly and rapidly tap the brush handle with the fingers of your free hand. The stray ballast will "magically" bounce off the ties and into place between them.

Wayne, that's a great idea. It's just like a ballast tamper does. I remember standing on the IC platform years ago waiting on my commuter train when one came through. It made my feet vibrate! Thanks for the tip.

Lou

[doctorwayne]

Thanks, Lou.   I didn't originate that idea, but I can't recall where I saw it.  It is very effective, though, and, in my opinion, helps to make ballasting an enjoyable and rewarding pastime.

Wayne

 

[liquidcross]

Thanks for all of the amazing advice, folks. I was worried that it was going to be a real chore to put down foam and ballast, but you've made it seem like it'll be quite an interesting experience!

 I'm currently putting together some Woodland Scenics trees, and they each come with a little base; should I glue that base down first, then foam over it? Or should I do ground foam, detail the base separately with foam, then attach it?

[Seamonster]

I would remove the base and plant the trees directly into a hole in the ground. Put a little glue in the hole first. If your ground is soft enough to poke the tree trunk into it without making a hole, dip the end of it in glue first. Or you can bring your ground foam over the base and glue it in place. It will probably make a little bulge around the tree trunk, but then many trees have bulges in the ground where their roots are close to the surface (got one in my back yard). I use the WS tree armatures and a mix of foliage material and ground foam to make my own trees. The tree armatures come with removable bases. I use them to stick the trees to double sided tape on a board when I'm making the foliage, then discard the bases when I plant the trees in holes.