Seaboard Central 2.0

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Plus, I've since found it's unnecessary to spray it on. I just use an eyedropper, and dribble it on, holding the dropper very close to the surface. It doesn't disturb the ballast.

+1

Spraying wastes most of the alcohol and some of the brain cells.
Pipette works great, especially when you have the patience to allow it wick everywhere.
And dragging the pipette along the rails actually helps clear the rails of ballast granules ("natural" sedimentary effect).

Misting 70% iso alcohol around magic water / mod podge turned it white, though it eventually cleared up.

[DKS]

Pipette works great, especially when you have the patience to allow it wick everywhere.

This is what I use: http://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Transfer-Pipettes-Gradulated-Pack/dp/B005IQTSE0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393560441&sr=8-1

And I also drag it along the rails.

[Ian MacMillan]

+1

Plus, I've since found it's unnecessary to spray it on. I just use an eyedropper, and dribble it on, holding the dropper very close to the surface. It doesn't disturb the ballast.

I still use a sprayer and over the years I have found the ones I like. I use the small spray bottles for women's body spray. They produce a nice fine mist that does not have a lot of power behind it to disturb scenery. I use eyedroppers, pipettes and baby snot bulbs for the matte medium application. I use the snot bulbs the most.

I use matte medium (Podge Podge) and it has an odd reaction with alcohol.

I would like to hear your experiences. I use Mod Podge exclusively and have not noticed anything odd. I mix one bottle of Mod Podge Matte Medium in a laundry detergent bottle that is filled with warm water. Shake well.

[DKS]

Thinned matte medium tends to form whitish globs (what I call "snots") in the presence of alcohol. I stopped using matte medium quite some time ago and stick with thinned white glue, which has never created any issues. In addition to not creating snots, white glue has the advantage of making it a bit easier to remove ballast from track by soaking it with water.

[babbo_enzo]

I've load some years ago this video on Vimeo:
Not a valid vimeo URLHope helps

[Greyryder]

I still use a sprayer and over the years I have found the ones I like. I use the small spray bottles for women's body spray. They produce a nice fine mist that does not have a lot of power behind it to disturb scenery. I use eyedroppers, pipettes and baby snot bulbs for the matte medium application. I use the snot bulbs the most.

I would like to hear your experiences. I use Mod Podge exclusively and have not noticed anything odd. I mix one bottle of Mod Podge Matte Medium in a laundry detergent bottle that is filled with warm water. Shake well.

I tried alcohol with it once, and it seemed to kind of gel. The gel dried with a weird sheen I didn't like.

Thinned matte medium tends to form whitish globs (what I call "snots") in the presence of alcohol. I stopped using matte medium quite some time ago and stick with thinned white glue, which has never created any issues. In addition to not creating snots, white glue has the advantage of making it a bit easier to remove ballast from track by soaking it with water.

I stopped using white glue, because I didn't like the finish it dried to. It seemed to dry to an almost satin finish, where the matte medium dries dead flat. It's not as brittle as the white glue, either. If I need to pull up my ballast, I use a little alcohol on it. Seems to soften it right up.

[Ian MacMillan]

Thinned matte medium tends to form whitish globs (what I call "snots") in the presence of alcohol. I stopped using matte medium quite some time ago and stick with thinned white glue, which has never created any issues. In addition to not creating snots, white glue has the advantage of making it a bit easier to remove ballast from track by soaking it with water.

Interesting. I had thought the snots were coming from my glue bottle because it had sat a tad, which is why I would strain it through cheese cloth if I had it sitting for a few days.

Good to know.

[davefoxx]

Yeah, I ran out of WS Scenic Cement last week and had to buy matte medium.  Not only was it waaaaaay more expensive, but I also found "snots," which I can confirm were there before I ever had any alcohol come into contact with the adhesive.  I also had surmised that the bottle was old stock, so I'll like strain it as Ian did.

I used an eyedropper to avoid the snots from the bottom of the bottle to glue down that small amount of ballast earlier in the week.  What really disappointed me is that I followed the directions and thinned it with water by 25%.  But, it still went on too thick, and I feel like there was a film left over the track.  I went back and hit it with chalks and Dullcote to get rid of the worst of that.  I'm going to thin it 25% more and see what happens… oh, and strain it to avoid further "snots."

By the way, kudzu doesn't hide "snots."   

DFF

[Rich_S]

I stopped using white glue, because I didn't like the finish it dried to. It seemed to dry to an almost satin finish, where the matte medium dries dead flat. It's not as brittle as the white glue, either.

