ballasting large areas ?

[0-6-0]

Hello I am trying to ballast my turn table area and was wondering how you but the 50/50 mix on ? I tried to spray it and what a mess that was. I did not want to drip it if I don't have to it's about 20''x10'' give or take a few inches. Thanks Frank

[DavidGSmith]

The drip method is the best, but I have had some success by wetting the ballast as usual then putting thinned glue and water in a spray bottle. From a distance ( the end range of the sprayer ) give it a good soaking. This does not move the ballast around. Do not get too close. Let it dry and respray as needed. I mask anything I do not want to get glue on. It takes a couple of coats at least to do it.

Good luck.

Dave 

[dale8chevyss]

Yes staying away from the ballast to begin with when spraying and gradually moving closer gives good results.  If you are 4 inches away from the ballast and blast it'll ruin your ballasting job resulting in you being annoyed which is never a good thing.

[faraway]

For larger areas that need to be plain and level I do it as follows:

1. put a thick 60% glue 40% water mix on the surface

2. scatter the ballast with a sieve even distributed

3.  spray mist of water on the ballast

The water from 3) will mix up with the glue from 1) and not disturb the even surface from 2). The glue will creap with the water also to the top most layer of ballast.

 

That prevents the mess of spray the glue. 

[gmcrail]

I never spray a 50-50 mix of glue.  On anything.  Way too thick for spraying in a pump sprayer. 

 I also never spray glue on ballast.  Way too chancy - you're bound to get it on the rails and have to clean them off.  For my roundhouse area, I sprayed a mix of water and and a few drops of dishwashing detergent (Dawn) until the cinder ballast is saturated.  Then drip a 50-50 mix of white glue and water, or, preferably, acrylic latex matte medium and water into the ballast, from just above the ballast.  If you let the drops fall too far, they will disturb the ballast, making little bomb craters...  It seems tedious to describe, but the glue mix spreads into the saturated ballast very quickly, and the job doesn't take very long at all.  And you don't have to worry about masking.

 Oh, yeah - I only use real rock ballast. Not that ground-up walnut shell stuff. Rock ballast doesn't float.