If you're concerned about stuff growing in your ballast, get out the weed sprayer car :
If you don't have a weed sprayer car, I'd skip the acetone and instead use a mixture of household bleach and tap water. Bleach will kill mould, but I've read that it works better when mixed with a little water. Once you've sprayed the area, allow it to dry before touching it, as it may temporarily loosen the ballast.
Wayne
I tried tonight to see if I could remove the discoloration with alcohol or lacquer thinner but no luck. I may try acetone tomorrow.
Rich
Alton Junction
Since there is mostly speculation as to the cause, but most centers around organic growth, I'd suggest getting a humidistat and check the humidity. Since a sump pump is necessary it follows that moisture is present.
There is also another question. What can be done to make the existing ballast presentable?
Just my Worth
Bob
Don't Ever Give Up
Well Matte Medium is Organic....so anything is possible when it comes to contamination. I believe thinned with Alcohol would have controlled that contamination. That is only My opinion, of course.
Take Care!
Frank
Liquidtex is generally good stuff and what I generally use. On the other hand, IIRC that was what ended up discolored after sitting. Not going to hold that against them, considering the long storage of a little leftover was where I noticed the ickiness. That said, if yours showed no discoloring, whatever was growing in mine (or deteriorating maybe) wasn't obvious to you.
Assuming my issue was some sort of mold or mildew, it's possible the spores were always present and waiting on the right conditions to bloom. I wouldn't think if the stuff looked good and you applied it that it would stay moist enough long enough to grow anything. Certainly wherever else the bottle was applied to before the long storage revealed the problem didn't show up as discolored ballast...
So the mystery deepens. Maybe Rob has a point about those nasty old chemtrails.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I think everyone's overlooking the obvious answer.
The lower brain displays similar discoloration to your ballast. Coincidence?
Rob Spangler
Mike, the only thing worse than a poor memory is being anal. I plead guilty to the latter. I keep all of my receipts on purchases relating to the hobby.
At the time that I did my ballasting, I bought a one gallon plastic container of Liquitex Matte Medium from Mister Art and I followed up with another one gallon of the same product. I kept the containers tightly sealed between uses, so I cannot imagine that the matte medium got contaminated.
I guess that the discoloring will remain a mystery. No one else seems to have had an experience similar to mine.
OK, pinging your memory some more (which is a bit unfair, I know, considering my own struggles with memory), is the discolored ballast attribuatble to a particular batch/bottle of matte medium? You sounded like it all went down in a certain time span, but that could mean multiple bottles from multiple sources. But maybe not. If you pretty sure you were using matte medium that all come from the same big bottle, that would be suggestive of it being the source of the issue, regardless of if environmental factors came into play.
mlehman Rich, Interesting picture. Was any of the ballast installed at times when you were having humidity issues? That could account for how what I noticed in the bottle happening on the layout itself.
Rich,
Interesting picture. Was any of the ballast installed at times when you were having humidity issues? That could account for how what I noticed in the bottle happening on the layout itself.
I wonder if airbrushing a white or other light colored wash over it would solve this if it's simply a cosmetic issue?
I did some looking around and couldn't find anything specific on UV output on those lamps. One thing I was reminded of those was that the light from every tube actually starts off as UV. That UV light then hits the coating inside the tube wall. It both glows to emit light and protects from the direct rays of UV inside. I cam across a webpage with more discussion of this and a picture an uncoated UV generating tube, basically clear glass, labeled "Do Not Look Directly at It..."
http://nemesis.lonestar.org/reference/electricity/fluorescent/lamps.html
richhotrain That's actually Wayne's photo of a real railroad track. Mine ballast is nowhere near that discolored. Rich
That's actually Wayne's photo of a real railroad track. Mine ballast is nowhere near that discolored.
Dah!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
Here is a photo of the discolored ballast with some newly laid ballast as contrast. Ballast repair still in process.
richhotrain mlehman Not sure if when people refer to the tubes whether you're talking the color temp/CRI or a more likely culprit, UV. Some tubes give off considerable UV. Mike, when my cat gets off my lap, I will go downstairs and check the brand of fluorescent bulbs. I have 11 fixtures with 2 tubes in each. They are all the same brand. Rich
mlehman Not sure if when people refer to the tubes whether you're talking the color temp/CRI or a more likely culprit, UV. Some tubes give off considerable UV.
Not sure if when people refer to the tubes whether you're talking the color temp/CRI or a more likely culprit, UV. Some tubes give off considerable UV.
Mike, when my cat gets off my lap, I will go downstairs and check the brand of fluorescent bulbs. I have 11 fixtures with 2 tubes in each. They are all the same brand.
