I have seen several other posts saying to use latex caulk for securing track down to roadbed. Well I started using some today and I notice it is white. That's not a huge problem because I'm going to be ballasting eventually but do I have the right stuff or did I do something wrong? It seems I've seen a lot of layouts with track fastened and no white caulk everywhere, just the plain roadbed.
Some caulk goes on white but dries clear. That's the type you want. Don't use bathroom caulk as it'll take forever to dry & it'll dry white.
You want clear.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." -Aristotle
Caulk comes ink different colors. Clear is available as well. If you used white try to keep it off of the top of the ties. Ballast should take care of the rest. You could also spray your track with railroad tie brown to cover it and weather the ties.
Springfield PA
If you are going to use grey ballast, there is grey caulk as well. I use clear - it comes out white so you can see to apply it but when dry it is totally clear. Giveb the shiny nature, I think white would be a bit bright and maybe tough to hide under ballast. The extra feature of the clear is you know precisely when it has completely cured - when it's clear. As it dries it gets lighter and lighter until it is clear.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I used plain, white, acrylic latex caulk on my layout, and once ballasted, there's no sign of it anywhere. The key is to keep the layout THIN. I lay a 1/8-1/4" bead of caulk along the centerline of the roadbed. Then, spread it with a 2" putty knife. Press a short scrap piece (about 1 1/2" long) into the caulk as a test. If you've done it right, there will no excess caulk of oozing up between the ties. I always remove a couple of ties from each end of my track (I only use flextrack), then slide the rail joiners ALL THE WAY ON. I lay the track into place, then, using a small screwdriver, slide the joiner into place. Then, I press the track firmly into the caulk. Some modelers like to use weights to hold their track into place, but since my roadbed is cork, I just use office pushpins. Make sure the head of the push pin is on top of the rail. If you try to hold it into place using the ties, the pin won't be pressing down on the track. It'll hit the subroadbed before contacting the track. I usually wait 24 hours to make sure the caulk is good and dry.
This closeup shows gaps cut for block insulation and if you look closely, you'll see a small blob that's been painted over. When test fitting, flex track, I apply a small drop of CA on the rail base while the track is in place. This will hold the train in its shape while I paint it. Otherwise, you'll have shiny spots where the sliding rail has moved. I have since used this technique to mask and paint the rails after I paint the track.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
I use DAP clear latex caulk. I use a small plastic ice scraper to spread it VERY VERY thin. It is a little shiny when dry, but absolutely clear.
When joining flex track, I don't remove any ties, I use an Exacto knife to shave the little plastic "spikes and tie plates" off the last tie, then the joiner will slide in over that tie.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
I generally use the gray caulk, which is invisible under my ballast, even if it's showing through, it looks like ballast.
However, I did use some white one day when I wanted to finish a stretch of tracklaying and ran out of gray. In the couple of spots where it was showing through, I dropped a little dilute gray acrylic paint on the spot and it covered the caulk perfectly.
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
On key thing you can see in Medina's picture - notice how in all these threads about caulk we say USE ONLY A LITTLE BIT. Well, that picture there illustrates it PERFECTLY. Notice the caulk does not blob up against the ties. Notice that even though it's white you can still see the color of the roadbed through it. That's all you need, a little bit to make a tacky surface to hold the track down. When it dries, it's solid. If necessary, a putty knife could lift that track off with very little residue - less than paper thing webbing between some ties perhaps that can be easily brushed off, no scrubbing needed. That there is what it is supposed to look like when you do it right and don;t rush and just lay out a bead and press the track into it.