All I've ever used is 70% Isopropyl Alcohol and good old Elmer's white glue. My formula for the white glue is, 2 parts water 1 part glue. I've never noticed any kind of sheen on my ballast.



On a side note I've always used Smith and Son Ballast which is made from real rock. The downside is my supply is limited and I'm not sure if they are still in business? I don't know what the price of Matte Medium or Scenic Cement is now, but I paid $10 for a gallon of white glue several years ago and still have a quarter of the bottle left. As the old saying goes, your mileage may vary but I've had very good luck with this method

[MichaelWinicki]

All I've ever used is 70% Isopropyl Alcohol and good old Elmer's white glue. My formula for the white glue is, 2 parts water 1 part glue. I've never noticed any kind of sheen on my ballast.

That's the formula I use with white glue and never had a problem with "sheen".  Must be the amount of water used eliminates that problem. 

[jpec]

On a side note I've always used Smith and Son Ballast which is made from real rock. The downside is my supply is limited and I'm not sure if they are still in business?

I think Scenic Express sells Smith and Sons ballast...if it's not it is a real rock product that darn close...

Jeff

[DKS]

My formula for the white glue is, 2 parts water 1 part glue. I've never noticed any kind of sheen on my ballast.

My formula is equal parts of glue, water and alcohol. The addition of alcohol in the glue helps it to spread and also reduces drying time. A friend taught me a trick to further reduce drying time: place a small fan nearby. Circulating the air allows the water to evaporate much faster--drying time is reduced by half or more.

[seusscaboose]

On a side note I've always used Smith and Son Ballast which is made from real rock. The downside is my supply is limited and I'm not sure if they are still in business?

He's not.

[GaryHinshaw]

I use Scenic Express matte medium, and wet with alcohol.  I've never had any snots or sheen...    Scenic Express ballast is essentially identical to Smith & Sons.  They changed their colour selections a while back, so if you're trying to match an existing S&S ballast, you'll have to experiment.

Now back to you Dave.

[davefoxx]

Thanks, Gary.  I took today off from work, which was the first Saturday I haven't worked since the holidays.  Unfortunately, I'm also under the weather slightly, so I'm unable to take full advantage of the free time.  That said, I went looking for a project that wouldn't require too much effort or time, and I decided to tear down two Atlas locomotives that have been acting up for quite some time.

L&N GP38-2 #4055: This locomotive originally ran great, and I loved its detail and paint scheme.  A plus was that I bought it on sale from MBK for only $49.99 a few years ago.  But, it subsequently developed an issue that required "warming it up" before it ran well.  It would barely crawl along at full throttle for a minute or so, and then it would be okay.  I tore the locomotive completely down, cleaned the excess lube out, and discovered that the motor seemed tight.  No matter how much I tweaked the locomotive, nothing seemed to correct the problem.  So, hesitantly, I pulled a similar Atlas motor from a C&O GP38 that I rarely use anymore, and, as expected, problem fixed.  While I had it apart, I also "Beardenized" this GP38-2.  I'll have to order another motor at some point, I suppose, to fix that C&O GP38, since I only transplanted the problem to it.

Conrail GP40-2 #3372: This locomotive has always run rough since I purchased it.  So much that it probably has only minutes rather than hours of running time on it.  Since I am a member of the Conrail Historical Society, I really want to have at least one CR locomotive that I can run from time to time, and, although I don't model Conrail, that road's equipment was sometimes seen down south.   I also tore this locomotive down, cleaned it out, and "Beardenized" it.  It is running better; perhaps not my best running locomotive, but it's at least at an acceptable level now.  I'm currently running the snot out of these two locomotives to break them in, so, perhaps, they'll even get better.  Thankfully, they consist well together, so I don't have to reprogram them.



Now that I have these locomotives working much better, they are probably going to become the first candidates on my layout to get weathering.  I need to order decals, though, because the plan has always been to patch the L&N unit for the Seaboard System.  While I think that the prototype #4055 became SBD #2565, I want to try to find a GP38-2 that survived into the Seaboard System era in L&N paint and was patched.

Heh, I'm back from rrpicturesarchive.com, and that research was even easier than I expected.  The real #4055 was patched for the SBD, and apparently kept its original number at least into late 1984.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2895700

That's right in my wheelhouse.  Win.  Hopefully, I'm correct that the Microscale SBD decals have the correct "SBD" letters on the sheet.  If you look close at the sheet between the large red and yellow SS logos, you will see some letters that appear to be just for this purpose.  I've also dealt with this seller before, so a-buying, I shall go.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microscale-Decal-N-60-398-Seaboard-System-Diesels-1980-1986-/380815378093?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item58aa5d86ad

DFF