I think your track look pretty realistic (Above). Yes, there is some brownness to the two tracks on the left; but, I think overall the effect is not something I would worry too much about! I like how you have gotten the little splotches of grass growing between the rails and along the rails on the center track especially! I am seeing some excellent modeling here and want to thanks you for sharing your modeling skills with us!
I would think having the matte medium spread out and dried prior to the high humidity incidents would largely prevent this from getting things damp enough, long enough to discolor the ballast. You never know though. This does make me wonder what is in matte medium that might support growth of stuff -- or inhibit it...
Interesting point, Mike. When the bulk of my ballast was applied, it was done with fresh matte medium. As far as humidity, the basement is not highly humid, no dehumidifier, but I have had water on the floor on two relatively recent occasions, a failed sump pump switch in 2013 and a burst water heater earlier this year.
One more data point to add...and potential source of the issue. I've had the dregs of matte medium sit in bottles for several years before getting back to using it again. In a few cases, the matte has had something grow in it or something else that caused some brownish discoloration. I've pitched it and not applied it to my ballast. Makes me wonder if high humidity caused this to happen with Rich's ballast after it was already on the ballast. Rich probably has a pretty good idea of how much humidity he deals with, so it may turn out to be irrelevant.
wp8thsub richhotrain But, I do thank you for not rubbing it in... You are welcome.
richhotrain But, I do thank you for not rubbing it in...
You are welcome.
richhotrainBut, I do thank you for not rubbing it in...
wp8thsub I could be a pain here and insert a reminder - I exclusively use natural stone materials for ballast, and secure them with diluted white glue. No discoloration, no problem.
I could be a pain here and insert a reminder - I exclusively use natural stone materials for ballast, and secure them with diluted white glue. No discoloration, no problem.
richhotrain Frank, has any discoloring occurred on your ballast? Rich
Frank, has any discoloring occurred on your ballast?
NOPE! As a matter of fact......The parts that I had taken up, I reballasted with WS that I just got from Walther's and they are the same color-wise. I still think it's the matte medium.
BTW: The Lion & Wayne, said it all. Lay off some ''Old Fashions'' for awhile......might be giving You too much of a rose colored outlook.
richhotrain Mike, when my cat gets off my lap, I will go downstairs and check the brand of fluorescent bulbs. I have 11 fixtures with 2 tubes in each. They are all the same brand.
I've got 29 double fixtures over my layout and don't notice any colour change in my WS ballast - put down mostly with dilute white glue, although there's also some done with matte medium. Mind you, any colour change would be subtle over, I'd guess, about 20 years.
Here's some real track, with the one on the right fairly recently laid:
Same tracks at a later date:
BroadwayLion Ergo your ballast is PURRFECT. Worry about it not at all!
Ergo your ballast is PURRFECT. Worry about it not at all!
richhotrainI wouldn't mind the difference being attributable to repaired locations, but what bothers me is the dull appearance of this discolored ballast. Rich
Humph...
Ballast on railroads DOES discolor with age. The reddish tint is perfectly natural and appropriate for railway ballast. Railroads are filled with iron dust from the brakes, from the couplers, from rust particles sheading from the cars, and all of this ends up on the roadbed and RUSTS there. The Ballast turns a dull red-brown.
Hey, Railroads live outdoors. Colors fade. And modelers are looking for the perfect color. The very idea!
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
richhotrain zstripe With all the info that Mike posted......I think I'll not concern myself, if mine does change colors.......I don't use fluorescent's in the layout room, so I guess I'm stuck with what I have, but I don't use matte medium....just use plain ole' WS/Alcohol mix. All this for ballast?????????? Take care! Frank Frank, what do you mean by WS in W/S Alcohol mix? Rich
zstripe With all the info that Mike posted......I think I'll not concern myself, if mine does change colors.......I don't use fluorescent's in the layout room, so I guess I'm stuck with what I have, but I don't use matte medium....just use plain ole' WS/Alcohol mix. All this for ballast?????????? Take care! Frank
With all the info that Mike posted......I think I'll not concern myself, if mine does change colors.......I don't use fluorescent's in the layout room, so I guess I'm stuck with what I have, but I don't use matte medium....just use plain ole' WS/Alcohol mix.
All this for ballast??????????
Take care!
Frank, what do you mean by WS in W/S Alcohol mix?
I'm sorry.... Woodland scenic's ballast cement and denatured alcohol mix. Dries pretty quick, compared to other ways and is solid. Can be removed very quickly with plain denatured alcohol. I use the denatured alcohol a lot, use it on all the Tamiya acrylic's that I air brush with so I get it by the gal. sizes, which are cheaper.
doctorwayne I don't mean to be rude, but would vacuuming restore the appearance? It's surprising how much dust can accumulate in what we think is a clean environment. Wayne
I don't mean to be rude, but would vacuuming restore the appearance? It's surprising how much dust can accumulate in what we think is a clean environment.