Does it matter what type of dish soap i use for this? Is there another way to make a substitute product?
I know lots of resources say to use wet water made from dish soap, but I only use that concoction for mold release when doing Hydrocal castings.
For ballasting and general scenic material application, I use isopropyl alcohol from the pharmacy. I put a bit in a small cup, and then replace the top on the big bottle, because, well, because sometimes I'm an oaf and I knock the bottle over. Anyway, I then use a pipette, a hobbyists eyedropper, to apply the alcohol directly to the surface. No spraying. This method doesn't make a mess, and the alcohol evaporates much faster than water, so it helps your ballast dry faster.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
If you want to use liquid dish washing detergent, it does't matter what brand it is. If that's all yuo're going to use it for, get the cheapest you can find.
Only one or two drops per about a pint of water is enough.
But like Mr. Beasley, I use rubbing alcohol instead of wet water because it dries faster.
One substitute but probably hard to find these days is Kodak PhotoFlo. It was made to help in wetting water to develop pics, so very unobstrusive. Not sure it's even made any more.
I'm like the others, but I go for fast evap by using 91% alky.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Brand doesn't matter from what I've noticed. You can also substitute laundry detergent (I wouldn't use any that contained bleach). A small amount of isopropyl alcohol in water will work too.
Rob Spangler
I never got the 'dish soap' method to work, but we have very hard water in this area. What has worked for me is alcohol. I don;t even bother diluting, I spray on the 70% stuff right from the bottle (it's already diluted, 70/30) as my wetting spray, and I dilute my white glue with straight from the bottle 70% alcohol. Always wicks right in to ballast and ground foam, never just sits on the top to make an easily breakble crust.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Alton Junction
I use whatever brand of dish detergent is available in our house at the time. Because I enjoy ballasting and often do lineside ground cover at the same time, I'm in no particular hurry for things to dry. I also find the odour of isopropyl alcohol unpleasant, and for the amounts needed (some ballast applications on my layout are over an inch deep), probably much more expensive than those few drops of detergent. However, if your local water is especially hard, alcohol may be the preferable method.
Wayne
some ballast applications on my layout are over an inch deep
Say what???
Wayne,
Let me guess! On flat your,flat, to grade,transition,eh!
Cheers,
Frank
I too have some deep rock fills, often from using carefully screened gravel from our driveway. The important thing to remember is that the dish detergent is added to reduce or eliminate the natural surface tension of the water in your ballast glue mixture. Break down the surface tension and the glue mixture wont bead up on the surfaces that you are working on. You do want the glue to penetrate down into and through the ballast, rocks, or other scenery materials so that they will stay put and not vibrate loose. Where hard water is a problem, if you look for distilled water at the grocery or pharmacy, your results will always be consistent.
Don H.
richhotrain doctorwayne wrote the following post 1 minute ago: some ballast applications on my layout are over an inch deep Say what??? The loose rock fill gets an application of coarser ballast to fill in the voids, then cinders, then the finished ballast. The area then gets a thorough soaking with "wet" water and a very generous application of dilute white glue. Where the glue seeps out at the bottom of the slope, I add appropriate ground foam, then spray it with more "wet" water, allowing it to soak up the glue. Drying time may be several days. Wayne
The loose rock fill gets an application of coarser ballast to fill in the voids, then cinders, then the finished ballast. The area then gets a thorough soaking with "wet" water and a very generous application of dilute white glue. Where the glue seeps out at the bottom of the slope, I add appropriate ground foam, then spray it with more "wet" water, allowing it to soak up the glue. Drying time may be several days.
I am attempting to make a gravel road and am having trouble with fine ballast clumping up or splashing away from the dropper I am using for the Woodland Scenics Scenery Cement. Any suggestions?
The cause of your problem is likely insufficient pre-wetting ("wet" water or alcohol). Or your glue mixture might not be thinned enough to flow readily. Also, keep the dropper close to the point of application (but not touching).
You've already got the WS Scenery Cement, but when it runs out, white glue will do the same job for less money.
Like most others, I have been using alcohol instaed of soap. However, I find that Jack Daniels has a better taste than Isopropyl. Just have to limit the amount of area you are working on. I tend to get a little less picky about how it looks after a while.
BMMECNYC -- I'm kind of late to the party, but due to the thread resurrection, here goes. For ground cover, parking lots, etc, I paint an area approximately 12"square with undiluted matte medium and sprinkle on a layer of the ground cover (gravel, in your case). This helps to hold things in place. When dry, sprinkle on a second layer of ground cover, wet w/35% isopropyl alcohol (the drug store stuff diluted 50/50 with water)., then dribble on adhesive using an old glue bottle. BTW, if your water is very hard, filter it or use bottled or distilled water.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
doctorwayneThe cause of your problem is likely insufficient pre-wetting ("wet" water or alcohol). Or your glue mixture might not be thinned enough to flow readily. Also, keep the dropper close to the point of application (but not touching).
Turns out I was not doing all three of these things. It ended up working out thanks for your replies.
I used a little mini spray bottle like this one:
I picked them up at the Container Store for like a buck a piece. The spray is good enough to penerate but not so strong as to displace the ballast. 70% isopropol from maybe two or three inches, two passes. Then the 50/50 Elmers and water goes on from a ketchup-type squeeze bottle I got at Wal-Mart for also a buck.