Ballast over latex caulk

[Blind Bruce]

OK, I have my excess caulk removed to below the tie tops but it is still caulk that the ballast must stick to. Will the "standard" method of diluted white glue still work over caulk?

[Anonymous]

Whats the hurt in trying it?  I would have tried it myself instead of asking if it will work.  Not much to lose by doing so.

[MisterBeasley]

It's always worked fine for me.  I use a mix of 1 part white glue to 3 parts water, and I use straight 90% isopropyl alcohol dripped on from a pipette as a wetting agent.

By the way, I'm also a heavy-handed caulker, so there's lots of the stuff under my track, too.

One thing you might consider is painting the caulk with a dark color if you've really got a lot of it.  That way, any small missed spots won't show up as readily.  Or, you can wait until the ballast is dry and then touch those spots up with cheap acrylic about the same color as the ballast.

[TheK4Kid]

In one of his videos, Joe Fugate recommends using grey latex caulk because it matches the ballast color in most cases. That should eliminate having to paint the caulk.

TheK4Kid 

[bogp40]

As long as you used an acylic caulk and not a straight silicone, white glue or matte medium will bond well. Glued ballast over silicone will usually stay, but just won't have the real bond.

[cacole]

Yes, the standard white glue mixture should be fine for ballast over latex caulk.  I've done hundreds of feet of track that way and have had no problems with it not sticking.

[selector]

Same for me....not as many hundreds as cacole...but...I used white caulk and a mixture of yellow carpenter's glue, water, and a couple of drops of dish soap to hold the ballast.  No probs.

[jfugate]

As long as you used an acylic caulk and not a straight silicone, white glue or matte medium will bond well. Glued ballast over silicone will usually stay, but just won't have the real bond.

Exactly right ... white glue and ballast bond very well to LATEX caulk, but not so well to silicone caulk. If you've used latex caulk, you should have no problem with your ballast staying put.