In response to spray vs dribble on alcohol has a very high rate of evaporation so it will all get into the air eventually. Some folks will recommend the dribble method, which I believe will be less odor producing as it is less spread out so will have a smaller amount evaporating at a time.
If your wife is giving you a hard time about things introduce her as your first wife, it keeps them on their toes. I also hope you are not allergic to cast iron.
It's something that's bordering on obsolescence, but another option if Kodak PhotoFlo.
+1 on that. I have 1/2 a bottle left over from my darkroom days (daze?). Works better than anything else, and is completely odorless.
Becareful with the electrical appliances. Someone mentioned a box fan in the window which may help with ventilation but if the alcohol fumes are concertrated there could be a fire hazzard.
Modeling a railroad hypothetically set in time.
I use 70% alcohol and dribble it on either with an eye dropper or an Elmer's glue bottle and have never had a problem with fumes or smell.
Bear "It's all about having fun."
richhotrain Doc in CT: richhotrain: Trade in your wife for a new one with a less sensitive sense of smell. I have the same problem with my wifey. Her sense of smell is second to none. Rich RichDoes your wife read this board? Alan Of course not, that's why I am still alive to write this reply. Rich
Doc in CT: richhotrain: Trade in your wife for a new one with a less sensitive sense of smell. I have the same problem with my wifey. Her sense of smell is second to none. Rich RichDoes your wife read this board? Alan
richhotrain: Trade in your wife for a new one with a less sensitive sense of smell. I have the same problem with my wifey. Her sense of smell is second to none. Rich
I have the same problem with my wifey. Her sense of smell is second to none. Rich
RichDoes your wife read this board?
Alan
Of course not, that's why I am still alive to write this reply.
Rich
Wives have super sensitive senses. Want proof? Walk to the end of the house furthest away from her. And whisper something about her. "What did you just say about me?!?!" will follow shortly thereafter. I don't know how they do it, but they'll walk up to you after you said something about her in a posting, "Why'd you say that in a post that everyone can read it???" Be forewarned.. I hope you're not allergic to cast iron.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
You might try putting a box fan in the window to draw the fumes out of the room while you are spraying. Might help.
Doc in CT richhotrain: Trade in your wife for a new one with a less sensitive sense of smell. I have the same problem with my wifey. Her sense of smell is second to none. Rich RichDoes your wife read this board? Alan
Alton Junction
richhotrainTrade in your wife for a new one with a less sensitive sense of smell. I have the same problem with my wifey. Her sense of smell is second to none. Rich
Co-owner of the proposed CT River Valley RR (HO scale) http://home.comcast.net/~docinct/CTRiverValleyRR/
Trade in your wife for a new one with a less sensitive sense of smell.
I have the same problem with my wifey. Her sense of smell is second to none.
I use dish soap/water instead of alcohol
"Mess with the best, die like the rest" -U.S. Marine Corp
MINRail (Minessota Rail Transportaion Corp.) - "If they got rid of the weeds what would hold the rails down?"
And yes I am 17.
I don't spray for ballast or scenery. I use a pipette to apply alcohol, and then an Elmer's bottle for the watered-down white glue. Spraying is much harder to control, and inevitably puts stuff where you don't want it. If you get close enough to avoid overspray, the pressure of the spray will disturb your ballast.
The spray technique also puts a lot more of the alcohol into the room air, by breaking it into small, atomized drops. You will greatly reduce the smell by dripping it on instead of using a spray.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
It's something that's bordering on obsolescence, but another option if Kodak PhotoFlo. It designed as a wetting agent for developing photos. Just takes a couple of drops, so a bottle is a lifetime supply. Avoids bubbles and alcohol fumes, so something to keep in mind if either are an issue for you.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Ive never had any success with detergent in water, our water here is very hard and it doesn't seam to work unless it's made way too soapy. Yes, it is a real pain taking showers too, only certain brands of soap rinse off clean. I suppsoe I could use a jug of distilled water fromt he supermarket, but I jsut use alcohol. I guess I'm not very sensitive to the odor, although I also don't try to do 50 feet in one shot (if I did I would finish the layout in a night), I pour and groom the ballast for maybe 6 feet of track at a time, wet it with alcohol spray, then dribble on the glue mix.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
If you're spraying this as a wetting agent, you'll need more than one drop of detergent unless your sprayer is one of those bulb-activated perfume spritzers. My sprayer's capacity is probably a quart or more, and I use several drops. You don't need to shake the sprayer to mix it in with the water, as it disperses on its own. Even if it does form froth/bubbles inside the sprayer, the pick-up tube should extend far enough to almost touch the bottom, where there would be bubbles only if the liquid was used-up.Like some, I find the smell of alcohol (not the drinkin' kind, though ) very irritating, and wear a respirator if using it for paint removal. As Crandell notes, glue application is best done with a plastic squeeze-type bottle which allows you to dribble the glue mixture onto the wetted ballast or other scenic material.
Wayne
Are you using a sprayer for ballast fixing? You should use a squeeze bottle with a twist-up & open nipple so that you can dribble it directly onto the ballast. You can add a bit of the alcohol mixture to the glue, and also a couple of drops of the dish detergent. In fact, with some ballast material, you don't even need to pre-wet it with alcohol if your glue is a proper consistency. But I only ever use a sprayer for fixing the ground foam, and only then when I have covered all the turnouts and tracks nearby with masking tape.
Crandell
Oh yeah, same here! I use a sprayer with 70% isopropyl alcohol and every time I do scenery or ballast, the kids joke about the train room smelling like a medicine cabinet.
On the flip side, it probably kills any airborne bacteria or germs in the house
Inspired by Addiction
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I'm rather sensitive to the smell of alcohol so I have to use water and detergent. Works just fine for me. The smell of bleach bothers me a lot too. The staff in the cafeteria where I worked years ago used to wipe the tables with a water and bleach mixture. I realize why they did that but I couldn't sit at a table that was freshly wiped.
..... Bob
Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here. (Captain Kirk)
I reject your reality and substitute my own. (Adam Savage)
Resistance is not futile--it is voltage divided by current.
I use straight Windex. Haven't had any problems with
smell. The wife thinks I'm cleaning. Works great.
Sam
I tried that and found out that it still works on a 1 part alcohol to one part water basis. Does not help much to control the smell, though.
Hahaha, that's what my wife said last night as I was soaking my ballast and ground foam with alcohol and the fumes creeped upstairs. She wasn't upset but it was pretty strong apparently. Windows open and everything downstairs . I tried using one drop of dish detergent and water but the mixture gets frothy and clogs the spray nozzle. Using 75% rubbing alcohol works great,but the smell can be a bit much. Can I dilute the alcohol and still be effective? Or use a different type of detergent?
Ben